Long summers have dire impact on sea temps

SUMMER is getting longer in the waters off New England, and that could have big ramifications for everything from the storm strength to the health of fisheries and endangered whales, according to scientists

Rising sea temperatures could affect the feeding grounds of whales.

SUMMER is getting longer in the waters off New England, and that could have big ramifications for everything from the storm strength to the health of fisheries and endangered whales, according to scientists.

The scientists, led by Andrew Thomas of the University of Maine, said the warming of the Gulf of Maine has added up to 66 days of summer-like temperatures to the water surface since 1982.

The gulf, which stretches from Massachusetts to Nova Scotia, is a critical piece of ocean for industries such as fishing, shipping and tourism, and researchers have previously said it is warming faster than almost all of Earth’s waters.

Scientists in the study used 33 years of satellite data to identify seasonal trends.

The data shows the warming of the Gulf of Maine has been much greater in the months from June to October, effectively stretching out the length of summer, Mr Thomas said.

Warmer, longer summers will result in “winners and losers” in the Gulf of Maine, he said, adding that some consequences could be dire.

“We may cross some threshold where some virus or some bacteria might be able to make a living here.”

Thomas and his co-authors published their findings in the scientific journal Elementa last month. The paper says longer summers could have serious ramifications because rising water temperatures can disrupt ocean ecosystems.

The scientists’ work illustrates the Gulf of Maine is “ground zero for experiencing the impacts of ocean warming,” said ecologist Malin Pinsky.

The paper also says the trend could provide more hospitable waters for hurricanes, which feed off warm water.

The cold water typical of the Gulf of Maine would normally cause a hurricane to lose energy, but such a storm could stay strong if it enters the region in future summers because of the warming trend, according to the study.

“Many of the big storms that are going to impact New England get some of their energy and some of their moisture from the ocean,” said Andrew Pershing, a scientist with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland and a co-author of the paper.

Some of the biggest impacts already are being felt through changes to the marine life in the Gulf of Maine, where fishermen seek species, such as lobsters and haddock.

The warming of the gulf tracks with a trend of lobsters moving further north.

It could change the availability of food that jeopardises the future of endangered North Atlantic right whales, said Nicholas Record, another co-author of the paper.