Chesapeake Bay Ice
January 23, 2001
Provided by: NASA/GSFC
Summary authors & editors: Jim Foster
The above Landsat-7 satellite image of the Chesapeake Bay was taken on January 7, 2001. This past December was the coldest in 11 years in the Chesapeake Bay region, and the coldest November and December since 1976. Much of the northern portion of the Chesapeake Bay is ice covered (blue-gray colors) on this image as were the mouths of many rivers entering the bay (light blue - thicker ice). However, warmer temperatures since early January have melted much of the ice. In most years, ice forms only in the upper reaches of the bay and in inlets and coves. However, in 1976-77, which was one of the coldest winters of the last 100 years in the Chesapeake Bay region, more than 3/4 of the bay was frozen over. Wave clouds conceal much of the western part of this Landsat image. Washington D.C. and Baltimore are both under the clouds. Snow (light blue) covers most of the northeastern and northwestern quadrants of the image.
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