---
title: Satellites Offer New View of Chesapeake Bay’s Marine Heat Waves
date: 2025-05-23T12:00:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/satellites-offer-new-view-of-chesapeake-bays-marine-heat-waves"
section: Articles
---
# Satellites Offer New View of Chesapeake Bay’s Marine Heat Waves

*May 23, 2025* — by [Emily C. Nunez](/author/emily-c-nunez)


> UMD-led Study Reveals ‘Significant Increases’ in Yearly Swelter, but Not All Regions Are Warming Equally

*Chesapeakelandsat 1920x1080 — A new UMD-led study used long-term satellite observations to map out heat waves over 20 years, showing significant increases in marine heat waves in the Chesapeake Bay.*

Heat waves destroy crops, drive wildfires and kill people and wildlife, but they aren’t just limited to land. Large bodies of water are also hit by these extreme weather events that linger for weeks, months and sometimes years—much like “[The Blob](https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/looking-back-blob-record-warming-drives-unprecedented-ocean-change),” a sprawling hot spot that wreaked havoc on ecosystems off the U.S. West Coast from 2013 to 2016.

New University of Maryland-led research reveals that the Chesapeake Bay has seen “significant increases” in annual marine heat waves, defined in the study as “prolonged periods of anomalously warm water.” [Published Thursday](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12237-025-01546-9) in the journal *Estuaries and Coasts*, the study leveraged long-term satellite observations to map out heat waves over 20 years.

The study, funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Science Foundation, could help lay the groundwork for a warning system for excessive heat in the bay that experts said is needed to protect agriculture and aquaculture, recreation and other important activities.

It showed that, on average, the Chesapeake Bay experiences heat waves 25 days annually. From 2003 to 2022, the bay had a roughly 10% uptick in annual marine heat waves, translating to two to four additional marine heat waves per decade.

“It sounds small, but a little bit goes a long way in the climate system,” said study lead author Rachel Wegener M.S. ’23,, who conducted this research as part of her master’s thesis in atmospheric and oceanic science at UMD.



*6 maps showing heatwave development in the chesapeake bay — The researchers found that marine heat waves vary in their intensity, duration, frequency and other characteristics depending on their location in the Chesapeake Bay. (Image courtesy of Rachel Wegener.)*




**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Atmospheric and Oceanic Science](https://today.umd.edu/topic/atmospheric-and-oceanic-science), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-computer-mathematical-and-natural-sciences)