By Dr. Rob Moir, a nationally recognized and award-winning environmentalist
None of us are strangers to the reports of the Gulf of Maine heating 97% faster than the world’s oceans. However, the actual reasons for this can be lost in the constant headlines about global warming and rising greenhouse gases. To explain this extraordinary phenomenon, let’s look closely at four factors: surface seawater temperatures, heat severity, air temperature, and rainfall, monthly for five years.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) produces a monthly chart of sea surface water temperatures. Below is the most recent chart for June 2024.
The dark blue waters were 32 to 41 degrees F. The light blue was 54 degrees F. The green water in Massachusetts Bay was about 65 degrees, and the yellow water south of Cape Cod was around 70 degrees F. Note that the surface water in the Gulf of Maine does not have one temperature. Water temperatures across the sea’s face cool from 65 degrees by the shore to 54 degrees in the Atlantic.
These temperatures vary by month during the year. In the next image, from NOAA, the top row shows the sea surface temperatures for April, marching back in time from 2024 to 2020. The maps of the Northeast show how much precipitation varies in the Gulf of Maine watershed. The largest river is the St. Johns, which drains the northern tip of Maine. April 2024 was the driest month, and April 2020 was the wettest. Daytime monthly average temperatures are presented. The chart at the bottom shows the 30-year average of right whale density for April. In the spring, we see slight variations in sea surface temperatures, much variation in rainfall, and little change in air temperatures. Right whales are increasing, particularly in Cape Cod Bay and Nantucket Shoals.
May is when we begin to see the surface temperature start to warm. The lighter blue shown indicates warmer surface waters (54 degrees F). The year 2024 shows the warmest waters and the most precipitation. Some may think that rising air temperatures are warming the sea…
Read More: https://www.oceanriver.org/guest-explainer-cooling-the-gulf-of-maine-surface-ocean-waters
