Ocean Solutions to Address Climate Change and Its Effects on Marine Ecosystems

Gattuso, Jean‐Pierre; Magnan, Alexandre; Bopp, Laurent; Cheung, William W. L.; Duarte, Carlos M.; Hinkel, Jochen; McLeod, Elizabeth; Micheli, Fiorenza; Oschlies, Andreas; Williamson, Phillip; Billé, Raphaël; Chalastani, Vasiliki Ι.; Gates, Ruth D.; Irisson, Jean Olivier; Middelburg, Jack J.; Pörtner, Hans O.; Rau, Greg H.

doi:10.3389/fmars.2018.00337

Cited by 304 publications

(278 citation statements)

References 144 publications

(178 reference statements)

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“…Numbers indicate the following regions, referred to in this study. 1: Southern North Sea, 2: Central North Sea, 3: Northern North Sea,4: English Channel,5: Skagerrak and Kattegat,6: Norwegian Trench,7: Shetland Shelf,8: Irish Shelf,9: Irish Sea,10: Celtic Sea,11: Armorican Shelf. Sand and mud flats, macroalgae, shelf sea sediments and the flow of water into the deep ocean are all potential net sinks for carbon and so provide value to society (Nellemann et al, 2009;Gattuso et al, 2018). This study synthesizes a budget for all organic and inorganic carbon on the NWES, from intertidal habitats to the shelf edge, here defined as the 200 m isobath.…”

Section: Scope and Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is increasing interest in the role of the ocean in mitigating atmospheric CO 2 increases, both in terms of the response to increasing emissions and the opportunities for managing and even enhancing carbon storage as "negative emissions" (Gallo et al, 2017;Gattuso et al, 2018;Smale et al, 2018). Carbon sequestration has clear societal benefit and society may wish to recognize this benefit in terms of economic value, in order to protect vulnerable ecosystems, aid policy decisions or widen the market for carbon management and trading (e.g., Nellemann et al, 2009;Lau, 2013;Luisetti et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Carbon on the Northwest European Shelf: Contemporary Budget and Future Influences

et al. 2020

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A carbon budget for the northwest European continental shelf seas (NWES) was synthesized using available estimates for coastal, pelagic and benthic carbon stocks and flows. Key uncertainties were identified and the effect of future impacts on the carbon budget were assessed. The water of the shelf seas contains between 210 and 230 Tmol of carbon and absorbs between 1.3 and 3.3 Tmol from the atmosphere annually. Offshelf transport and burial in the sediments account for 60-100 and 0-40% of carbon outputs from the NWES, respectively. Both of these fluxes remain poorly constrained by observations and resolving their magnitudes and relative importance is a key research priority. Pelagic and benthic carbon stocks are dominated by inorganic carbon. Shelf sediments contain the largest stock of carbon, with between 520 and 1600 Tmol stored in the top 0.1 m of the sea bed. Coastal habitats such as salt marshes and mud flats contain large amounts of carbon per unit area but their total carbon stocks are small compared to pelagic and benthic stocks due to their smaller spatial extent. The large pelagic stock of carbon will continue to increase due to the rising concentration of atmospheric CO 2 , with associated pH decrease. Pelagic carbon stocks and flows are also likely to be significantly affected by increasing acidity and temperature, and circulation changes but the net impact is uncertain. Benthic carbon stocks will be affected by increasing temperature and acidity, and decreasing oxygen concentrations, although the net impact of these interrelated changes on carbon stocks is uncertain and a major knowledge gap. The impact of bottom trawling on benthic carbon stocks Frontiers in Marine Science | www.frontiersin.org 1 March 2020 | Volume 7 | Article 143Legge et al.Carbon on the Northwest European Shelf is unique amongst the impacts we consider in that it is widespread and also directly manageable, although its net effect on the carbon budget is uncertain. Coastal habitats are vulnerable to sea level rise and are strongly impacted by management decisions. Local, national and regional actions have the potential to protect or enhance carbon storage, but ultimately global governance, via controls on emissions, has the greatest potential to influence the long-term fate of carbon stocks in the northwestern European continental shelf.

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Section: Scope and Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon on the Northwest European Shelf: Contemporary Budget and Future Influences

et al. 2020

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“…Ocean environments are under exceptional pressure by anthropogenic activities leading to climate change, marine pollution, and overexploitation of fish stocks, with their severe negative impacts for marine ecosystems and humans-particularly in densely populated coastal regions (Lubchenco et al, 2016). The generally worse state of the oceans, with no area unaffected by human influence and a large fraction (41%) strongly affected by multiple drivers, requires urgent, comprehensive, and efficient actions to save the oceans and prevent even more mis-and overuse (Halpern et al, 2008;Gattuso et al, 2018). Also, all kinds of land-based activities, such as related to tourism and urban growth, cause habitat destruction and overexploitation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feasible Options for Behavior Change Toward More Effective Ocean Literacy: A Systematic Review

Stoll-Kleemann

2019

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Effective ocean literacy requires appropriate individual behavior, but achieving this-based on behavior change-is extremely difficult. Social-psychological research shows that even generating knowledge and awareness toward protecting the environment-including the oceans-very rarely produces behavior change. The correlation between knowledge and behavior change is demonstrably surprisingly low. Based upon a systematic interdisciplinary literature review, this article evaluates the factors constituting behavior that are important for ocean literacy. Furthermore, it includes an analysis of options for individual behavior change. The literature review covers research and theories from behavioral sciences such as social, environmental, and emotional psychology, as well as from other social sciences. Specifically, research on pro-environmental behavior is evaluated and applied to the specific case of ocean-related behaviors and ocean literacy. As a result, the model of pro-environmental behavior by Kollmuss and Agyeman has successfully been transferred to increase the effectiveness of ocean literacy because it considers internal (e.g., emotions and values) and external factors (e.g., politico-economic and socio-cultural), which are crucial to achieve behavior change. Further results show that the theoretical analysis of different influence factors of ocean related behavior help to identify options to enhance ocean literacy, partially not yet broadly applied in this field, such as reputation-based incentives, social marketing, and successfully diffusing social change, which is illustrated within two examples of success stories. Nevertheless, improvements remain challenging due to barriers identified on the individual level (e.g., cognitive dissonance and moral disengagement) and adverse political and economic power relations in light of rapidly increasing environmental problems in our oceans.

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“…In addition to providing important habitat for a wide range of species, seagrasses also play important roles in biogeochemical cycles including carbon and nutrient cycling (Duarte et al, 2005;McGlathery et al, 2007). Seagrasses, along with other marine vegetated habitats such as mangroves, saltmarshes, and macroalgae, have been recognized as a potential solution to combat anthropogenic perturbations such as excessive emissions of greenhouse gasses and nutrients to the environment (Nordlund et al, 2016;Gattuso et al, 2018;Himes-Cornell et al, 2018). The ability of marine vegetated habitats to sequester and store atmospheric CO 2 was first introduced by Smith (1981), and the term Blue Carbon was defined in the Blue Carbon report by Nellemann et al (2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment Stocks of Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus in Danish Eelgrass Meadows

et al. 2018

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Seagrass ecosystems provide an array of ecosystem services ranging from habitat provision to erosion control. From a climate change and eutrophication mitigation perspective, the ecosystem services include burial and storage of carbon and nutrients in the sediments. Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is the most abundant seagrass species along the Danish coasts, and while its function as a carbon and nutrient sink has been documented in some areas, the spatial variability of these functions, and the drivers behind them, are not well understood. Here we present the first nationwide study on eelgrass sediment stock of carbon (C stock ), nitrogen (N stock ), and phosphorus (P stock ). Stocks were measured in the top 10 cm of eelgrass meadows spanning semi-enclosed estuaries (inner and outer fjords) to open coasts. Further, we assessed environmental factors (level of exposure, sediment properties, level of eutrophication) from each area to evaluate their relative importance as drivers of the spatial pattern in the respective stocks. We found large spatial variability in sediment stocks, representing 155-4413 g C m −2 , 24-448 g N m −2 , and 7-34 g P m −2 . C stock and N stock were significantly higher in inner fjords compared to outer fjords and open coasts. C stock , N stock , and P stock showed a significantly positive relationship with the silt-clay content in the sediments. Moreover, C stock was also significantly higher in more eutrophied areas with high concentrations of nutrients and chlorophyll a (chl a) in the water column. Conversely, siltclay content was not related to nutrients or chl a, suggesting a spatial dependence of the importance of these factors in driving stock sizes and implying that local differences in sediment properties and eutrophication level should be included when evaluating the storage capacity of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in Danish eelgrass meadows. These insights provide guidance to managers in selecting priority areas for carbon and nutrient storage for climate-and eutrophication mitigation initiatives.

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Ocean Solutions to Address Climate Change and Its Effects on Marine Ecosystems

Cited by 304 publications

References 144 publications

Carbon on the Northwest European Shelf: Contemporary Budget and Future Influences

Carbon on the Northwest European Shelf: Contemporary Budget and Future Influences

Feasible Options for Behavior Change Toward More Effective Ocean Literacy: A Systematic Review

Sediment Stocks of Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus in Danish Eelgrass Meadows

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