West End News - The water gently rocking the boats at the wharfs of the Portland waterfront doesn’t often unmask its power. But when a king tide, a high tide at the new or full moon, converges with a storm surge and a Nor’Easter creating rivers of rainwater inside the city stormwater system, as happened in January 2024, the resulting flooding can damage even massive structures on the Portland waterfront....
"Many things are adding to sea level rise,” said Soni Pradhanang, Professor of Water Resources and Quality at the University of Rhode Island, discussing the effects of climate change. Thermal expansion is a large part of the rise, as the vast surface of the ocean absorbs heat and water molecules expand. Another is the melting of land-based ice, most closely in Greenland. Its ice sheets are melting at an ever-faster pace, she said, and will probably be a larger contributor to sea level rise in the future.
“All coastal cities in New England are affected, and faster than elsewhere,” Pradhanang said. “’Land subsidence’ is a big issue now.”
Though the New England coast rose following the most recent melting of North American ice sheets, 20,000 years past, it has now begun to sink. Pradhanang said Portland was sinking at a rate of approximately 1.8 millimeter a year. It is a phenomenon called glacial isostatic subsidence.
According to the Maine Geological Survey, the sea level in Portland has risen 1.79 inches in the last 25 years. But the rate of increase is also rising, Pradhanang said. By 2050 the sea level is predicted to be 1.8 feet higher. By year 2100, it is expected to rise more rapidly, by 4.6 feet.
“Move away from the coast if you can,” Pradhanang said.
Over a thousand protesters take to downtown Portland, calling for no ICE in Maine
Press Herald
It’s fun to watch how birds behave in the deep sn
Data show a drop of more than 2,000 students statewide since last year. The decline has ripple effects for Maine’s school funding formula and construction backlog, and the trend seems likely to continue. The number of young people in Maine is expected to decrease by 12% between 2018 and 2028, and young families are having fewer kids than previous generations.
Platner raises $4.6M in 4th quarter of 2025 for US Senate race; Mills $2.7M
Maine school districts to get relief from faulty electric buses
Judge dismisses animal cruelty lawsuit against Maine Lobster Festival