Assessing the impact of ocean warming on subsurface property fields in the Gulf of Maine

The Gulf of Maine (GOM), a semi-enclosed coastal basin on the Northwest Atlantic Continental Shelf, is defined by nutrient rich current inflows, variable geomorphology, and complex coastal currents. These factors combine to make the GOM a biologically and economically significant marine environment. Recent studies of oceanographic measurements obtained from both satellite imagery and buoy arrays deployed within the GOM have indicated significant warming trends at all locations and at multiple depths, thus threatening the biological and socio-economic stability of the GOM. However, infrequent sampling has limited the analysis of warming trends at depths below fifty meters. Here, we utilize CTD casts taken throughout the GOM since the 1970s in order to analyze decadal scale changes in subsurface temperature and salinity in the GOM. Our analysis shows significant subsurface increases in temperature in the three regions of the GOM that we investigated: The Northeast Channel, the Bay of Fundy, and Jordan's Basin on the order of 0.2°C/decade, along with significant increases in salinity in both the Northeast Channel and Jordan's Basin. An analysis of the Gulf of Maine's inflows through the Northeast Channel will be presented and discussed in the context of the observed warming.