Background:
Seagrass meadows are highly productive coastal ecosystems that play a crucial role in carbon sequestration, also known as "blue carbon." They capture and store large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water, mitigating climate change. Understanding the carbon storage capacity of seagrass meadows is crucial for developing effective blue carbon strategies, which aim to enhance carbon sequestration and avoid greenhouse gas emissions through coastal ecosystem management.
Mission:
The mission is to collect and analyze ten sediment core samples in each of thirty identified seagrass meadows across the Bahamas, providing data essential for a national blue carbon baseline.
Research Impacts & Applications:
This project will directly inform the Bahamas government’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement by providing accurate, site-specific data on carbon stored in seagrass ecosystems. The research will support blue carbon accounting and climate resilience planning, helping integrate natural carbon sinks into national climate strategies. It will also contribute to global blue carbon science, offering scalable methods for carbon quantification that can be replicated in other island nations and coastal regions. Long-term, these data can guide marine spatial planning, habitat restoration, and carbon offset initiatives.
