Blue carbon ecosystems mitigate climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and transporting it into sediments or deep waters, where it can be stored indefinitely. Marine protected areas (MPAs), including national marine sanctuaries, protect blue carbon ecosystems that are essential for achieving global carbon mitigation and emission reduction goals.
The carbon storage and annual sequestration for two coastal blue carbon habitats, seagrass and salt marsh, and two oceanic carbon sequestration processes, kelp export and dead whale falls, were assessed within the boundaries of the sanctuary using regional and site-specific data. These processes have the potential to sequester 4,950 megagrams of carbon (MgC) each year (or 18,150 metric tons CO2 equivalent), which is valued at $925,650 in societal benefit annually and is 140 times the amount of CO2 that is emitted from annual site operations. Whale falls account for roughly 60% of this annual sequestration; salt marsh, seagrass, and kelp account for roughly equal parts of the remaining 40%, though annual sequestration by the region’s kelp forests have declined by 99.7% from 2008 to 2019. Sanctuary coastal blue carbon habitats currently hold approximately 175,000 MgC in their sediments, which, if destroyed, could release approximately 643,000 metric tons of CO2, or the equivalent of adding 140,000 vehicles to the road for one year.
Clear arguments for a multi-species future here.
If we restored global whale populations to pre-whaling levels, they'd sequester 1.7 billion tons of carbon/year 👀 And not to sound too cliché or anything it would also you know ... Save The Whales 🐳
