What Is Blue Carbon and Why Does It Matter?

Related Resources

A New Generation of Ocean Farmers are Reducing Pollution with Seaweed
Seaweed soaks up carbon and nitrogen, two pollutants lingering in the water. If ocean farmers devoted a little less than 5 percent of U.S. waters to growing seaweed, they could clean up an estimated 1[...]
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[...]
What is Ocean Acidification?
The term ocean acidification is used to describe the ongoing decrease in ocean pH caused by human CO2 emissions, such as the burning of fossil fuels. It is the little known consequence of living in a [...]
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. [...]
Understanding Blue Carbon
Blue carbon refers to carbon dioxide that is absorbed from the atmosphere and stored in the ocean. “Blue” refers to the watery nature of this storage. The vast majority of blue carbon is carbon di[...]
What are El Niño and La Niña?
El Niño and La Niña are climate patterns in the Pacific Ocean that can affect weather worldwide and can also have global impacts on weather, wildfires, ecosystems, and economies. [...]
Protecting Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity
Ecosystem services are the engine of the environment. They are essential to life. Land, water, air, climate and genetic resources must be used responsibly if they are to also benefit future generation[...]
Despite Pandemic Shutdowns, Carbon Dioxide and Methane Surged in 2020
Carbon dioxide levels are now higher than at anytime in the past 3.6 million years. Levels of the two most important anthropogenic greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and methane, continued their unrelen[...]