Press Herald quotes Thomas in article on push for more ocean warming research
Andrew Thomas, an oceanography professor at the University of Maine, was quoted in a Portland Press Herald article about U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King urging the federal government to improve efforts to understand the causes and effects of the rapid warming of the Gulf of Maine, which threatens to disrupt traditional fisheries and the ecosystem that supports them, according to the article. “We need greater resources, enhanced monitoring of subsurface conditions, and a better understanding of the diversity of factors that are simultaneously impacting the Gulf of Maine, from changes in circulation and water temperature to ocean acidification,” the senators wrote in a letter to the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Thomas said Maine has limited resources for monitoring and studying the ongoing changes off the Northeast coast. “Scientists and managers working in the Gulf of Maine region welcome leadership and prioritization from NOAA as we struggle to both measure and understand the oceanographic changes happening in the Gulf of Maine, assess their causes, try to forecast their trends, and most importantly, try to understand their potential implications for the marine resources that are so important to the states and provinces of the area,” he said via email.