An edition of: WaterAtlas.orgPresented By: USF Water Institute

Water-Related News

"Blue Carbon" Work in Tampa Bay highlighted in White House Climate Action Plan

News Image


Innovative research underway in Tampa Bay was spotlighted today (10/8/14) in new orders issued by the Obama Administration to promote and enhance the ability of natural systems like wetlands to store carbon and buffer the effects of climate change.

The "Blue Carbon Assessment" in Tampa Bay is identified as an important public-private commitment to advance these goals. This project will assess the climate mitigation benefits associated with restoring salt marshes, mangroves and seagrass beds (collectively called "coastal blue carbon habitats" for their carbon-capturing abilities) in the Tampa Bay ecosystem.

This important research is partially funded by the Tampa Bay Environmental Restoration Fund, which is jointly managed by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and Restore America's Estuaries, and funded by a coalition of public and private sector partners including the Southwest Florida Water Management District and The Mosaic Company Foundation.

Additional funds are being provided by two federal agencies: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Read about the Blue Carbon project here.

Read about the President's updated Climate Actions here.

Additionally, TBEP has received a $10,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to support that agency's efforts to quantify the amount of carbon already sequestered by past habitat restoration in the Tampa Bay system, and project future carbon reduction benefits.