Scientists exploring the coast of Northern California have discovered a treasure trove of carbon sealed in the seafloor for the first time. This discovery could help unlock the ocean’s power to combat climate change.

The sanctuary, which covers 6,000 square miles from Point Arena in Mendocino County in the south to Point Año Nuevo in San Mateo County, stores 9 million metric tons of sea surface carbon, according to a study published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. subnational marine reserves

The amount of carbon in the first 4 inches of the seafloor equals CO emissions₂According to the Environmental Protection Agency, greenhouse gases are produced by 7.3 million gas-powered vehicles driven in a year or used to power 6.4 million homes annually. equivalent calculator.

The researchers stressed that although this was an important discovery, leaving it intact was crucial for it to store more carbon.

“This is not a resource that needs to be exploited, but it needs to be kept intact,” said Doug George, NOAA oceanographer and co-author of the study.

The findings confirm that the ocean has become the final resting place for green and dead wildlife washed up in rivers, as well as marine life that dies and sinks to the seabed. According to the research, this causes more carbon to be trapped in the oceans, helping to correct the CO imbalance₂ in the atmosphere

Sarah Hutto, the lead author of the study, explained that there is a certain amount of carbon in the Earth. Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have mined large amounts of fossil fuels that take thousands of years to form underground. Thus, carbon is removed from the planet and burned, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere and the carbon dioxide-carbon dioxide balance changes.

“We want to make sure we’re not contributing to the climate problem, but we’re doing everything we can to improve the ocean’s natural spongy ability to absorb carbon dioxide,” Hutto said in an interview.

He believes his team’s research proves that the ocean cannot be ignored when discussing climate solutions. He said the sea was vital given its ability to store much of the world’s carbon, absorb heat from emissions and produce a third of the world’s oxygen.

“The ocean is a victim of climate change, but it is also one of the many solutions we need to focus on to get out of this mess,” Hutto said. said.

A few years ago, Hutto and his team decided to better understand the role that what experts call “blue carbon” processing plays in solving the problem of climate change. Blue Carbon, the first of its kind in the U.S., refers to carbon captured and stored. marine and coastal ecosystems.

Researchers mapped carbon hotspots by analyzing seafloor sediment data samples from sheltered waters dating back to the 1950s. The report showed that significant amounts of carbon were found, especially in muddy deltas where rivers and oceans meet. Although the study of carbon hotspots has been limited to Northern California, the discovery prompts researchers to speculate about the potential amount of carbon stored in precipitation-rich regions such as the Gulf Coast under the influence of runoff from the Mississippi Delta.

“The Gulf Coast is a very polluted place, so understanding that all that silt can hold a lot of organic carbon is a valuable component of understanding how the ocean stabilizes our climate,” George said.

Hatto emphasized that scientists have recently begun more in-depth studies of seabed carbon, and that research into seabed carbon within potential reserves could lead to the formulation of regulations to protect the seabed ecosystem. Hutto’s team says blue carbon is often overlooked in climate change mitigation policy because the science behind blue carbon is still in its infancy and natural solutions to climate change are much more complex and less simple than technological solutions.

“This information provides a small glimmer of hope that the ocean really does play a vital role for us, and perhaps we’re underestimating that, and there are opportunities to protect that role,” Hutto said.

While the discovery has led some to believe that the newly discovered carbon is ripe for mining, Hutto said the carbon-rich mud is only at the surface and cannot be burned because it is not burned, just like deeper-level fossil fuel. Over time it becomes very concentrated, like large reservoirs of fossil fuels.

Carbon is stable as long as it remains intact, but if mixed it can react with oxygen, return to the surface and interact with the atmosphere, causing CO2 emissions.