Coastal salt marshes, mangrove forests, and seagrass beds are incredibly efficient at 

capturing and storing large quantities of carbon – referred to as “coastal blue carbon.” 

NOAA’s coastal blue carbon activities are a collaborative effort across NOAA, including 

the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS), National 

Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS/Fisheries), National Ocean Service (NOS), and Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Research (OAR/Research) offices. 

• Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and 

Greater Farallones Association were featured in “Bay 

Area Bountiful” (10-minute mark), a series produced 

by NorCal public media broadcast to the entire bay 

area, from Santa Rosa to San Jose. The segment 

provides information about the Sanctuary’s efforts to 

restore kelp, and the role that kelp and other coastal 

ecosystems play in carbon sequestration. 

• In March 2022 the Greater Farallones Association received federal appropriations to restore a crucial kelp 

forest habitat in the Greater Farallones National Marine 

Sanctuary; this blue carbon ecosystem has suffered 

severe and prolonged decline since 2014. Funding will 

support outplanting of bull kelp, removal of urchins, 

remote sensing priorities, and engagement with fishers 

and communities along the north coast of California.

• National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) researchers assess Blue Carbon storage at sites restored

through beneficial use of dredge sediment by measuring carbon stock before and after placement projects. 

Analysis, continued monitoring, and site reoccupation 

after thin layer placement will illuminate the effectiveness 

of projects like these in terms of carbon storage. 

• NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries released 

a new video on climate change in sanctuaries, which 

uplifts the role of these protected areas in safeguarding 

and restoring blue carbon ecosystems. 

• NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries gave two presentations at the National Adaptation Forum 

highlighting NOAA’s work on blue carbon and its role as a 

climate adaptation tool and nature-based solution 

to climate change.

• NOAAs Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory published a 

study of global coastal ecosystem responses to a halfcentury increase in river nitrogen loads and continues to 

engage with NOAA colleagues on representation of river 

biogeochemical fluxes to the coastal zone.

• At the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference 

(UNFCCC COP27) in November of 2022, NOAA Administrator, 

Dr. Rick Spinrad, participated in a COP27 side event titled 

Partnerships to accelerate action to protect blue carbon 

ecosystems for mitigation and adaptation, with support 

from the NOAA Blue Carbon Inventory Project team.

Promoting Understanding and 

Awareness of Progress

NOAA Coastal Blue Carbon

2022 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, VISIT

oceanservice.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coastal-blue-carbon

Banner image: Kelly Samek. 

Image above: Eric Sparks.
• The NOAA Blue carbon team published a white paper

that provides a brief overview of the topic of blue carbon and NOAA’s role in the blue carbon space. 

• The NOAA Blue Carbon team highlighted the relevance 

of coastal blue carbon ecosystems for marine Carbon 

Dioxide Removal (mCDR) activities in the CDR Task Force 

Interagency meetings led by the Department of Energy.

• NOAA Blue Carbon team members served as expert 

reviewers on the Draft Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse 

Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2020 – Land Use, LandUse Change, and Forestry, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency.

• Through support from the 

NOAA Research Climate Program Office, the NOAA NOS 

Office for Coastal Management 

(OCM) worked with Silvestrum 

Climate Associates to update the wetlands section of 

the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory reporting. The 

information included within the inventory for coastal 

wetlands is derived using data from NOAA’s Coastal 

Change Analysis Program (C-CAP). This year’s reporting 

included an update to 2016 for wetland change data. 

This increased the time-series of information included 

by an additional five years.

 The NOAA Blue Carbon Team 

 worked to include coastal 

 blue carbon-related strategies 

 for drawing down and seques- 

 tering marine carbon dioxide 

 in the cross-Line office (OAR, 

 NMFS, NOS) NOAA Carbon Dioxide Removal Research 

 Strategy white paper. 

• Oregon Sea Grant partnered with The Nature Conservancy to produce the report, “Oregon’s Blue Carbon 

Ecosystems: State of the Science.”

• The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office and EPA Office of 

Research and Development Climate Resiliency Workgroup are identifying potential blue carbon-related 

coastal resilience projects and connecting them with 

science and funding.

• NOAA launched its first formal partnership under the 

NOAA Blue Carbon Inventory Project with Costa Rica 

through a two-day kickoff meeting in March of 2022. In 

September, the project held its first in-country workshop, 

intended to provide technical information to support Costa Rica’s Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris 

Agreement and foster within-country collaboration on 

blue carbon. The workshop was attended by more than 

40 representatives of Costa Rican government agencies, 

academia, and protected area managers.

• Members of the NOAA Blue Carbon team met with the 

Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group (CC-IWG) in 

December 2021 to invite additional interagency collaboration on blue carbon issues. The CC-IWG agreed to include 

blue carbon in a series of carbon dioxide removal workshops under development for 2023.

Enabling Action through Partnerships and Research

Integrating Science in Policy

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, VISIT

oceanservice.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coastal-blue-carbon

Goals for 2023

Images from top to bottom: 

Kelly Samek, Jillian Neuberger, Eric Sparks.

Explore options for formalizing 

the NOAA Blue Carbon team while 

maintaining the team’s flexible, 

inclusive and responsive approach.

Update and expand NOAA’s web 

presence on blue carbon issues, 

including on NOAA’s role in blue 

carbon science and management.

Collaborate with the Carbon Cycle 

Interagency Working Group to include 

blue carbon in their planned 2023 

workshops on carbon dioxide removal.

Support the inclusion of coastal blue 

carbon habitats into national greenhouse gas inventories in other countries through the NOAA Blue Carbon 

Inventory Project and support at least 

one more country-focused workshop.

Support a Blue Carbon Law Symposium co-organized by South Carolina 

Sea Grant Consortium and Georgia Sea 

Grant with funding from the National 

Sea Grant Law Center.

Produce guidance for the potential 

application of marine carbon dioxide 

removal, inclusive of blue carbon processes, in national marine sanctuaries.