Project: Toward an Improved Understanding of Blue Carbon: The Role of Seagrasses in Sequestering CO2

Acronym/Short Name:Seagrass Blue Carbon
Project Duration:2016-08 - 2019-07
Geolocation:Chesapeake Bay, Northern Gulf of Mexico, and Bahamas Banks

Description

NSF abstract:

This research will develop a quantitative understanding of the factors controlling carbon cycling in seagrass meadows that will improve our ability to quantify their potential as blue carbon sinks and predict their future response to climate change, including sea level rise, ocean warming and ocean acidification. This project will advance a new generation of bio-optical-geochemical models and tools (ECHOES) that have the potential to be transform our ability to measure and predict carbon dynamics in shallow water systems.

This study will utilize cutting-edge methods for evaluating oxygen and carbon exchange (Eulerian and eddy covariance techniques) combined with biomass, sedimentary, and water column measurements to develop and test numerical models that can be scaled up to quantify the dynamics of carbon cycling and sequestration in seagrass meadows in temperate and tropical environments of the West Atlantic continental margin that encompass both siliciclastic and carbonate sediments. The comparative analysis across latitudinal and geochemical gradients will address the relative contributions of different species and geochemical processes to better constrain the role of seagrass carbon sequestration to global biogeochemical cycles. Specifically the research will quantify: (i) the relationship between C stocks and standing biomass for different species with different life histories and structural complexity, (ii) the influence of above- and below-ground metabolism on carbon exchange, and (iii) the influence of sediment type (siliciclastic vs. carbonate) on Blue Carbon storage. Seagrass biomass, growth rates, carbon content and isotope composition (above- and below-ground), organic carbon deposition and export will be measured. Sedimentation rates and isotopic composition of PIC, POC, and iron sulfide precipitates, as well as porewater concentrations of dissolved sulfide, CO2, alkalinity and salinity will be determined in order to develop a bio-optical-geochemical model that will predict the impact of seagrass metabolism on sediment geochemical processes that control carbon cycling in shallow waters. Model predictions will be validated against direct measurements of DIC and O2 exchange in seagrass meadows, enabling us to scale-up the density-dependent processes to predict the impacts of seagrass distribution and density on carbon cycling and sequestration across the submarine landscape.

Status, as of 09 June 2016: This project has been recommended for funding by NSF's Division of Ocean Sciences.


DatasetLatest Version DateCurrent State
Bubble flux measurements and concentrations at two sites on the Virginia Eastern Shore, July 20172019-07-11Final no updates expected
Chemical analysis from sediment core pore water samples collected in the northern Gulf of Mexico, May 20172018-10-15Final no updates expected
Oxygen profiles from sediment core samples collected in the back barrier island bays on Virginia’s Eastern Shore in July 20172018-10-15Final no updates expected
Chemical analysis from sediment core pore water samples collected in the back barrier island bays on Virginia’s Eastern Shore in July 20172018-10-15Final no updates expected
Oxygen profiles from sediment core samples collected in the northern Gulf of Mexico, May 20172018-10-15Final no updates expected
Sediment core sample metadata collected in the northern Gulf of Mexico, May 20172018-10-15Final no updates expected
Summary of carbon and nitrogen concentrations and isotope ratios from samples of eelgrass from Virginia Coastal Lagoons and turtlegrass from St George Sound FL2018-10-10Final no updates expected
Carbon, nitrogen and their isotope composition of eelgrass from Virginia Coastal Lagoons and turtlegrass from St George Sound FL2018-10-10Final no updates expected
Reference carbon and nitrogen concentrations, and isotope ratios from alfalfa, nylon-6, bovine liver, and enriched alanine2018-09-11Final no updates expected
Sediment core sample metadata collected July 2017 in the back barrier island bays on Virginia’s Eastern Shore2018-09-06Final no updates expected
Temperature, salinity, oxygen, and pH measured by SeapHOx sensors at two locations (Gulf coast of Florida near St. Teresa and VA Eastern Shore near Oyster, VA) and two heights in the water column (20 cm and 1.1 m)2018-08-08Final no updates expected
Chemical analysis from sediment core bottom water samples collected in the northern Gulf of Mexico, May 20172018-08-06Final no updates expected
Chemical analysis from sediment core bottom water samples collected in the back barrier island bays on Virginia’s Eastern Shore in July 20172018-08-06Final no updates expected

People

Principal Investigator: Matthew H. Long
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)

Principal Investigator: Richard C. Zimmerman
Old Dominion University (ODU)

Co-Principal Investigator: David J. Burdige
Old Dominion University (ODU)

Co-Principal Investigator: Scott Doney
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)

Co-Principal Investigator: Matthew H. Long
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)

Contact: Matthew H. Long
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)

Contact: Richard C. Zimmerman
Old Dominion University (ODU)


Data Management Plan

DMP_Zimmerman_OCE-1635403.pdf (175.97 KB)
02/09/2025