As I sit on an outcrop watching the moon rise above the Alaskan skyline and mighty Taku Glacier, I can’t help but wonder how many years into the future this great ice mass will remain. Recent research suggests up to 60% of Taku will be gone in the next century if our climate continues on its current warming trajectory. These are humbling Read More
warming ocean temperatures
It’s Official: 2018 was the Fourth Warmest Year on Record
by John Schwartz and Nadja Popovich New York Times news story View graphics from news story. NASA scientists announced Wednesday that the Earth’s average surface temperature in 2018 was the fourth highest in nearly 140 years of record-keeping and a continuation of an unmistakable warming trend. The data means that the five warmest years in Read More
Gulf of Maine’s 3rd-warmest Year on Record Harms Puffins, Turtles and Kelp
The effects on species that thrive in cold waters provide glimpses of the damage that rising ocean temperatures can do, but the federal and state response remains weak. by Colin Woodard, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story The Gulf of Maine is experiencing its third-warmest year on record, triggering the starvation of puffin chicks Read More
Maine’s Puffin Colonies Produce Record Number of Chicks — and They’re Chubby Too
The bonanza of chicks is good news for the vulnerable seabirds. by Patrick Whittle, The Associated Press Portland Press Herald news story Puffins face existential challenges, but the little birds found a new role in Maine this summer: baby boomers. The 2017 nesting season was the most productive on record for a group of vulnerable Read More
Maine Puffins on the Rebound
by Fred Bever Maine Public news story Scientists have been closely watching puffin populations in the Gulf of Maine in recent years, in an effort to restore the species on certain islands. This summer, puffins and other seabird populations appear to have rebounded, but are still facing a threat from predation. Dr. Steven Kress is Read More
Researchers Find Summer Heat’s Lasting Longer in the Gulf of Maine
The warmer conditions endure two months longer than in the early 1980s, posing threats to the food chain and raising risks from more powerful hurricanes. by Colin Woodard, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story New scientific research has revealed that summer temperatures in the Gulf of Maine, the second fastest warming part of the Read More
With Lobsters and Climate, There’s Not a Debate
Fishery experts don’t waste time with politics when their livelihood is threatened by rising temperatures. Portland Press Herald editorial During a week in which much of the world was wondering whether the president of the United States considers climate change a threat, in a Portland hotel conference room full of people who spend their lives Read More
President Trump Isn’t Putting Maine First on Climate Change
The state is already feeling the effects of global warming, and they are just going to get worse if the U.S. isn’t part of the effort to address it. Portland Press Herald editorial Man’s use of fossil fuels is warming the planet, and the warming is happening faster in the Gulf of Maine than in Read More
Gulf of Maine Will Become Too Warm for Many Key Fish, Report Says
Cod and haddock will see prime habitat areas vanish this century, but lobsters will find new spaces to grow. by Colin Woodard, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story A new study by federal fisheries scientists predicts the warming of the Gulf of Maine will cause a dramatic contraction of suitably cool habitat for a Read More
