New York Times interviews Birkel about rising ocean temperatures
The New York Times interviewed Sean Birkel, Maine state climatologist and assistant professor at the University of Maine Climate Change Institute, ocean warming fueled by record-breaking temperatures. Birkel, who manages the Climate Change Institute’s Climate Reanalyzer, said he believes the warming effect of the eruption of an underwater volcano in 2022 has been larger than early estimates suggested. The eruption may have affected atmospheric circulation and helped amplify the El Nino that developed in 2023, but Birkel, who also holds a joint appointment with University of Maine Cooperative Extension said additional research is needed.