How does wind impact the Chesapeake Bay?

• Wind has a physical, social and economic impact on the Chesapeake Bay. Facts below
  
• Wind is needed to mix the freshwater that comes from the watershed’s rivers and streams with the saltwater from the ocean.
  
• These bodies of water all meet in the Bay (a defining characteristic of an estuary) but the tide alone cannot get the job done, it needs help from the wind.
  
• As it circulates the water, wind also stirs up the oxygen-rich surface waters with the lower depths to support marine life.
  
• When there is less wind, it reinforces stratification to divide the water into layers and stop oxygen from mixing, which is bad for critters at the bottom like oysters and worms.
  
• The circulation that occurs when freshwater and saltwater mix also disperses nutrients throughout the water.
  
• It blows in blue crab larvae from the saltwater back into the Bay and pushes food toward rockfish larvae.
  
• Low-winds can be a contributing factor to hypoxia, which is when there is a depletion of oxygen in the water, which forms dead zones that threaten marine life.

Source:
Chesapeake Bay Program