MAINE PUBLIC • July 24, 2024
the Gulf of Maine is 7,500 miles long and as much as a thousand feet deep, a marine treasure of some 36,000 square miles. From the tip of Cape Cod to Nova Scotia, it courses with cold, nutrient-rich, deep-sea water, artfully mixed by the world’s biggest tides. This rich environment feeds a web of 3,000 species ranging from microscopic plankton to seals and massive right whales. Millions of people have lived along its rising edge, drawing their sustenance, fame, and fortune from its plentiful depths. For all its storied bounty, and because of it, the Gulf is also in peril. The first episode of Sea Change (July 24) explains how the bounty in the Gulf was forever affected by European settlers and how wildlife and people adapted to its changes. In the second (July 31), scientists investigate how the Gulf came to be and how its cold waters, unique tides, and even geologic shape powers a web of thousands of species. The last episode (August 7) explores the future of the Gulf. Maine Pubic TV, July 24-August 7, 9 pm.