Signature and Emerging Areas

Oncorhynchus kisutch

DDT in Alaska meltwater poses cancer risk for people who eat lots of fish

Children in Alaska whose diet includes a lot of fish from rivers fed by the Eastern Alaska Mountain Range may have a long-term elevated risk for cancer because of insecticides — including DDT — in the meltwater. Even with low levels of organochlorine pollutants (OCPs) in glacial meltwater, the risk of cancer for youth and […]

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News Center Maine includes aerial campus footage in profile on UMaine alumna

News Center Maine’s ‘Maine Portraits’ included aerial footage of the University of Maine campus in a profile of Christi Holmes, an alumna of the UMaine College of Engineering. Holmes was born in Machias, where her family has lived since 1765, and earned a degree in civil engineering from UMaine. After graduation she hiked the Appalachian […]

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Mayewski interviewed for BDN article on new climate report

The Bangor Daily News interviewed Paul Mayewski, director of the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine, about his recently released climate report for the article, “Maine fisheries and blueberries could be at stake due to climate change, report says.” Mayewski collaborated with Sean Birkel, a UMaine research assistant professor and Maine State Climatologist, […]

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Miner speaks about glacier research on Radio Ecoshock

Kimberley Miner, a research assistant professor at the University of Maine Climate Change Institute, spoke about her glacier research on Radio Ecoshock. Miner discussed her discovery of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the downstream water of the Silvretta Glacier in the Swiss Alps, and the potential for resulting health risks in an area where wind […]

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Mosquito

Study looks at ecological traps to minimize human risk of mosquito-borne pathogens

Ecological traps have the potential to effectively control pest species and inhibit the spread of infectious diseases, according to a University of Maine researcher. A recently published study led by Allison Gardner, an assistant professor of arthropod vector biology at UMaine, provides new insights into how ecological traps, which occur when organisms show preference for […]

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WVII interviews Birkel about new UMaine climate report

WVII (Channel 7) interviewed Sean Birkel, a University of Maine research assistant professor and Maine State Climatologist, about the Coastal Maine Climate Futures Report he recently released in collaboration with Paul Mayewski, director of the Climate Change Institute at UMaine. The researchers used weather data dating back to 1895 to track climate change throughout Maine’s […]

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News Center Maine reports on Miner’s glacier research

News Center Maine reported on the discovery of pesticide pollutants in a remote glacier and its meltwater by Kimberley Miner, a research assistant professor at the University of Maine Climate Change Institute. Miner led a team of researchers that analyzed ice core and meltwater samples from the Jarvis Glacier in Alaska and compiled the first […]

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Witham, Hunter interviewed for Press Herald feature on Holt Research Forest

The Portland Press Herald interviewed Jack Witham, an associate scientist in the University of Maine School of Forest Resources, and Malcolm Hunter, a professor of wildlife ecology at UMaine, for the article, “Seeing the forest for the trees at the Holt Research Forest in Arrowsic.” A research center currently funded by the Maine Timber Research […]

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Jarvis Glacier

Miner discovers DDT in remote Alaska glacier and meltwater

The perception of glacial water as cold and pristine isn’t reality, says Kimberley Miner. At least the pristine part. The research assistant professor with the University of Maine Climate Change Institute found pesticide pollutants — including the insecticide DDT — in a remote Alaskan glacier and its meltwater. Pesticides that contain organochlorine compounds (OCPs) are […]

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