A new NSERC Alliance research program and United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development endorsed action
Led by Julia K. Baum
Evaluating the Current and Future Capacity for Natural Climate Solutions in Canada's Oceans
Climate change is rapidly altering the planet. Solutions are urgently required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and limit further warming. Meeting Canada’s commitments under the Paris Agreement requires an accounting of all mitigation options, including natural climate solutions.
Coastal ecosystems, including salt marshes, seagrass meadows, kelp forests, and marine soft sediments are increasingly recognized as marine carbon reservoirs, known as blue carbon. Yet, despite having the world's longest coastline, Canada has yet to account for ocean carbon sinks in its GHG inventories.
Our research will produce the critically-needed nationwide assessment of the capacity for Canada's oceans to serve as natural climate solutions, now and in the future.
This project is endorsed by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO as part of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030.
$1.59 Million over 2022-2025
8 Universities
25 Collaborators
UN Ocean Decade Endorsed
7 Partner Organizations
Research Themes
Model
Model current distributions of Canada’s blue carbon ecosystems (tidal marshes, eelgrass meadows, kelp forests) and estimate their mitigation capacity.
Project
Project the future mitigation potential of Canada’s blue carbon ecosystems under different climate change scenarios.
Assess
Assess the mitigation capacity of Canada’s marine soft sediment habitats, and how these change under different protection scenarios.
Video/Photo credits: Kelp video (Chris Neufeld), Marsh and underwater kelp video (Brian Timmer), Marsh (UBC Micrometerology Lab), coastline (Kevin Bruce), eelgrass (Allison Schimdt), Kelp (Fernando Lessa), Marsh (UBC Micrometerology Lab)