Spatial Extent and Vertical Structure of Marine Heatwaves in Chesapeake Bay: Relevant Model Output
Shunk, Nathan P. Fernandes Mazzini, Piero Luigi Walter, Ryan K. Hinson, Kyle E. St-Laurent, Pierre Friedrichs, Marjorie A. M.
Shunk, Nathan P.
Fernandes Mazzini, Piero Luigi
Walter, Ryan K.
Hinson, Kyle E.
St-Laurent, Pierre
Friedrichs, Marjorie A. M.
Abstract
Marine heatwaves (MHWs) adversely impact marine ecosystems globally, yet data scarcity limits understanding of their subsurface extent, particularly in estuaries. Using a high-resolution regional ocean model, we characterized the horizontal extent and subsurface structure of MHWs across the Chesapeake Bay (CB). Additionally, we developed a supplementary definition for local climatology-identified MHWs, “Vertical MHWs,” which quantifies their water column presence. Surface MHWs were generally shorter, more frequent and intense, and impacted ~5% of CB surface area, while the deepest MHWs were generally longer, less frequent and intense, and regularly occupied >50% of deep-water areas. Synchronous MHWs—a vertical MHW class which occur simultaneously in the surface and bottom sometime during their duration—were predominant in shallow regions (isobaths <9 m), which encompass ~75% of the CB. Conversely, asynchronous MHWs, which indicate surface-bottom discontinuity, dominated in deeper regions (isobaths >9 m) and occurred primarily during the highly stratified spring-summer season. High synchronicity in the shallow regions indicates a surface MHW signal likely reflects a concurrent bottom one, potentially impacting benthic communities, across the vast majority of CB. Meanwhile asynchronous events, which occur across CB, especially in deeper regions, suggest surface MHWs are inconsistent predictors of subsurface events and their vertical structure, highlighting the need for subsurface monitoring of extreme events to better understand, predict, and manage MHW impacts on coastal and estuarine ecosystems. This is the repository for this work.
Description
This data set was derived from a long-term simulation (1985-2023) of Chesapeake Bay Biogeochemical and Hydrographic conditions with William & Mary Research Computing (https://www.wm.edu/it/rc) computational resources. Only temperature and salinity output was used in this analysis.
The files are submitted in the netCDF file format, which can be opened in any software.
Dataset type is simulation/modeling.
Date
2025-12-19
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http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
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Keywords
Marine Heatwave, Estuary, Subsurface, Classification Scheme, Vertical Propagation, Chesapeake Bay
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Coastal & Ocean Processes