<
https://theconversation.com/nz-hopes-to-store-carbon-in-marine-ecosystems-but-some-are-so-degraded-theyre-already-a-source-of-emissions-248875>
"For New Zealand, a country with an underwater territory 14 times its landmass,
marine ecosystems present a significant opportunity to investigate carbon
storage options.
Prompted by a 2023 report from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the
Environment, the government recognised the need to focus on the oceans in
addressing climate change.
In its emissions reduction plan for 2026-2030, it highlights the potential to
harness marine habitats as carbon sinks and to count this towards the country’s
efforts to slow climate change.
Several blue-carbon studies report on stocks of carbon in sediments and
mangrove, saltmarshes and kelp forests. This tells us how much carbon is stored
in these ecosystems – but very little about how carbon flows through them and
the factors that influence whether it is stored or emitted.
This is important. Marine ecosystems can be both sinks or sources of carbon. If
we don’t understand how organic material is transformed or how carbon dioxide
(CO₂) is either taken up by plants or emitted into the atmosphere, we will
likely make poor decisions about nature-based solutions.
To address this, we have invited researchers from the Scandinavian research
partnership CoastClim – an innovative project linking seafloor biodiversity and
climate – to bring their unique set of instrumentation to New Zealand to
explore patterns in greenhouse gas emissions from the seafloor.
The measurements we made this summer are tracking emissions of methane and CO₂
from seafloor sediments in the upper reaches of several harbours (Waitemata,
Mahurangi and Whangateau) in the Auckland region.
We found CO₂ concentrations were up to eight times higher than atmospheric
levels in more disturbed and polluted parts of these harbours. Methane
concentrations were up to 30 times higher. This shows that degraded habitats
are indeed transformed into net emitters of greenhouse gases."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
