In an article titled “Rising Temperatures Are Scrambling the Base of the Ocean Food Web,” Jeffrey Runge, a zooplankton ecologist who recently retired as a professor from the University of Maine School of Marine Sciences, spoke with The New York Times about Calanus finmarchicus, a type of zooplankton. You can think of Calanus as “little […]
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For an article titled “Once a form of currency, quahogs remain a steady source of cash,” The Harpswell Anchor interviewed Brian Beal, professor of marine ecology at the University of Maine at Machias, on the decline in soft shell clams. “There’s no mystery,” said Beal, also director of the Downeast Institute. “The whole thing comes […]
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Three University of Maine faculty — Heather Leslie, Sydne Record and Brenda Hall — spoke at the annual meeting for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) on Feb. 14. AAAS is the world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research. Leslie, professor of marine science who was named […]
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While New England is well known for commodities such as maple syrup, wild blueberries and cranberries, its reputation for sweets extends to another crop: sweet corn. The 2023-24 crop production report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed the region produced just under 3 million tons of corn, of which Vermont contributed approximately half and […]
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The CBC Radio program “Quirks and Quarks,” interviewed Jasmine Saros, associate director of the University of Maine Climate Change Institute, on her latest research, which revealed that lakes in West Greenland began emitting carbon and decreased in water quality following record heat and precipitation. Saros and a team of researchers concluded that the combination of […]
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The Portland Press Herald interviewed Sean Birkel, assistant professor at the University of Maine Climate Change Institute (CCI), on record high temperatures in the state during 2024. “We had a warmer than usual spring, a record hot June marked by a heatwave and very high overnight temperatures, and a record hot fall,” said Birkel, who […]
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Scarce snowpack hindered snowmobile recreation in Maine last winter, squeezing businesses that count on the sport to draw tourists. The University of Maine released an updated report on the economic contribution of snowmobiling in Maine, revealing a significant decline in impact for the 2023-24 season. According to the study, snowmobiling generated an estimated $582 million […]
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Popular Science, Earth.com, IFL Science, Daily Galaxy and Live Science highlighted a study led by Jasmine Saros, associate director of the University of Maine Climate Change Institute, which found that lakes in West Greenland began emitting carbon and decreased in water quality following record heat and precipitation. Saros and a team of researchers concluded that the […]
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West Greenland is home to tens of thousands of blue lakes that provide residents drinking water and sequester carbon from the atmosphere. Yet after two months of record heat and precipitation in fall 2022, an estimated 7,500 lakes turned brown, began emitting carbon and decreased in water quality, according to a new study. Led by […]
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The Portland Press Herald interviewed Sean Birkel, Maine state climatologist and assistant professor at the University of Maine Climate Change Institute, on the likelihood of a large fire developing in Maine. Birkel said the Northeast region of the country is more humid than the western part, but drought conditions in recent years have increased the […]
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