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Historical Trends Used to Assess 2002 Drought
Monthly data from the Eyes on the Bay Monitoring Program enables the comparison of current monthly data to historical trends. The salinity graph from the Jack Bay station on the Patuxent River illustrates the severity of the 2002 drought, with all observations (February - November 2002) of salinity exceeding the maximums from 1985 through 2001. Periods of decreased rainfall reduces the amount of freshwater flow into the Bay, thus increasing the salinity. Water clarity in general, as indicated by secchi depth, was above average in 2002 due to the lack of rainfall, whcih decreased sediment and nutrient inputs to the Bay.

Graphic showing 2002 salinities above the range of salinities from 1985-2001 at Jack Bay on the Patuxent River.
 Graphic showing 2002 secchi depths greater than the mean secchi depth for 2001 at Jack Bay on the Patuxent River.
Legend for the above graphics.