Skip to main content
Climate
Search

Main navigation

  • Climate 101
    • What We Know
    • What Can Be Done
    • Climate Primer
  • Explore
    • Explainers
    • Ask MIT Climate
    • Podcast
    • For Educators
  • MIT Action
    • News
    • Events
    • Resources
  • Search
MIT

Main navigation

  • Climate 101
    • What We Know
    • What Can Be Done
    • Climate Primer
  • Explore
    • Explainers
    • Ask MIT Climate
    • Podcast
    • For Educators
  • MIT Action
    • News
    • Events
    • Resources
  • Search
PostNovember 1, 2019

Disappearing islands of the Chesapeake Bay

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Cox, Bay Journal

A combination of factors, including climate change and erosion, is causing historic changes in and around the Chesapeake Bay. The Bay contains hundreds of islands, some of which are starting to disappear. Now, Fox Island and its highly regarded education center run by the Chesapeake Bay Trust for four decades, is being closed. Fox Island was one of only four education centers where people could learn about the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the US. Thousands of children and adults have experienced the ecology of the Bay on Fox Island over the years, but this opportunity is sadly coming to an end. For the full story, see the article in the Bay Journal.

This event has drawn the attention of many in the area, including Maryland Senator Cardin, who gave a powerful speech on the Senate floor (1:33-1:42). The plight of Fox island is not unique. Within eye shot is Tangier Island, inhabited since 1778 and located 100 miles from Washington DC, which has received considerable attention recently (see National Geographic article). "The Disappearing Islands of the Chesapeake", a book by William B. Cronin published in 2005, reported that islands constituted a total of 357 acres in 1895, but was down to 67 acres by the time of publication. Since then, the foundation reported only 34 acres remain.

by Shiladitya DasSarma
Topics
Education
Government & Policy

Related Posts

PostOctober 16, 2025

Book reviews technologies aiming to remove carbon from the atmosphere

MIT Energy Initiative
“Carbon Removal,” by MIT Energy Initiative Senior Research Engineer Howard Herzog (pictured) and Professor Niall Mac Dowell of Imperial College London, explores the history and intricacies of removing carbon dioxide from the Earth’s atmosphere.
PostOctober 14, 2025

Engineering next-generation fertilizers

MIT News
A person wearing a white coat inspects tall green plants in a lab.
PostOctober 7, 2025

Combining agriculture with forestry could accelerate climate progress

MIT Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy
Agroforestry could accelerate climate progress
PostSeptember 30, 2025

In the Vortex of Great Power Competition: Climate, Trade, and Geostrategic ...

MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research
illustration of cargo containers from the US EU and China

MIT Climate News in Your Inbox

 
 

MIT Groups Log In

Log In

Footer

  • About
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility
  • Contact
MIT Climate Project
MIT
Communicator Award Winner
Communicator Award Winner