Climate Change Institute

Strong Saharan dust storm reaches European Alps. Credit: NASA (MODIS) A new groundbreaking study shows that warming planet will make dust storms more intense in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Using the highest-resolution continuous climate record ever published, the study explains the connections between dust storms, extended periods of drought, volcanoes, and warming in the […]

World-renowned climate scientist and explorer Paul Mayewski and glaciochemist Mariusz Potocki will give a free, public talk titled “The National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Extreme Mt. Everest Expedition,” 5:30–6:30 p.m. Friday, March 6 in the auditorium at the Hutchinson Center in Belfast. The goal of the two-month multinational, multidisciplinary National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual […]

Ten doctoral candidates will each receive one of three 2020–21 awards: the Janet Waldron Doctoral Research Fellowship, the Susan J. Hunter Teaching Assistantship, and the Chase Distinguished Research Assistantship. These awards will support the students in their research and professional development. Janet Waldron Doctoral Research Fellowship Shelby Helwig, Psychological Sciences Frankie St. Amand, Interdisciplinary Studies […]

The Bangor Daily News shared findings from the 2020 Maine’s Climate Future report authored by University of Maine scientists, with support from the Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park. The state’s climate is not only changing due to global temperatures increasing overall, but the rate at which it is changing is speeding up, according to […]

Nearly every climate-related parameter measured in Maine is accelerating, according to “Maine’s Climate Future — 2020 Update,” the latest report from the University of Maine. The rate of air and sea warming is increasing. Precipitation is increasing in intensity and volume, and sea level is not only rising, but rising faster than in the previous […]

The Penobscot Times published portions of a University of Maine media release about Jacquelyn Gill’s fern research. The University of Maine paleoecologist was awarded $343,380 by NASA’s Exobiology program to examine the resilience of ferns, which have existed for about 350 million years, and survived nuclear winter-like conditions 66 million years ago that wiped out […]

Research Associate Katherine Glover led a recent publication in Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology on a 100,000 year climate and vegetation history from Southern California. This work was selected for an Research Spotlight by the American Geophysical Union for their Earth and Space Science news publication, EOS. Katie continues to work on Southern California ice ages at […]

Daniel Dixon, director of sustainability at the University of Maine, was quoted in a Times Record article about eco-friendly initiatives the City of Bath has undertaken, including a hybrid police car, solar power installations on municipal buildings and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Dixon said other possible popular initiatives include offering residents incentives to install heat […]

WiSTEMM (Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine) will host a faculty lunch honoring the 2019 Presidential Award winners Feb. 12 at the University of Maine. Attendees can celebrate and learn from award winners 1–3 p.m. in the Bangor Room of the Memorial Union. Award recipients are: Distinguished Maine Professor Award — Sandra Caron, […]

Ferns have staying power. The vascular plants have existed for about 350 million years, even surviving nuclear winterlike conditions — global dimming, cooling and acid rain — 66 million years ago that wiped out dinosaurs and 75% of other animals and plants on Earth. Jacquelyn Gill, a University of Maine paleoecologist, will explore fern resilience […]