Maryland and Mid-Atlantic Research

The University of Maryland is located in one of the most diverse and rapidly changing regions on the Earth’s surface. The State and its region provide important opportunities for fundamental and applied geographic research. Maryland extends from the tidal creeks and wetlands of the Eastern shore with its fisheries and intensive agriculture, across the geologic divide of the fall line, along which settlements that have become major cities were established, to the hilly Piedmont and in the extreme west, to the forested high ridges and valleys of Appalachia and ultimately the Allegheny plateau. The Chesapeake Bay is home to over 3,600 species of plants and animals and is the subject of the nation’s premier ecosystem restoration program. Washington, D.C. and Baltimore form the southern part of the megalopolis, a globally important concentration of human population, with economic, social and cultural dimensions. Rapid expansion of the population of D.C. and Maryland has led to studies of suburban sprawl as well as work among immigrants.

County, state and regional government agencies are now charged with the responsibility of administration, planning, management, and policy development at unprecedented scales and complexity. The new capabilities of remote sensing, geographic information systems and spatial analysis are being applied in Homeland Security, Environmental Impact legislation, clean-up of the Chesapeake Bay, and control of sprawl in geographic research programs being pursued in the Department.

Example Projects

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Science Applications Center	Wetland Change Analysis	Watershed Impairment
Coastal Marsh Loss		Watershed Surface Hydrology