A salt marsh along the Herring River at the National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. USGS scientists and partners are applying the mineral olivine to the marsh to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands.
Blue Carbon
The USGS conducts a wide range of research on blue carbon—carbon stored in coastal and marine ecosystems—to help federal, state, and local government entities, as well as private organizations, make decisions regarding climate change mitigation and adaptation, wetland restoration, land management, and coastal resilience.
The USGS conducts a wide range of research on blue carbon—carbon stored in coastal and marine ecosystems—to help federal, state, and local government entities, as well as private organizations, make decisions regarding climate change mitigation and adaptation, wetland restoration, land management, and coastal resilience.
Blue carbon refers to carbon captured by the world’s coastal and ocean ecosystems.
![Coastal ecosystems that store carbon and carbon flows within these ecosystems. Full alt text in caption.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/media/images/Blue%20Carbon%20Graphic_Revised_with%20logo_0.png?itok=telWKpuS)
Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a greenhouse gas that warms our planet, causing climate change. Our coastal ecosystems naturally help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere through photosynthesis and by capturing carbon from inflowing water and storing carbon from accumulated organic material. This is collectively known as carbon sequestration.
As carbon dioxide continues to accumulate in the atmosphere, advancing blue carbon management as a nature-based solution to climate change has become increasingly important.
The USGS is leading several projects regarding carbon sequestration along our Nation’s coasts, primarily in coastal wetlands such as tidal freshwater wetlands, salt marshes and mangroves, and in the coastal ocean. Our research can help coastal managers, planners, and other stakeholders, including our U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration partners, better understand blue carbon and make choices that will enhance climate change mitigation capabilities of our coasts and ocean.
![map of conterminous United States showing coastal biomass carbon](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/half_width/public/media/images/EstuarineBiomassCarbon.png?itok=1mhMkM7f)
USGS Blue Carbon Research
We study how carbon sequestration and storage in tidal forested wetlands and marshes, mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and other coastal wetlands are affected by land use management, climate change, sea-level rise, invasive aquatic vegetation, hurricanes and major storms, and other natural hazards.
The USGS collects, analyzes, and synthesizes blue carbon data in both degraded and healthy coastal wetlands to improve estimates of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration on a range of timescales (decadal to millennial). We also identify opportunities to reduce these emissions and increase carbon sequestration, on local, regional, and national scales.
We use remote sensing techniques to detect land cover change across the United States and site-specific studies to help validate the large spatial scale data and modeling. Wetland loss can lead to soil carbon loss and increased methane emissions, while healthy wetlands will continue to accumulate carbon in their soils over time.
USGS scientists also collect wetland cores to examine how past land-use change, extreme climate events, and sea-level rise impact carbon sequestration to inform decision making aimed at enhancing future resilience.
This work helps the USGS and our stakeholders understand how land use management, such as coastal development, construction of dikes and levees, ditching and draining, or river dredging, can impact blue carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, environmental changes, such as more intense hurricanes and atmospheric rivers, increased erosion, and sea-level rise, also affect coastal wetlands and their ability to store carbon. Understanding the complex effects of nature and land management are critical for managers and policymakers making decisions about wetland restoration, urban planning, and ecosystem resilience and for those looking for ways and opportunities to enhance carbon sequestration through nature-based solutions.
![Aerial photo of Great Barnstable Marsh, Cape Cod, MA](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/barmstablemarsh_browsegraphic.jpg?itok=mitebmen)
![three people surrounding drone sitting on target](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/storytelling_grid/public/thumbnails/image/DSC_4902.jpg?itok=fQfS0WY_)
![Photograph of USGS staff collecting data in a marsh](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/storytelling_grid/public/thumbnails/image/brooks_marsh.jpg?itok=JBfpfkU9)
The U.S. Coastal Wetland Geospatial Collection
A collective effort to assess the status of coastal wetlands.
We research approaches to enhance export of carbon from tidal wetlands to the ocean.
The majority of carbon dioxide captured from the atmosphere in tidal wetlands is not stored within the ecosystem, but instead is carried out to estuaries and the coastal ocean due to tidal inundation and drainage. Depending on the conditions, a significant portion of the exported carbon is in the form of bicarbonate alkalinity—a form of carbon that resides in the ocean for thousands of years, and therefore represents long term carbon sequestration from the atmosphere. The USGS has innovated methods to measure this flux and is currently developing a model for national monitoring of this form of sequestration.
The USGS also studies whether adding the mineral olivine, or other alkaline minerals (minerals that can neutralize acids), to coastal wetland soils may bring additional carbon to ocean water and assist in mitigating acidification. Olivine is known to naturally absorb carbon dioxide, and scientists are adding it to coasts in the form of light green sand. The studies focus on how olivine changes the chemistry of seawater and if the added alkalinity allows seawater to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or carbon released from a wetland.
![USGS scientists and partners collect a soil core from a salt marsh in Massachusetts.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/storytelling_grid/public/media/images/IMG-2838.jpg?itok=RN2dpnk0)
![A sediment core extracted from a salt marsh at the National Park Service’s Herring River, at the Cape Cod National Seashore.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/storytelling_grid/public/media/images/IMG_7223.HEIC_.jpg?itok=dMSVVvSn)
We help partners develop climate change adaptation strategies.
Working with land management agencies and other partners, the USGS assesses opportunities for soil carbon sequestration and methane emissions reduction and integrates wetlands within programs for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
When coastal wetlands are degraded, often due to human land use change and the effects of climate change, including sea-level rise and intensifying storms, their ability to provide ecosystem services, such as sequestering and storing carbon, diminishes. In fact, a degraded ecosystem can become a source of potent greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, or nitrous oxide to the atmosphere. Restoring degraded coastal ecosystems is a realistic, actionable method to reduce emissions and enhance carbon sequestration. USGS blue carbon research helps coastal managers and planners make conservation, restoration, and land management decisions that can help safeguard ecosystem service capabilities, such as the ability to sequester and store carbon on timescales relevant for management.
Action plans created with partners aim to enhance coastal resilience and achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions. For these plans, USGS scientists developed models to compare how different land use management actions would affect carbon sequestration and economic value over a broad spatial scale. The models can help managers make land use decisions that help them meet their climate change mitigation goals.
A USGS and USFWS team working at San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge in Texas to help managers understand impacts of extreme climate events on coastal marsh dieback. Laurenzano, Laura Feher, Camille Stagg, Jena Moon, and Michael Osland. Taken via camera timer by the team, 10/3/2019.
![USGS and USFWS Scientists at San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge, Texas](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/media/images/USGS-FWS%20Group%20Shot_0.png?itok=y2vCQqdB)
Tidal Freshwater Ecosystems, Salt Marshes, Mangrove Forests, and Seagrass Meadows
More information on the ecosystems in which we work.
Coastal and marine ecosystems are “blue carbon” ecosystems because of their ability to sequester and store carbon. Though blue carbon ecosystems have a relatively small global extent, they are disproportionately important in sequestering carbon compared to more inland, or terrestrial, ecosystems. In fact, they are such powerful carbon sinks that they can store carbon that has accumulated over hundreds to thousands of years. These dynamic systems also provide other ecosystem services, like protection from storms, flooding, and erosion, habitat for important fisheries and bird species, and numerous recreational activities.
Tidal Freshwater Systems
Tidal freshwater forests and marshes are the most inland reaches of blue carbon ecosystems. The water in these systems is not salty. Freshwater levels rise and fall daily with the tides. The carbon dynamics in tidal freshwater systems is complex because without the salt in the water, there is more methane produced. Tidal freshwater wetlands do however remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and therefore their net impact on climate is more complicated to calculate. The U.S. has considerable tidal freshwater wetland area and thus these ecosystems are important to include and consider in management.
Salt Marshes
Salt marshes are coastal wetlands that are inundated by salt water from the tides. They are found worldwide, particularly in middle to high latitudes, and protect shorelines from erosion, reduce flooding, and provide habitat and nursery for many fisheries and bird species.
![Image: Salt Marsh Estuary](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/Biomes_WaterWetlands_Wetlands_00043.jpg?itok=LKTeLh8L)
Mangrove Forests
Mangrove forests are communities of tropical/ subtropical trees and shrubs that grow within the intertidal zone. These trees cannot withstand freezing temperatures and live in areas of low-oxygen soil. These forests can often be recognized by their dense tangle of roots that oxygenate the soil and prop the trees above the water allowing them to withstand the daily rise and fall of the tides. Dense roots also provide shelter for fish and other organisms, slow down movement of tidal waters, and protect the coast from storm surges, currents, waves, and tides.
![Mangrove forest, Rhizophora mangle tunnel, Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park, Florida](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/16816175001_53e2f37060_o.jpg?itok=ZUe1Alpc)
![Red Mangrove trees](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/SeedlingsAboveBelow091127--5826.jpg?itok=daYRpAaK)
Seagrass Beds
Seagrasses are marine plants with long, green blades that grow in shallow salty and brackish water around the world. They are very productive ecosystems that can grow in large, dense underwater meadows. Seagrass beds also provide habitat for economically important aquatic species, regulate water quality, and stabilize sediment, among other ecosystem services.
![Moving images to show an eelgrass bed underwater and how it moves in the gentle current.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/media/images/MOV03151_EelgrassSurfer.gif?itok=MOLWqPTC)
![Eelgrass bed](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/EelgrassBedFayBainbridgeSP.jpg?itok=8KA-xsNZ)
Coastal Oceans
Blue carbon ecosystems are not limited to wetlands and other inland marine systems. Landscapes within the open ocean can also provide areas for carbon storage and sequestration. Areas from the shoreline to the outer edge of the continental margin have the potential to store carbon within sea floor sediments. In addition, animals in these coastal ocean ecosystems are a part of the carbon cycle. For example, algae and phytoplankton sequester carbon through photosynthesis and other organisms provide organic carbon stores.
![Drainage north of Kirk Creek](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/CAM001_20210129124504_35ADJ.jpg?itok=q_08-Wbi)
Publications
Restoring blue carbon ecosystems
The Coastal Carbon Library and Atlas: Open source soil data and tools supporting blue carbon research and policy
Elevated temperature and nutrients lead to increased N2O emissions from salt marsh soils from cold and warm climates
Mapping methane reduction potential of tidal wetland restoration in the United States
Blue carbon in a changing climate and a changing context
Science
Mangrove Forest Responses to Sea-Level Rise in the Greater Everglades
Sea level Rise and Carbon Cycle Processes in Managed Coastal Wetlands
Delta Wetlands and Resilience: Blue Carbon and Marsh Accretion
Developing a Decision Support Tool to Inform Louisiana’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy
Wetland Carbon Working Group: Improving Methodologies and Estimates of Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Flux in Wetlands
Multimedia
A salt marsh along the Herring River at the National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. USGS scientists and partners are applying the mineral olivine to the marsh to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands.
A salt marsh along the Herring River at the National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. USGS scientists and partners are applying the mineral olivine to the marsh to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands. Credit: Kevin Kroeger, USGS.
A salt marsh along the Herring River at the National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. USGS scientists and partners are applying the mineral olivine to the marsh to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands. Credit: Kevin Kroeger, USGS.
The different components of coastal ecosystems provide services to local communities by shielding them from strong coastal winds and waves and supplying fish for industry, sport and even dinner.
Created by ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow, Ben Slyngstad.
The different components of coastal ecosystems provide services to local communities by shielding them from strong coastal winds and waves and supplying fish for industry, sport and even dinner.
Created by ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow, Ben Slyngstad.
Coastal wetlands provide a range of ecosystem services such as storing carbon, reducing flood damage and serve as important habitats for fish, birds and shellfish.
Created by ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow, Ben Slyngstad.
Coastal wetlands provide a range of ecosystem services such as storing carbon, reducing flood damage and serve as important habitats for fish, birds and shellfish.
Created by ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow, Ben Slyngstad.
Coastal Louisiana marsh as viewed driving down to LUMCON (the Louisiana University Marine Consortium).
Coastal Louisiana marsh as viewed driving down to LUMCON (the Louisiana University Marine Consortium).
Jen Cramer (USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center) surveys a ground control target using a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) rover at Great Sippewissett Marsh in Falmouth, Massachusetts as part of a multiday small UAS lidar training.
Jen Cramer (USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center) surveys a ground control target using a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) rover at Great Sippewissett Marsh in Falmouth, Massachusetts as part of a multiday small UAS lidar training.
![USGS scientists and partners collect a soil core from a salt marsh in Massachusetts.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/IMG-2838.jpg?itok=_YIwAiVN)
USGS scientists Sophie Kuhl and Kevin Kroeger work with National Park Service scientist Petra Zuniga to collect a soil core from a salt marsh site where the mineral olivine was applied to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands. The site is located along the Herring River at National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts.
USGS scientists Sophie Kuhl and Kevin Kroeger work with National Park Service scientist Petra Zuniga to collect a soil core from a salt marsh site where the mineral olivine was applied to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands. The site is located along the Herring River at National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts.
Biological carbon sequestration is the natural ability of life and ecosystems to store carbon. Forests, peat marshes, and coastal wetlands are particularly good as storing carbon. Carbon can be stored in plant tissue, such as long-lived tree bark or in extensive root systems. Microbes break down plant and animal tissue through decomposition.
Biological carbon sequestration is the natural ability of life and ecosystems to store carbon. Forests, peat marshes, and coastal wetlands are particularly good as storing carbon. Carbon can be stored in plant tissue, such as long-lived tree bark or in extensive root systems. Microbes break down plant and animal tissue through decomposition.
Geologic carbon sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide from industrial processes and the atmosphere, compressing it into a liquid, and injecting it deep underground. USGS scientists are studying which types of rock formations are most suitable for storing carbon.
Geologic carbon sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide from industrial processes and the atmosphere, compressing it into a liquid, and injecting it deep underground. USGS scientists are studying which types of rock formations are most suitable for storing carbon.
News
Can oceans store more CO2 to help with climate change?
Blue Carbon Research Contributes to Largest Tidal Restoration in the Northeast
Wetland Word: Blue Carbon
Restoring blue carbon ecosystems
The Coastal Carbon Library and Atlas: Open source soil data and tools supporting blue carbon research and policy
Elevated temperature and nutrients lead to increased N2O emissions from salt marsh soils from cold and warm climates
Mapping methane reduction potential of tidal wetland restoration in the United States
Blue carbon in a changing climate and a changing context
The blue carbon reservoirs from Maine to Long Island, NY
Changes in mangrove blue carbon under elevated atmospheric CO2
Mangrove reforestation provides greater blue carbon benefit than afforestation for mitigating global climate change
Mangroves provide blue carbon ecological value at a low freshwater cost
Greenhouse gas balances in coastal ecosystems: Current challenges in “blue carbon” estimation and significance to national greenhouse gas inventories
Belowground productivity varies by assessment technique, vegetation type, and nutrient availability in tidal freshwater forested wetlands transitioning to marsh
Mangrove Forest Responses to Sea-Level Rise in the Greater Everglades
Sea level Rise and Carbon Cycle Processes in Managed Coastal Wetlands
Delta Wetlands and Resilience: Blue Carbon and Marsh Accretion
Developing a Decision Support Tool to Inform Louisiana’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy
Wetland Carbon Working Group: Improving Methodologies and Estimates of Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Flux in Wetlands
USGS Blue Carbon Projects
The Response of Coastal Wetlands to Sea-level Rise: Understanding how Macroscale Drivers Influence Local Processes and Feedbacks
Critical Coastal Habitats: Sustainability, Restoration and Forecasting
Seagrass Vulnerability to Environmental Conditions Under Changing Temperature Regimes
Impacts of coastal and watershed changes on upper estuaries: causes and implications of wetland ecosystem transitions along the US Atlantic and Gulf Coasts
Wetlands in the Quaternary
NASA-USGS National Blue Carbon Monitoring System
COAWST model of Barnegat Bay creeks to demonstrate marsh dynamics
A salt marsh along the Herring River at the National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. USGS scientists and partners are applying the mineral olivine to the marsh to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands.
A salt marsh along the Herring River at the National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. USGS scientists and partners are applying the mineral olivine to the marsh to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands.
A salt marsh along the Herring River at the National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. USGS scientists and partners are applying the mineral olivine to the marsh to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands. Credit: Kevin Kroeger, USGS.
A salt marsh along the Herring River at the National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. USGS scientists and partners are applying the mineral olivine to the marsh to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands. Credit: Kevin Kroeger, USGS.
The different components of coastal ecosystems provide services to local communities by shielding them from strong coastal winds and waves and supplying fish for industry, sport and even dinner.
Created by ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow, Ben Slyngstad.
The different components of coastal ecosystems provide services to local communities by shielding them from strong coastal winds and waves and supplying fish for industry, sport and even dinner.
Created by ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow, Ben Slyngstad.
Coastal wetlands provide a range of ecosystem services such as storing carbon, reducing flood damage and serve as important habitats for fish, birds and shellfish.
Created by ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow, Ben Slyngstad.
Coastal wetlands provide a range of ecosystem services such as storing carbon, reducing flood damage and serve as important habitats for fish, birds and shellfish.
Created by ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow, Ben Slyngstad.
Coastal Louisiana marsh as viewed driving down to LUMCON (the Louisiana University Marine Consortium).
Coastal Louisiana marsh as viewed driving down to LUMCON (the Louisiana University Marine Consortium).
Jen Cramer (USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center) surveys a ground control target using a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) rover at Great Sippewissett Marsh in Falmouth, Massachusetts as part of a multiday small UAS lidar training.
Jen Cramer (USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center) surveys a ground control target using a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) rover at Great Sippewissett Marsh in Falmouth, Massachusetts as part of a multiday small UAS lidar training.
![USGS scientists and partners collect a soil core from a salt marsh in Massachusetts.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/IMG-2838.jpg?itok=_YIwAiVN)
USGS scientists Sophie Kuhl and Kevin Kroeger work with National Park Service scientist Petra Zuniga to collect a soil core from a salt marsh site where the mineral olivine was applied to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands. The site is located along the Herring River at National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts.
USGS scientists Sophie Kuhl and Kevin Kroeger work with National Park Service scientist Petra Zuniga to collect a soil core from a salt marsh site where the mineral olivine was applied to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands. The site is located along the Herring River at National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts.
Biological carbon sequestration is the natural ability of life and ecosystems to store carbon. Forests, peat marshes, and coastal wetlands are particularly good as storing carbon. Carbon can be stored in plant tissue, such as long-lived tree bark or in extensive root systems. Microbes break down plant and animal tissue through decomposition.
Biological carbon sequestration is the natural ability of life and ecosystems to store carbon. Forests, peat marshes, and coastal wetlands are particularly good as storing carbon. Carbon can be stored in plant tissue, such as long-lived tree bark or in extensive root systems. Microbes break down plant and animal tissue through decomposition.
Geologic carbon sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide from industrial processes and the atmosphere, compressing it into a liquid, and injecting it deep underground. USGS scientists are studying which types of rock formations are most suitable for storing carbon.
Geologic carbon sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide from industrial processes and the atmosphere, compressing it into a liquid, and injecting it deep underground. USGS scientists are studying which types of rock formations are most suitable for storing carbon.
A short underwater animation of an eelgrass bed and how it moves in the water current, with a crab hanging onto the blades.
A short underwater animation of an eelgrass bed and how it moves in the water current, with a crab hanging onto the blades.
![team of USGS/USFWS scientists in coastal marsh](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/USGS-FWS%20Group%20Shot_0.png?itok=Rt2JUS8C)
A USGS/USFWS team working at a coastal marsh site near a surface elevation table-marker horizon (SET-MH) station at San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. Left to right, Tiffany Lane, Claudia Laurenzano, Laura Feher, Camille Stagg, Jena Moon, and Michael Osland. Taken via camera timer by the team, 10/3/2019.
A USGS/USFWS team working at a coastal marsh site near a surface elevation table-marker horizon (SET-MH) station at San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. Left to right, Tiffany Lane, Claudia Laurenzano, Laura Feher, Camille Stagg, Jena Moon, and Michael Osland. Taken via camera timer by the team, 10/3/2019.
Aerial view of a gas flux tower in Great Barnstable Marsh in Barnstable, Massachusetts.
Aerial view of a gas flux tower in Great Barnstable Marsh in Barnstable, Massachusetts.
The AIM (Aerial Imaging and Mapping group) collected UAS imagery for scientists at The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) from the Plum Island estuary in Rowley MA. Inke Forbrich from MBL will lead the analysis looking at the reflectance index NDVI for vegetation surrounding a gas flux tower installed in t
The AIM (Aerial Imaging and Mapping group) collected UAS imagery for scientists at The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) from the Plum Island estuary in Rowley MA. Inke Forbrich from MBL will lead the analysis looking at the reflectance index NDVI for vegetation surrounding a gas flux tower installed in t
Eelgrass provides critical habitat for many fish species, including these Atlantic silversides at Cape Cod National Seashore.
Eelgrass provides critical habitat for many fish species, including these Atlantic silversides at Cape Cod National Seashore.
Eelgrass (Zostera marina) forms extensive meadows in low intertidal and shallow subtidal areas of estuaries and embayments along the Northwest Atlantic coast. Eelgrass meadows are noted as critical habitat for many recreational and commercial fish species as well as small forage fish.
Eelgrass (Zostera marina) forms extensive meadows in low intertidal and shallow subtidal areas of estuaries and embayments along the Northwest Atlantic coast. Eelgrass meadows are noted as critical habitat for many recreational and commercial fish species as well as small forage fish.
Eelgrass is highly productive in Pleasant Bay at Cape Cod National Seashore.
Eelgrass is highly productive in Pleasant Bay at Cape Cod National Seashore.
Carol Damberg (USFWS) conducting survey of eelgrass (Zostera marina) in Izembek Lagoon, Alaska, 2015.
Carol Damberg (USFWS) conducting survey of eelgrass (Zostera marina) in Izembek Lagoon, Alaska, 2015.
![Mangrove forest, Rhizophora mangle tunnel, Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park, Florida](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/16816175001_53e2f37060_o.jpg?itok=Dol38Rs3)
Mangrove forest, Rhizophora mangle tunnel, Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park, Florida.
Mangrove forest, Rhizophora mangle tunnel, Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park, Florida.
Salt marshes at Chincoteague Island. The salt marshes that make up Chincoteague Island are important habitat for migrating waterfowl. In addition, they serve an important role in protecting inland ecosystems and communities from oceanic storms.
Salt marshes at Chincoteague Island. The salt marshes that make up Chincoteague Island are important habitat for migrating waterfowl. In addition, they serve an important role in protecting inland ecosystems and communities from oceanic storms.
Close-up image of Nisqually Delta eelgrass.
Close-up image of Nisqually Delta eelgrass.
Partially submerged eelgrass bed at low tide in Fay Bainbridge Park on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Eelgrass is an underwater plant that is a common sight on Puget Sound beaches when the tide is out. Healthy eelgrass indicates that water clarity is high.
Partially submerged eelgrass bed at low tide in Fay Bainbridge Park on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Eelgrass is an underwater plant that is a common sight on Puget Sound beaches when the tide is out. Healthy eelgrass indicates that water clarity is high.
The USGS conducts a wide range of research on blue carbon—carbon stored in coastal and marine ecosystems—to help federal, state, and local government entities, as well as private organizations, make decisions regarding climate change mitigation and adaptation, wetland restoration, land management, and coastal resilience.
The USGS conducts a wide range of research on blue carbon—carbon stored in coastal and marine ecosystems—to help federal, state, and local government entities, as well as private organizations, make decisions regarding climate change mitigation and adaptation, wetland restoration, land management, and coastal resilience.
Blue carbon refers to carbon captured by the world’s coastal and ocean ecosystems.
![Coastal ecosystems that store carbon and carbon flows within these ecosystems. Full alt text in caption.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/media/images/Blue%20Carbon%20Graphic_Revised_with%20logo_0.png?itok=telWKpuS)
Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a greenhouse gas that warms our planet, causing climate change. Our coastal ecosystems naturally help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere through photosynthesis and by capturing carbon from inflowing water and storing carbon from accumulated organic material. This is collectively known as carbon sequestration.
As carbon dioxide continues to accumulate in the atmosphere, advancing blue carbon management as a nature-based solution to climate change has become increasingly important.
The USGS is leading several projects regarding carbon sequestration along our Nation’s coasts, primarily in coastal wetlands such as tidal freshwater wetlands, salt marshes and mangroves, and in the coastal ocean. Our research can help coastal managers, planners, and other stakeholders, including our U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration partners, better understand blue carbon and make choices that will enhance climate change mitigation capabilities of our coasts and ocean.
![map of conterminous United States showing coastal biomass carbon](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/half_width/public/media/images/EstuarineBiomassCarbon.png?itok=1mhMkM7f)
USGS Blue Carbon Research
We study how carbon sequestration and storage in tidal forested wetlands and marshes, mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and other coastal wetlands are affected by land use management, climate change, sea-level rise, invasive aquatic vegetation, hurricanes and major storms, and other natural hazards.
The USGS collects, analyzes, and synthesizes blue carbon data in both degraded and healthy coastal wetlands to improve estimates of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration on a range of timescales (decadal to millennial). We also identify opportunities to reduce these emissions and increase carbon sequestration, on local, regional, and national scales.
We use remote sensing techniques to detect land cover change across the United States and site-specific studies to help validate the large spatial scale data and modeling. Wetland loss can lead to soil carbon loss and increased methane emissions, while healthy wetlands will continue to accumulate carbon in their soils over time.
USGS scientists also collect wetland cores to examine how past land-use change, extreme climate events, and sea-level rise impact carbon sequestration to inform decision making aimed at enhancing future resilience.
This work helps the USGS and our stakeholders understand how land use management, such as coastal development, construction of dikes and levees, ditching and draining, or river dredging, can impact blue carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, environmental changes, such as more intense hurricanes and atmospheric rivers, increased erosion, and sea-level rise, also affect coastal wetlands and their ability to store carbon. Understanding the complex effects of nature and land management are critical for managers and policymakers making decisions about wetland restoration, urban planning, and ecosystem resilience and for those looking for ways and opportunities to enhance carbon sequestration through nature-based solutions.
![Aerial photo of Great Barnstable Marsh, Cape Cod, MA](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/barmstablemarsh_browsegraphic.jpg?itok=mitebmen)
![three people surrounding drone sitting on target](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/storytelling_grid/public/thumbnails/image/DSC_4902.jpg?itok=fQfS0WY_)
![Photograph of USGS staff collecting data in a marsh](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/storytelling_grid/public/thumbnails/image/brooks_marsh.jpg?itok=JBfpfkU9)
The U.S. Coastal Wetland Geospatial Collection
A collective effort to assess the status of coastal wetlands.
We research approaches to enhance export of carbon from tidal wetlands to the ocean.
The majority of carbon dioxide captured from the atmosphere in tidal wetlands is not stored within the ecosystem, but instead is carried out to estuaries and the coastal ocean due to tidal inundation and drainage. Depending on the conditions, a significant portion of the exported carbon is in the form of bicarbonate alkalinity—a form of carbon that resides in the ocean for thousands of years, and therefore represents long term carbon sequestration from the atmosphere. The USGS has innovated methods to measure this flux and is currently developing a model for national monitoring of this form of sequestration.
The USGS also studies whether adding the mineral olivine, or other alkaline minerals (minerals that can neutralize acids), to coastal wetland soils may bring additional carbon to ocean water and assist in mitigating acidification. Olivine is known to naturally absorb carbon dioxide, and scientists are adding it to coasts in the form of light green sand. The studies focus on how olivine changes the chemistry of seawater and if the added alkalinity allows seawater to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or carbon released from a wetland.
![USGS scientists and partners collect a soil core from a salt marsh in Massachusetts.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/storytelling_grid/public/media/images/IMG-2838.jpg?itok=RN2dpnk0)
![A sediment core extracted from a salt marsh at the National Park Service’s Herring River, at the Cape Cod National Seashore.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/storytelling_grid/public/media/images/IMG_7223.HEIC_.jpg?itok=dMSVVvSn)
We help partners develop climate change adaptation strategies.
Working with land management agencies and other partners, the USGS assesses opportunities for soil carbon sequestration and methane emissions reduction and integrates wetlands within programs for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
When coastal wetlands are degraded, often due to human land use change and the effects of climate change, including sea-level rise and intensifying storms, their ability to provide ecosystem services, such as sequestering and storing carbon, diminishes. In fact, a degraded ecosystem can become a source of potent greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, or nitrous oxide to the atmosphere. Restoring degraded coastal ecosystems is a realistic, actionable method to reduce emissions and enhance carbon sequestration. USGS blue carbon research helps coastal managers and planners make conservation, restoration, and land management decisions that can help safeguard ecosystem service capabilities, such as the ability to sequester and store carbon on timescales relevant for management.
Action plans created with partners aim to enhance coastal resilience and achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions. For these plans, USGS scientists developed models to compare how different land use management actions would affect carbon sequestration and economic value over a broad spatial scale. The models can help managers make land use decisions that help them meet their climate change mitigation goals.
A USGS and USFWS team working at San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge in Texas to help managers understand impacts of extreme climate events on coastal marsh dieback. Laurenzano, Laura Feher, Camille Stagg, Jena Moon, and Michael Osland. Taken via camera timer by the team, 10/3/2019.
![USGS and USFWS Scientists at San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge, Texas](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/media/images/USGS-FWS%20Group%20Shot_0.png?itok=y2vCQqdB)
Tidal Freshwater Ecosystems, Salt Marshes, Mangrove Forests, and Seagrass Meadows
More information on the ecosystems in which we work.
Coastal and marine ecosystems are “blue carbon” ecosystems because of their ability to sequester and store carbon. Though blue carbon ecosystems have a relatively small global extent, they are disproportionately important in sequestering carbon compared to more inland, or terrestrial, ecosystems. In fact, they are such powerful carbon sinks that they can store carbon that has accumulated over hundreds to thousands of years. These dynamic systems also provide other ecosystem services, like protection from storms, flooding, and erosion, habitat for important fisheries and bird species, and numerous recreational activities.
Tidal Freshwater Systems
Tidal freshwater forests and marshes are the most inland reaches of blue carbon ecosystems. The water in these systems is not salty. Freshwater levels rise and fall daily with the tides. The carbon dynamics in tidal freshwater systems is complex because without the salt in the water, there is more methane produced. Tidal freshwater wetlands do however remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and therefore their net impact on climate is more complicated to calculate. The U.S. has considerable tidal freshwater wetland area and thus these ecosystems are important to include and consider in management.
Salt Marshes
Salt marshes are coastal wetlands that are inundated by salt water from the tides. They are found worldwide, particularly in middle to high latitudes, and protect shorelines from erosion, reduce flooding, and provide habitat and nursery for many fisheries and bird species.
![Image: Salt Marsh Estuary](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/Biomes_WaterWetlands_Wetlands_00043.jpg?itok=LKTeLh8L)
Mangrove Forests
Mangrove forests are communities of tropical/ subtropical trees and shrubs that grow within the intertidal zone. These trees cannot withstand freezing temperatures and live in areas of low-oxygen soil. These forests can often be recognized by their dense tangle of roots that oxygenate the soil and prop the trees above the water allowing them to withstand the daily rise and fall of the tides. Dense roots also provide shelter for fish and other organisms, slow down movement of tidal waters, and protect the coast from storm surges, currents, waves, and tides.
![Mangrove forest, Rhizophora mangle tunnel, Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park, Florida](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/16816175001_53e2f37060_o.jpg?itok=ZUe1Alpc)
![Red Mangrove trees](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/SeedlingsAboveBelow091127--5826.jpg?itok=daYRpAaK)
Seagrass Beds
Seagrasses are marine plants with long, green blades that grow in shallow salty and brackish water around the world. They are very productive ecosystems that can grow in large, dense underwater meadows. Seagrass beds also provide habitat for economically important aquatic species, regulate water quality, and stabilize sediment, among other ecosystem services.
![Moving images to show an eelgrass bed underwater and how it moves in the gentle current.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/media/images/MOV03151_EelgrassSurfer.gif?itok=MOLWqPTC)
![Eelgrass bed](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/EelgrassBedFayBainbridgeSP.jpg?itok=8KA-xsNZ)
Coastal Oceans
Blue carbon ecosystems are not limited to wetlands and other inland marine systems. Landscapes within the open ocean can also provide areas for carbon storage and sequestration. Areas from the shoreline to the outer edge of the continental margin have the potential to store carbon within sea floor sediments. In addition, animals in these coastal ocean ecosystems are a part of the carbon cycle. For example, algae and phytoplankton sequester carbon through photosynthesis and other organisms provide organic carbon stores.
![Drainage north of Kirk Creek](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/CAM001_20210129124504_35ADJ.jpg?itok=q_08-Wbi)
Publications
Restoring blue carbon ecosystems
The Coastal Carbon Library and Atlas: Open source soil data and tools supporting blue carbon research and policy
Elevated temperature and nutrients lead to increased N2O emissions from salt marsh soils from cold and warm climates
Mapping methane reduction potential of tidal wetland restoration in the United States
Blue carbon in a changing climate and a changing context
Science
Mangrove Forest Responses to Sea-Level Rise in the Greater Everglades
Sea level Rise and Carbon Cycle Processes in Managed Coastal Wetlands
Delta Wetlands and Resilience: Blue Carbon and Marsh Accretion
Developing a Decision Support Tool to Inform Louisiana’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy
Wetland Carbon Working Group: Improving Methodologies and Estimates of Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Flux in Wetlands
Multimedia
A salt marsh along the Herring River at the National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. USGS scientists and partners are applying the mineral olivine to the marsh to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands.
A salt marsh along the Herring River at the National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. USGS scientists and partners are applying the mineral olivine to the marsh to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands.
A salt marsh along the Herring River at the National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. USGS scientists and partners are applying the mineral olivine to the marsh to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands. Credit: Kevin Kroeger, USGS.
A salt marsh along the Herring River at the National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. USGS scientists and partners are applying the mineral olivine to the marsh to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands. Credit: Kevin Kroeger, USGS.
The different components of coastal ecosystems provide services to local communities by shielding them from strong coastal winds and waves and supplying fish for industry, sport and even dinner.
Created by ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow, Ben Slyngstad.
The different components of coastal ecosystems provide services to local communities by shielding them from strong coastal winds and waves and supplying fish for industry, sport and even dinner.
Created by ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow, Ben Slyngstad.
Coastal wetlands provide a range of ecosystem services such as storing carbon, reducing flood damage and serve as important habitats for fish, birds and shellfish.
Created by ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow, Ben Slyngstad.
Coastal wetlands provide a range of ecosystem services such as storing carbon, reducing flood damage and serve as important habitats for fish, birds and shellfish.
Created by ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow, Ben Slyngstad.
Coastal Louisiana marsh as viewed driving down to LUMCON (the Louisiana University Marine Consortium).
Coastal Louisiana marsh as viewed driving down to LUMCON (the Louisiana University Marine Consortium).
Jen Cramer (USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center) surveys a ground control target using a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) rover at Great Sippewissett Marsh in Falmouth, Massachusetts as part of a multiday small UAS lidar training.
Jen Cramer (USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center) surveys a ground control target using a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) rover at Great Sippewissett Marsh in Falmouth, Massachusetts as part of a multiday small UAS lidar training.
![USGS scientists and partners collect a soil core from a salt marsh in Massachusetts.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/IMG-2838.jpg?itok=_YIwAiVN)
USGS scientists Sophie Kuhl and Kevin Kroeger work with National Park Service scientist Petra Zuniga to collect a soil core from a salt marsh site where the mineral olivine was applied to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands. The site is located along the Herring River at National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts.
USGS scientists Sophie Kuhl and Kevin Kroeger work with National Park Service scientist Petra Zuniga to collect a soil core from a salt marsh site where the mineral olivine was applied to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands. The site is located along the Herring River at National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts.
Biological carbon sequestration is the natural ability of life and ecosystems to store carbon. Forests, peat marshes, and coastal wetlands are particularly good as storing carbon. Carbon can be stored in plant tissue, such as long-lived tree bark or in extensive root systems. Microbes break down plant and animal tissue through decomposition.
Biological carbon sequestration is the natural ability of life and ecosystems to store carbon. Forests, peat marshes, and coastal wetlands are particularly good as storing carbon. Carbon can be stored in plant tissue, such as long-lived tree bark or in extensive root systems. Microbes break down plant and animal tissue through decomposition.
Geologic carbon sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide from industrial processes and the atmosphere, compressing it into a liquid, and injecting it deep underground. USGS scientists are studying which types of rock formations are most suitable for storing carbon.
Geologic carbon sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide from industrial processes and the atmosphere, compressing it into a liquid, and injecting it deep underground. USGS scientists are studying which types of rock formations are most suitable for storing carbon.
News
Can oceans store more CO2 to help with climate change?
Blue Carbon Research Contributes to Largest Tidal Restoration in the Northeast
Wetland Word: Blue Carbon
Restoring blue carbon ecosystems
The Coastal Carbon Library and Atlas: Open source soil data and tools supporting blue carbon research and policy
Elevated temperature and nutrients lead to increased N2O emissions from salt marsh soils from cold and warm climates
Mapping methane reduction potential of tidal wetland restoration in the United States
Blue carbon in a changing climate and a changing context
The blue carbon reservoirs from Maine to Long Island, NY
Changes in mangrove blue carbon under elevated atmospheric CO2
Mangrove reforestation provides greater blue carbon benefit than afforestation for mitigating global climate change
Mangroves provide blue carbon ecological value at a low freshwater cost
Greenhouse gas balances in coastal ecosystems: Current challenges in “blue carbon” estimation and significance to national greenhouse gas inventories
Belowground productivity varies by assessment technique, vegetation type, and nutrient availability in tidal freshwater forested wetlands transitioning to marsh
Mangrove Forest Responses to Sea-Level Rise in the Greater Everglades
Sea level Rise and Carbon Cycle Processes in Managed Coastal Wetlands
Delta Wetlands and Resilience: Blue Carbon and Marsh Accretion
Developing a Decision Support Tool to Inform Louisiana’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy
Wetland Carbon Working Group: Improving Methodologies and Estimates of Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Flux in Wetlands
USGS Blue Carbon Projects
The Response of Coastal Wetlands to Sea-level Rise: Understanding how Macroscale Drivers Influence Local Processes and Feedbacks
Critical Coastal Habitats: Sustainability, Restoration and Forecasting
Seagrass Vulnerability to Environmental Conditions Under Changing Temperature Regimes
Impacts of coastal and watershed changes on upper estuaries: causes and implications of wetland ecosystem transitions along the US Atlantic and Gulf Coasts
Wetlands in the Quaternary
NASA-USGS National Blue Carbon Monitoring System
COAWST model of Barnegat Bay creeks to demonstrate marsh dynamics
A salt marsh along the Herring River at the National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. USGS scientists and partners are applying the mineral olivine to the marsh to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands.
A salt marsh along the Herring River at the National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. USGS scientists and partners are applying the mineral olivine to the marsh to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands.
A salt marsh along the Herring River at the National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. USGS scientists and partners are applying the mineral olivine to the marsh to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands. Credit: Kevin Kroeger, USGS.
A salt marsh along the Herring River at the National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. USGS scientists and partners are applying the mineral olivine to the marsh to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands. Credit: Kevin Kroeger, USGS.
The different components of coastal ecosystems provide services to local communities by shielding them from strong coastal winds and waves and supplying fish for industry, sport and even dinner.
Created by ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow, Ben Slyngstad.
The different components of coastal ecosystems provide services to local communities by shielding them from strong coastal winds and waves and supplying fish for industry, sport and even dinner.
Created by ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow, Ben Slyngstad.
Coastal wetlands provide a range of ecosystem services such as storing carbon, reducing flood damage and serve as important habitats for fish, birds and shellfish.
Created by ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow, Ben Slyngstad.
Coastal wetlands provide a range of ecosystem services such as storing carbon, reducing flood damage and serve as important habitats for fish, birds and shellfish.
Created by ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow, Ben Slyngstad.
Coastal Louisiana marsh as viewed driving down to LUMCON (the Louisiana University Marine Consortium).
Coastal Louisiana marsh as viewed driving down to LUMCON (the Louisiana University Marine Consortium).
Jen Cramer (USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center) surveys a ground control target using a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) rover at Great Sippewissett Marsh in Falmouth, Massachusetts as part of a multiday small UAS lidar training.
Jen Cramer (USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center) surveys a ground control target using a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) rover at Great Sippewissett Marsh in Falmouth, Massachusetts as part of a multiday small UAS lidar training.
![USGS scientists and partners collect a soil core from a salt marsh in Massachusetts.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/IMG-2838.jpg?itok=_YIwAiVN)
USGS scientists Sophie Kuhl and Kevin Kroeger work with National Park Service scientist Petra Zuniga to collect a soil core from a salt marsh site where the mineral olivine was applied to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands. The site is located along the Herring River at National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts.
USGS scientists Sophie Kuhl and Kevin Kroeger work with National Park Service scientist Petra Zuniga to collect a soil core from a salt marsh site where the mineral olivine was applied to study its role in capturing carbon dioxide in tidal wetlands. The site is located along the Herring River at National Park Service’s Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts.
Biological carbon sequestration is the natural ability of life and ecosystems to store carbon. Forests, peat marshes, and coastal wetlands are particularly good as storing carbon. Carbon can be stored in plant tissue, such as long-lived tree bark or in extensive root systems. Microbes break down plant and animal tissue through decomposition.
Biological carbon sequestration is the natural ability of life and ecosystems to store carbon. Forests, peat marshes, and coastal wetlands are particularly good as storing carbon. Carbon can be stored in plant tissue, such as long-lived tree bark or in extensive root systems. Microbes break down plant and animal tissue through decomposition.
Geologic carbon sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide from industrial processes and the atmosphere, compressing it into a liquid, and injecting it deep underground. USGS scientists are studying which types of rock formations are most suitable for storing carbon.
Geologic carbon sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide from industrial processes and the atmosphere, compressing it into a liquid, and injecting it deep underground. USGS scientists are studying which types of rock formations are most suitable for storing carbon.
A short underwater animation of an eelgrass bed and how it moves in the water current, with a crab hanging onto the blades.
A short underwater animation of an eelgrass bed and how it moves in the water current, with a crab hanging onto the blades.
![team of USGS/USFWS scientists in coastal marsh](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/USGS-FWS%20Group%20Shot_0.png?itok=Rt2JUS8C)
A USGS/USFWS team working at a coastal marsh site near a surface elevation table-marker horizon (SET-MH) station at San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. Left to right, Tiffany Lane, Claudia Laurenzano, Laura Feher, Camille Stagg, Jena Moon, and Michael Osland. Taken via camera timer by the team, 10/3/2019.
A USGS/USFWS team working at a coastal marsh site near a surface elevation table-marker horizon (SET-MH) station at San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. Left to right, Tiffany Lane, Claudia Laurenzano, Laura Feher, Camille Stagg, Jena Moon, and Michael Osland. Taken via camera timer by the team, 10/3/2019.
Aerial view of a gas flux tower in Great Barnstable Marsh in Barnstable, Massachusetts.
Aerial view of a gas flux tower in Great Barnstable Marsh in Barnstable, Massachusetts.
The AIM (Aerial Imaging and Mapping group) collected UAS imagery for scientists at The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) from the Plum Island estuary in Rowley MA. Inke Forbrich from MBL will lead the analysis looking at the reflectance index NDVI for vegetation surrounding a gas flux tower installed in t
The AIM (Aerial Imaging and Mapping group) collected UAS imagery for scientists at The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) from the Plum Island estuary in Rowley MA. Inke Forbrich from MBL will lead the analysis looking at the reflectance index NDVI for vegetation surrounding a gas flux tower installed in t
Eelgrass provides critical habitat for many fish species, including these Atlantic silversides at Cape Cod National Seashore.
Eelgrass provides critical habitat for many fish species, including these Atlantic silversides at Cape Cod National Seashore.
Eelgrass (Zostera marina) forms extensive meadows in low intertidal and shallow subtidal areas of estuaries and embayments along the Northwest Atlantic coast. Eelgrass meadows are noted as critical habitat for many recreational and commercial fish species as well as small forage fish.
Eelgrass (Zostera marina) forms extensive meadows in low intertidal and shallow subtidal areas of estuaries and embayments along the Northwest Atlantic coast. Eelgrass meadows are noted as critical habitat for many recreational and commercial fish species as well as small forage fish.
Eelgrass is highly productive in Pleasant Bay at Cape Cod National Seashore.
Eelgrass is highly productive in Pleasant Bay at Cape Cod National Seashore.
Carol Damberg (USFWS) conducting survey of eelgrass (Zostera marina) in Izembek Lagoon, Alaska, 2015.
Carol Damberg (USFWS) conducting survey of eelgrass (Zostera marina) in Izembek Lagoon, Alaska, 2015.
![Mangrove forest, Rhizophora mangle tunnel, Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park, Florida](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/16816175001_53e2f37060_o.jpg?itok=Dol38Rs3)
Mangrove forest, Rhizophora mangle tunnel, Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park, Florida.
Mangrove forest, Rhizophora mangle tunnel, Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park, Florida.
Salt marshes at Chincoteague Island. The salt marshes that make up Chincoteague Island are important habitat for migrating waterfowl. In addition, they serve an important role in protecting inland ecosystems and communities from oceanic storms.
Salt marshes at Chincoteague Island. The salt marshes that make up Chincoteague Island are important habitat for migrating waterfowl. In addition, they serve an important role in protecting inland ecosystems and communities from oceanic storms.
Close-up image of Nisqually Delta eelgrass.
Close-up image of Nisqually Delta eelgrass.
Partially submerged eelgrass bed at low tide in Fay Bainbridge Park on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Eelgrass is an underwater plant that is a common sight on Puget Sound beaches when the tide is out. Healthy eelgrass indicates that water clarity is high.
Partially submerged eelgrass bed at low tide in Fay Bainbridge Park on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Eelgrass is an underwater plant that is a common sight on Puget Sound beaches when the tide is out. Healthy eelgrass indicates that water clarity is high.