Project Summary

This NASA-funded project aims to forecast ecological change to support climate-informed management of natural resources in Maine by using NASA’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). Rapid climate change documented in Maine is currently challenging management and the sustainability of marine resources. The goal of this project is to develop forecasting models that estimate the distribution of sentinel species in the Gulf of Maine, such as small pelagic fish and squid. Scientists will create high-resolution dynamic models of the distribution of commercially and ecologically important marine species based on Earth system data. These products will provide a foundation for hindcasts, real-time estimates, and seasonal forecasts to support climate adaptation in fisheries throughout New England, including specific forecasts for Maine’s $1B lobster industry. By developing an ecological forecasting system for marine resources, this project will advance climate-informed fisheries management.

 

Key strategies and actions:

• Incorporate climate change into stock assessments (e.g., document new species ranges and abundance, document food web impacts)
• Monitor to detect species presence and absence correlated to changing environmental conditions
• Other: ecological forecasting system from marine resources

Citation

Mills, K. and A. Score. 2016. Earth System Data Solutions for Detecting and Adapting to Climate Change in the Gulf of Maine. Summary of a project from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute produced for EcoAdapt’s State of Adaptation Program. Retrieved from CAKE: http://www.cakex.org/case-studies/earth-system-data-solutions-detecting… (Last updated August 2016)