Blue Carbon refers to the organic carbon sequestered in the Ocean, which is thereby removed from the atmospheric carbon cycle, helping to mitigate global climate change. Coastal vegetated ecosystems like saltmarshes, mangroves and seagrass meadows are particularly in scope because of their high carbon sequestration rates and locally important climate mitigation function. However, shelf and deeper Ocean sediments also serve as important marine carbon stocks, sequestering carbon through the biological carbon pump. There is a need for coordinated research to better understand processes that determine Blue Carbon sequestration and create underpinned and useable frameworks to further include Blue Carbon in policy and marine management.
The aim of this working group is to provide a concise overview of Blue Carbon, including recommendations relevant for policy and future research funding. The document will cover the following topics:
- What is Blue Carbon?
- Why do we need Blue Carbon?
- How does Blue Carbon fit into the Ocean Carbon Budget?
- The Biological Carbon Pump
- Blue Carbon examples and benefits
- Uncertainties and questions on Blue Carbon climate change
- Summary and Recommendations
The Working Group Members are:
- Griet Neukermans (Ugent, Belgium)
- Hans-Otto Pörtner (AWI, Germany)
- Jean-Pierre Gattuso (CNRS, France)
- Natalie Hicks (U Essex, UK)
- Peter Landschützer (VLIZ, Belgium)
The final output of this working group is Policy Brief to be launched in late 2023. You can find out more about the working group here.