Document Type
Report
Department/Program
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Publication Date
1981
Abstract
An index is 11 something used or serving to point out", "a guide", "a sign, token or indication" (.14) +. Indexes* such as those used in books, magazines and newspapers are not the subject of this study. Rather we are concerned with the use of indexes in technical fields. Even these are encountered often in everyday life. For example, a recent front-page newspaper article noted that "the government's index designed to forecast future economic trends dropped .... after rising for six straight months". An editorial column in the same issue addressed the use of "the existing Consumer Price Index as a basis for Social Security cost-of-living adjustments". Economists and other social scientists have utilized indices extensively. Environmental indexes have been proposed but only a few, such as the air pollution index, have been used widely. It appears that environmental indices could be extremely valuable and useful for purposes such as showing trends in water quality resulting from development, implementation of good management practices on land, or higher levels of treatment for wastewaters,(13)
Keywords
Estuarine pollution -- Chesapeake Bay Region (Md. and Va.) -- Measurement
Recommended Citation
Neilson, B. J. (1981) Development and application of an index to assess nutrient enrichment in estuaries : a report to the Chesapeake Bay Program, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/reports/2476
