Summer is getting

Summer getting longer in gulf off New England

longer in the warming waters off New England, and that could have big ramifications for everything from the strength of storms to the health of fisheries and endangered whales.

PORTLAND, Maine — Summer is getting longer in the waters off New England, and that could have big ramifications for everything from the strength of storms to the health of fisheries and endangered whales, according to scientists.

The scientists, led by Andrew Thomas of the University of Maine, said the warming of the Gulf of Maine has added up to 66 days of summer-like temperatures to the water surface since 1982.

The gulf, which stretches from Massachusetts to Nova Scotia, is a crucial piece of ocean for industries such as fishing, shipping and tourism, and researchers have previously said it is warming faster than almost all of Earth’s waters.

The scientists involved in the study used 33 years of satellite data to identify seasonal trends. The data show that the warming of the Gulf of Maine has been much greater in the months from June to October, effectively stretching out the length of summer, Thomas said.

Warmer, longer summers will result in “winners and losers” in the Gulf of Maine, Thomas said, adding that some consequences could be dire.

“We may cross some threshold where some virus or some bacteria might be able to make a living here,” Thomas said.

Thomas and his co-authors published their findings in the scientific journal Elementa last month. The paper says longer summers could have serious ramifications.

The paper also says the trend could provide more hospitable waters for hurricanes, which feed off warm water.

The cold water typical of the Gulf of Maine would normally cause a hurricane to lose energy, but such a storm could stay strong if it enters the region in future summers because of the warming trend, according to the study.

Some of the biggest effects of the warming trend already are being felt through changes to the marine life in the Gulf of Maine, where fishermen seek valuable species, such as lobsters and haddock. The warming of the gulf tracks with a trend of some species, such as lobsters, moving farther north, said Andrew Pershing, a scientist with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland.