Katherine Allen

🌊 Reposting for the ocean science community... spread the word!

These cuts will not increase efficiency. They will simply hamstring scientific research. They will make it harder to keep the lights on, among other basic, necessary things.

umaine.edu/research/202...

www.aau.edu/key-issues/r...

I love it! Great article. “Be the coyote. Skulk, sneak, linger at the margins. Band together when it makes sense, go it alone when you need to. Be open to recruiting and merging with unlikely others, even people who seem like natural enemies …”

YouTube video by Mauri Pelto Glacier Preservation Relevance: North Cascade Glacier Climate Project

The World Day for Glaciers, 3-21-2025 is a moment to reflect on the value of glaciers and why their preservation is critical. Here is a look from the perspective of North Cascade glaciers where we have worked in the field for 41 years in a row.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=clU6...

A purple crocus flower.

In spite of the overcast skies in Maine today, this crocus opened wide in my back yard. During challenging times like these, I am feeling especially grateful for signs of spring. Happy Vernal Equinox!

USDA halts millions in funding for University of Maine System programs The move temporarily pauses USDA funding for Maine's university system after President Donald Trump threatened to cut off the state over Maine's decision to allow transgender athletes to compete in sp...

Unbelievable.

USDA halts more than $100M in funding for UMaine system programs. (No clear reason yet provided) 🧪⚒️

www.pressherald.com/2025/03/11/u...

📢 Postdoc Opportunity: Ocean Tipping Points & Impacts!

We're hiring a postdoc in my group at the University of Bern, Switzerland, to study ocean tipping points and their impacts. The position is part of HEurope project TipESM (@tipesm.bsky.social). Feel free to reach out with any questions. 🌊

A woman wearing a shirt that reads “Girls just wanna have funding for scientific research.”

People at a protest carrying signs that read “the power of the people is greater than the people in power” and “respect my existence or expect my resistance”

These are uncertain times for US scientists. Yesterday I joined a local protest in my town, and the turnout was amazing. It felt empowering to be surrounded by others who are also fighting back. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or targeted, try to connect with your community. It helps.

Welcome to the Bluesky account for Stand Up for Science 2025!

Keep an eye on this space for updates, event information, and ways to get involved. We can't wait to see everyone #standupforscience2025 on March 7th, both in DC and locations nationwide!

#scienceforall #sciencenotsilence

This Black History Month, I've been thinking a lot about what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said in 1968: "We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." I believe that it does, but ONLY if WE BEND IT - constantly - with many hands, with all our might.

Bull Musk Ox having a meal behind a wire fence with a sign that reads “DO NOT PUT HANDS THROUGH FENCE”.

@paleobluedot.bsky.social, our daughter, my father, and I all visited the Musk Ox Farm in Palmer, Alaska, today. My dad served as Director of the farm in the early 90s and as a kid I got to give tours and replace fence posts during the summers. Great to see these amazing #Pleistocene fauna again!

Photocopied images from a book called "The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse." The drawings are free-flowing and organic, primarily black and white. Motion, depth, and personality are vividly portrayed by simple but eloquent lines and shading. It seems like magic. I hope that these reproductions (and sharing on this platform) are permitted. (If you know otherwise, please DM me.)

On the cork-board outside my office door, I keep these reminders copied from @charliemackesy.bsky.social's beautiful book. My mom gave The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse to my daughter last year, and it has become one of our favorites. A lovely book to give to anyone of any age, I think.

Yay!!! So excited for this! 🌊

A smiling graduate student wearing a plaid shirt takes notes in a lab book. A 1.5-meter-long sediment core lies on the bench in front of her at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Seafloor Samples Lab.

If you're at the #AGU24 meeting this week, check out my graduate student's poster this afternoon! (PP53A-0628) Jill has been doing some really exciting work at UMaine, and her results shed new light on the end of the last ice age ❄

Scientists Scramble to Save Climate Data from Trump—Again Federal climate databases remained largely intact during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term. Scientists say the threats are bigger this time

From OpenEnviroData: "If you're at #AGU24, visit Esri's Dan Pisut at the Esri booth (739) in the demo theatre area. He and Katie Hoeberling are taking suggestions for federal datasets to archive as part of the Public Environmental Data Project (shorturl.at/I6qlV) "
🧪🌊⚒️

I can’t be at #AGU this year, but my students — past and present — are there!! 💕 The future is bright. 🧪🌊 If you’re in DC, check out Jill’s poster on Friday! agu.confex.com/agu/agu24/me...

A grinning woman wearing glasses in an office holds up a sweatshirt that reads "GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN-DING FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH."

One of my students just gave me this, and I LOVE IT 💙🔬

A black dog covered in snow.

Dog’s morning weather report from Orono, Maine:

A woman stands next to a vehicle that has a long, skinny boat strapped on its roof rack. The boat is encased in a yellow travel cover, which makes it look like a giant banana. A black, shaggy dog looks on.

I’m often happiest on the water, so putting my rowing shell away for the season is always bittersweet. My local lake freezes over every winter, which makes me envious of people who have access to open water year-round. Silver lining: cross-country skiing on the horizon! ❄️

A photograph of a book entitled “The Serviceberry,” featuring a colorful image on the front cover of a bird eating red and purple berries.

It’s HERE! I preordered Robin Wall Kimmerer’s new book, The Serviceberry, and was finally able to pick it up from my local bookstore today. Can’t wait to dive in. Enclosed was a bookmark containing seeds … are they serviceberry seeds? Time, soil, sun, and water will tell …

How would the geologic timescale look if compressed into one day in the life of a toddler? I asked myself this question in 2021, when my daughter was 3; the result is attached. The time-scaling is accurate; toddler events may vary by toddler. I shared this with my sed/strat class yesterday at UMaine

Hey, saltwater scientists! Want to live on the Maine coast and serve as Director of the Darling Marine Center? Four Asst. Prof. positions are available in the College of Earth, Life, and Health, too: Biochemistry; Physical Oceanography; Microbiology; Soil Science
umaine.hiretouch.com/job-details?...

View of a sandy beach at sunrise.

Good morning, ocean.