About Us

Recognizing the need for a centralized, neutral source of climate information specific to Maine, University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Maine Sea Grant created Maine Climate News in partnership with the University of Maine Climate Change Institute, in 2009. The site is intended to be a portal to climate change science and research at the University of Maine and beyond, as well as a resource for news and climate-related activities throughout the state. The site is updated quarterly.

Climate change is a complex and dynamic issue. It can seem overwhelming. Maine Climate News provides information you can use, and presents the results of research you can trust. If you have suggestions for content or questions for the Maine State Climatologist, please contact project leader Esperanza Stancioff.

The site is intended to provide useful information and perspectives about Maine’s climate. Among the regular features of this site we will bring:

  1. Seasonal weather and climate updates from Maine State Climatologist, Sean Birkel;
  2. Updates concerning ongoing research projects of faculty and graduate students at the University of Maine and other partner institutions and organizations;
  3. Connections to a variety of sources of information about weather data and climate patterns;
  4. Opportunities to be involved in collecting data that can help reveal statewide patterns. For example, many Mainers might like to participate in the CoCoRaHS (Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network) program or Signs of the Seasons: A New England Phenology Program, through which citizens help to collect real-time precipitation data and share that information through an easy-to-use web connection).

Those of us involved in this site welcome ideas you might have for other useful information or services.

Project leader:
Esperanza Stancioff, Climate Change Educator
UMaine Extension & Maine Sea Grant
377 Manktown Road,
Waldoboro, ME 04572
Phone: 207.832.0343 or
800.244.2104 (in Maine)
esp@maine.edu

Staff scientists:
Sean Birkel, Climate Change Institute, UMaine Extension, and School of Earth and Climate Sciences
Ivan Fernandez, University of Maine Soil Science and Forest Resources, Climate Change Institute