Among marine ecosystems, the capacity of mangroves, seagrass meadows and kelp forests to store carbon is well documented, but less is known about the sediments of the ocean floor. Two recent “blue carbon” mapping projects carried out in the coastal waters of Canada and the U.K. are changing this. By improving the accuracy of the mapping, the report authors aim to provide policymakers with the evidence they need to make climate change considerations part of seabed conservation. According to Graham Epstein, a research fellow at the University of Victoria in Canada, carbon stored in the seabed has been “ignored until now because of the lack of reliable, high-resolution maps.” The study he co-authored used a machine-learning predictive mapping process that analyzed the best available existing data on the composition of the seabed sediment around Canada, along with other environmental data, to create a map of organic carbon stocks. Covering most Canadian waters shallower than 2,500 meters (8,200 feet), an area totaling 4.5 million square kilometers (1.74 million square miles), the map showed that 10.9 billion metric tons of carbon is stored within the top 30 centimeters (1 foot) of the Canadian seabed. The research, published in May, highlighted geographical differences, showing that muddy sediment inside deep fjords and inlets was particularly high in carbon compared to shallower areas, where strong currents prevent the sediment from settling. Seagrass in Helford, U.K. Saltmarshes and seagrass meadows are well documented carbon storage hotspots, but less is known about the sediments of the ocean…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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South Africa Today – Environment
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