Accessibility Information
Persons with disabilities who need accommodations or have questions about physical access may call the program sponsoring the event or call Accessibility Resource Center at 530-898-5959.
ERTH Seminar Series: Dr. Tomoko Komada, HOW 'GREEN' IS BLUE CARBON? HARNESSING RADIOCARBON TO ASSESS THE ROLE OF SALTMARSHES IN CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION
Thursday, Apr. 11, 2024, 1–2 p.m.
SCI 125
ERTH SEMINAR SERIES April 11, Thurs., 1 – 2pm SCI 125 (NEW LOCATION) HOW 'GREEN' IS BLUE CARBON? HARNESSING RADIOCARBON TO ASSESS THE ROLE OF SALTMARSHES IN CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION DR. TOMOKO KOMADA, PROFESSOR AT SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY With global temperatures rising, there is increasing interest in mitigating climate change via nature-based solutions. One potential solution is the sequestration atmospheric CO2 in the form of sedimentary organic carbon (SOC) in vegetated aquatic habitats – such as saltmarshes, mangroves, and seagrass beds – referred to as blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs). However, in order for sediment accretion to offset CO2 emissions, SOC undergoing burial must be derived from contemporary primary production. In this talk, Dr. Komada will present geochemical data from two saltmarshes in San Francisco Bay showing that a major component of SOC is in fact 100's-1000's years old, likely consisting of material that had previously aged elsewhere, such as in terrestrial soils, prior to being imported into the marsh. Marsh plants introduce organic carbon into the sediments, but this locally-produced organic matter is lost from the sediment profile at a faster rate compared to imported organic matter. Together, these findings indicate that SOC accretion at our study sites are largely decoupled from ongoing anthropogenic CO2 emissions, and underscore the complexity of carbon cycling in BCEs.
Todd Greene 530-898-5546