Estimating Global “Blue Carbon” Emissions from Conversion and Degradation of Vegetated Coastal Ecosystems

Recent attention has focused on the high rates of annual carbon sequestration in vegetated coastal ecosystems – marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses – that may be lost with habitat destruction (R[...]

Kelp Deforestation: Threats to our Underwater Forests

Kelp forests are some of the most dynamic and ecologically productive marine habitats in the world. A root-like system called a holdfast affixes to the rocky seafloor, supporting a long stipe that ext[...]

This Interactive Chart Shows Changes in the World’s Top 10 Emitters

A lot has happened since countries met in Paris in 2015 and agreed on an accord to combat climate change. So far, 196 countries ratified or otherwise joined the Paris Climate Agreement, representing m[...]

Extinction Risk Assessment of the World’s Seagrass Species

Seagrasses, a functional group of marine flowering plants rooted in the world’s coastal oceans, support marine food webs and provide essential habitat for many coastal species, playing a critical ro[...]

Seagrass Ecosystems as a Globally Significant Carbon Stock

The protection of organic carbon stored in forests is considered as an important method for mitigating climate change. Like terrestrial ecosystems, coastal ecosystems store large amounts of carbon, an[...]

The Biological Productivity of the Ocean

Productivity fuels life in the ocean, drives its chemical cycles, and lowers atmospheric carbon dioxide. Nutrient uptake and export interact with circulation to yield distinct ocean regimes. [...]

Connecting to the oceans

Improved public understanding of the ocean and the importance of sustainable ocean use, or ocean literacy, is essential for achieving global commitments to sustainable development by 2030 and beyond. [...]

What are Mangrove Forests?

Mangroves are shrubs and trees that grow in coastal waters. Mangroves are halophytes, meaning they are salt-tolerant trees that thrive in intertidal conditions. These diverse and productive ecosystems[...]