June 6, 2024 — The fast-warming Gulf of Maine is rising faster than ever, with average monthly sea levels in Portland, Bar Harbor and Eastport breaking record after record over the last two years and driving storm surges and king-tide flooding higher and farther inland.
“The rate of sea level rise is increasing,” said Maine State Geologist Steve Dickson. “It’s no longer an inch per decade. It’s more. The tides now are about 7 to 8 inches above what they were when my grandfather was a kid playing on the shores of Jonesport.”
On Wednesday, during a Maine Climate Council briefing, Dickson said that future generations will be dealing with a few more feet, not inches. It was the third in a series of scientific updates in advance of the second edition of “Maine Won’t Wait,” the state’s climate action plan.
About 90% of global warming is occurring in the ocean, causing the water’s internal heat to increase, according to the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Heat stored in the ocean causes the water to expand, which is responsible for one-third to one-half of global sea level rise.
The last 10 years were the ocean’s warmest decade since at least the 1800s, and 2023 was its warmest recorded year, according to NASA. In the Gulf of Maine, sea surface temperatures in 2021 and 2022 were the warmest on record. The Gulf of Maine was in a marine heat wave for 97% of 2022.