Climate Change Institute

Toxic blooms of blue-green algae have infested lakes across Maine and the U.S. at greater frequency over the years. The associate director of the Climate Change Institute seeks to understand the role global warming plays in their incidence. Jasmine Saros will lead a team of researchers from the University of Maine and other institutions in […]

A rookery of black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophris) nest at a windy, exposed tussac grassland on West Point Island, Falkland Islands.Dulcinea Groff New study finds seabird response to abrupt climate change 5,000 years ago transformed island ecosystems in the Falklands October 23, 2020 The Falkland Islands are a South Atlantic refuge for some of the world’s […]

University of Maine researchers will develop a tool for predicting how biotoxins released by algal blooms that can cause public health issues travel through estuarine and coastal waters. The focus of the UMaine-led effort pertains to marine harmful algal blooms of the diatom Pseudo-nitzschia that causes medical problems through the production of the toxin domoic […]

A Bangor Daily News editorial cited the participation of Jessica Leahy, a University of Maine professor of human dimensions of natural resources, and Sean Birkel, Maine state climatologist and research assistant professor with UMaine’s Climate Change Institute, in an online forum sponsored by the newspaper. The discussion, one in an ongoing conversation focused on climate […]

How Climate Change Affects Covid-19 Can climate change make pandemics worse? CNN’s Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir talks to Alexander More, Assistant Research Professor at the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine, about how a years-long cold weather anomaly worsened the 1918 pandemic, and what that means for us as we head in […]

Friend of Darwin and Friend of the Planet awards for 2020 NCSE’s annual awards are given to scientists, educators, activists, journalists, and others who make an invaluable contribution to a greater understanding of evolution and climate science. The National Center for Science Education has named Jacquelyn Gill a 2020 Friend of the Planet. Gill is […]

https://www.wnpr.org/post/permafrost-time-capsule-ice-age-thawing   As climate change continues to raise temperatures worldwide, the arctic is warming even faster than the rest of the world. Today, we take a look at the unique arctic terrain that is under threat from climate change: the permafrost. This frozen landscape is defined by deep layers of soil that never get above […]

Vaclava Hazukova—third-year PhD student in Jasmine Saros’ lab—received additional financial support for her research of phytoplankton seasonal dynamics in Arctic lakes from the Society for Freshwater Science (SFS). General endowments from SFS are distributed yearly to 10-20 students—funding novel and exciting research in any area of freshwater science. Here is a list of students that were granted […]

Jacquelyn Gill, an associate professor of paleoecology and plant ecology at the University of Maine, spoke with Vogue India about climate grief, anxiety and despair associated with climate change and the natural disasters it fuels. To prevent succumbing to climate despair, Gill said she focuses on solutions, such as “leaning into sustainable ways of living […]

A once-in-a-century climate deviation that resulted in torrential rain and cold air over Europe from 1914 to 1919 likely increased the number of people who died during World War I and the Spanish flu pandemic. The documented severe, incessant rains and unusually cold temperatures impacted major battles from 1914 to 1918 on the Western Front. […]