Press Herald, AP report on Thomas’ Gulf of Maine warming research
The Portland Press Herald and Associated Press reported on University of Maine-led research that found summer temperatures in the Gulf of Maine are persisting two months longer than they were in the early 1980s. The findings have ramifications for marine life, fishermen and the strength of hurricanes, which appear in late summer and are fueled by warm water, according to the Press Herald article. “What we found was quite astonishing in that almost all the warming is in the late summer, and the winter is not contributing very much at all,” said the project’s lead scientist, Andrew Thomas, a professor of oceanography at UMaine. “You can think of impacts all across the food chain, from animals that have actual temperature tolerances to the distribution of species, their prey, and even their predators, not to mention the bacteria and viruses, which we have no idea how they will react.” CBS News, ABC News, San Francisco Chronicle, Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Bangor Daily News, Seacoast Online, WMTW (Channel 8 in Portland) and Sun Journal carried the AP report. Thomas also spoke WCAI, the Cape and Islands NPR station, and Saving Seafood cited the Press Herald article.