Latest news with #TomBrook
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists raise alarm as crucial coastal habitats face growing threat: 'The results are in'
Salt marshes are more than just ecosystems that house various species and protect against floods and erosion — they are vital tools in carbon neutrality. Despite their significant impact on keeping the planet healthy, a new report from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and insurance company Aviva reveals that some salt marshes are suffering because of rising sea levels. As a part of this research and collaboration, data was presented from Aviva's "carbon flux tower," or solar-powered towers that constantly measure the carbon dioxide exchange occurring between the atmosphere and the salt marshes. The company's findings show that salt marshes are carbon "sinks," or capable of storing more carbon than they produce. "This high-frequency, real-time data reveals that saltmarshes are significant carbon sinks," the report says, "with the amount absorbed during the spring and summer outweighing what is released during the autumn and winter months." With sea levels rising — mostly due to extreme weather events, caused in part by human-induced climate change — some of the salt marshes are disappearing. According to an article by The Independent, "Experts warn that 85% of the U.K.'s saltmarshes … have been lost since the mid 19th century." Carbon removal, such as via carbon sinks, is crucial to keep our Earth healthy and livable. While carbon is produced naturally, an excess of it is caused in part by human activity, such as by burning dirty fuels, like methane gas. While natural carbon sinks exist, the effect of large-scale polluting gases is rising temperatures, making it harder for these carbon sinks — including forests and salt marshes — to thrive and do their job. "The results are in, and mud matters," said Tom Brook, an ocean conservation specialist at the WWF, per the press release. "Saltmarshes are powerful natural allies in the fight against climate change — storing carbon, protecting our coasts, and supporting rich biodiversity." In turn, the organizations' joint press release is calling for salt marshes to be added to the Greenhouse Gas Inventory to raise awareness and help the U.K. achieve net-zero carbon emissions. This move would be a major step in protecting these ecosystems, as further reporting would help garner funding and raise awareness for salt marshes. To do your part in protecting these vital carbon sinks, you can support organizations like WWF with climate-centered goals and educate yourself on critical climate issues like those affecting salt marshes. Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
UK's muddy saltmarshes vital to tackle climate change, report finds
The UK's saltmarshes are vital "sinks" that lock away climate-warming greenhouse gases in layers of mud, according to a new report from WWF. Much of the UK's saltmarshes have been lost to agriculture but the charity says they are unsung heroes in nature's fight against climate change. It is now calling for these muddy, tidal habitats to be added to the official UK inventory of how much carbon is emitted and how much is removed from our atmosphere every year. This formal recognition could, it hopes, provide more of an incentive to restore and protect more of these sites. Working with researchers from the UK's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, a WWF team installed solar-powered greenhouse gas monitoring stations on Hesketh Out Marsh, a saltmarsh in North-West England that has been restored and is managed by the RSPB. Analysing gases in the air flowing around the marsh - over the course of a year - revealed how plants there "breathe in" more carbon dioxide in the summer than they release in winter. These new findings build on previous studies that have measured the amount of carbon in the marshland's mud. To carry it out, the team fixed analytical equipment to a sturdy 2.5m tall tower made of scaffolding poles. The site is regularly flooded by the tide, so the tower has kept their kit safe from salt water and debris. With WWF's ocean conservation specialist, Tom Brook as our guide, we waded through the thigh-high grass to visit the site of the experiment. At low tide, the sea is not visible beyond the expanse of grassland, but the area is littered with driftwood, some plastic waste and there is even a small, upturned boat nearby. "The plants grow so quickly here in spring and summer that they almost grow on top of each other - layering and decomposing," Tom said. "That captures carbon in the soils. So while we're typically taught about how trees breathe in carbon and store that in the wood, here salt marshes are doing that as mud. "So the mud here is just as important for climate mitigation as trees are." WWF has published its first year of findings in a report called The Importance of UK Saltmarshes. Unusually, this been co-published with an insurance company that is interested in understanding the role these sites have in protecting homes from coastal flooding. The UK has lost about 85% of its saltmarshes since 1860. They were seen as useless land and many were drained for agriculture. Hesketh Out Marsh has been restored - bought by the wildlife charity RSPB and re-flooded by tide. Now, in late spring, it is teeming with bird life. A variety of species, including avocets, oyster catchers and black-tailed godwits, probe the mud for food and nest on the land between lagoons and streams. The researchers hope the findings will help make the case to restore and protect more of these muddy bufferzones between the land and the sea. "The mud here is so important," explained Alex Pigott, the RSPB warden at Hesketh Out Marsh. "It's is like a service station for birds." With their differently shaped bills - some ideal for scooping and some for probing - marshland birds feed in the tidal mud. "We know these sites act as a natural flood defences, too and that they store carbon," said Ms Pigott. "Any any of these habitats that we can restore will be a big win for nature."
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
UK's muddy saltmarshes vital to tackle climate change, report finds
The UK's saltmarshes are vital "sinks" that lock away climate-warming greenhouse gases in layers of mud, according to a new report from WWF. Much of the UK's saltmarshes have been lost to agriculture but the charity says they are unsung heroes in nature's fight against climate change. It is now calling for these muddy, tidal habitats to be added to the official UK inventory of how much carbon is emitted and how much is removed from our atmosphere every year. This formal recognition could, it hopes, provide more of an incentive to restore and protect more of these sites. Working with researchers from the UK's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, a WWF team installed solar-powered greenhouse gas monitoring stations on Hesketh Out Marsh, a saltmarsh in North-West England that has been restored and is managed by the RSPB. Analysing gases in the air flowing around the marsh - over the course of a year - revealed how plants there "breathe in" more carbon dioxide in the summer than they release in winter. These new findings build on previous studies that have measured the amount of carbon in the marshland's mud. To carry it out, the team fixed analytical equipment to a sturdy 2.5m tall tower made of scaffolding poles. The site is regularly flooded by the tide, so the tower has kept their kit safe from salt water and debris. With WWF's ocean conservation specialist, Tom Brook as our guide, we waded through the thigh-high grass to visit the site of the experiment. At low tide, the sea is not visible beyond the expanse of grassland, but the area is littered with driftwood, some plastic waste and there is even a small, upturned boat nearby. "The plants grow so quickly here in spring and summer that they almost grow on top of each other - layering and decomposing," Tom said. "That captures carbon in the soils. So while we're typically taught about how trees breathe in carbon and store that in the wood, here salt marshes are doing that as mud. "So the mud here is just as important for climate mitigation as trees are." WWF has published its first year of findings in a report called The Importance of UK Saltmarshes. Unusually, this been co-published with an insurance company that is interested in understanding the role these sites have in protecting homes from coastal flooding. The UK has lost about 85% of its saltmarshes since 1860. They were seen as useless land and many were drained for agriculture. Hesketh Out Marsh has been restored - bought by the wildlife charity RSPB and re-flooded by tide. Now, in late spring, it is teeming with bird life. A variety of species, including avocets, oyster catchers and black-tailed godwits, probe the mud for food and nest on the land between lagoons and streams. The researchers hope the findings will help make the case to restore and protect more of these muddy bufferzones between the land and the sea. "The mud here is so important," explained Alex Pigott, the RSPB warden at Hesketh Out Marsh. "It's is like a service station for birds." With their differently shaped bills - some ideal for scooping and some for probing - marshland birds feed in the tidal mud. "We know these sites act as a natural flood defences, too and that they store carbon," said Ms Pigott. "Any any of these habitats that we can restore will be a big win for nature."
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
UK's muddy saltmarshes vital to tackle climate change, report finds
The UK's saltmarshes are vital "sinks" that lock away climate-warming greenhouse gases in layers of mud, according to a new report from WWF. Much of the UK's saltmarshes have been lost to agriculture but the charity says they are unsung heroes in nature's fight against climate change. It is now calling for these muddy, tidal habitats to be added to the official UK inventory of how much carbon is emitted and how much is removed from our atmosphere every year. This formal recognition could, it hopes, provide more of an incentive to restore and protect more of these sites. Working with researchers from the UK's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, a WWF team installed solar-powered greenhouse gas monitoring stations on Hesketh Out Marsh, a saltmarsh in North-West England that has been restored and is managed by the RSPB. Analysing gases in the air flowing around the marsh - over the course of a year - revealed how plants there "breathe in" more carbon dioxide in the summer than they release in winter. These new findings build on previous studies that have measured the amount of carbon in the marshland's mud. To carry it out, the team fixed analytical equipment to a sturdy 2.5m tall tower made of scaffolding poles. The site is regularly flooded by the tide, so the tower has kept their kit safe from salt water and debris. With WWF's ocean conservation specialist, Tom Brook as our guide, we waded through the thigh-high grass to visit the site of the experiment. At low tide, the sea is not visible beyond the expanse of grassland, but the area is littered with driftwood, some plastic waste and there is even a small, upturned boat nearby. "The plants grow so quickly here in spring and summer that they almost grow on top of each other - layering and decomposing," Tom said. "That captures carbon in the soils. So while we're typically taught about how trees breathe in carbon and store that in the wood, here salt marshes are doing that as mud. "So the mud here is just as important for climate mitigation as trees are." WWF has published its first year of findings in a report called The Importance of UK Saltmarshes. Unusually, this been co-published with an insurance company that is interested in understanding the role these sites have in protecting homes from coastal flooding. The UK has lost about 85% of its saltmarshes since 1860. They were seen as useless land and many were drained for agriculture. Hesketh Out Marsh has been restored - bought by the wildlife charity RSPB and re-flooded by tide. Now, in late spring, it is teeming with bird life. A variety of species, including avocets, oyster catchers and black-tailed godwits, probe the mud for food and nest on the land between lagoons and streams. The researchers hope the findings will help make the case to restore and protect more of these muddy bufferzones between the land and the sea. "The mud here is so important," explained Alex Pigott, the RSPB warden at Hesketh Out Marsh. "It's is like a service station for birds." With their differently shaped bills - some ideal for scooping and some for probing - marshland birds feed in the tidal mud. "We know these sites act as a natural flood defences, too and that they store carbon," said Ms Pigott. "Any any of these habitats that we can restore will be a big win for nature."
BBC News
30-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
UK's muddy saltmarshes vital to tackle climate change
The UK's saltmarshes are vital "sinks" that lock away climate-warming greenhouse gases in layers of mud, according to a new report from of the UK's saltmarshes have been lost to agriculture but the charity says they are unsung heroes in nature's fight against climate is now calling for these muddy, tidal habitats to be added to the official UK inventory of how much carbon is emitted and how much is removed from our atmosphere every formal recognition could, it hopes, provide more of an incentive to restore and protect more of these sites. Working with researchers from the UK's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, a WWF team installed solar-powered greenhouse gas monitoring stations on Hesketh Out Marsh, a saltmarsh in North-West England that has been restored and is managed by the gases in the air flowing around the marsh - over the course of a year - revealed how plants there "breathe in" more carbon dioxide in the summer than they release in new findings build on previous studies that have measured the amount of carbon in the marshland's carry it out, the team fixed analytical equipment to a sturdy 2.5m tall tower made of scaffolding poles. The site is regularly flooded by the tide, so the tower has kept their kit safe from salt water and WWF's ocean conservation specialist, Tom Brook as our guide, we waded through the thigh-high grass to visit the site of the experiment. At low tide, the sea is not visible beyond the expanse of grassland, but the area is littered with driftwood, some plastic waste and there is even a small, upturned boat nearby."The plants grow so quickly here in spring and summer that they almost grow on top of each other - layering and decomposing," Tom said. "That captures carbon in the soils. So while we're typically taught about how trees breathe in carbon and store that in the wood, here salt marshes are doing that as mud."So the mud here is just as important for climate mitigation as trees are."WWF has published its first year of findings in a report called The Importance of UK Saltmarshes. Unusually, this been co-published with an insurance company that is interested in understanding the role these sites have in protecting homes from coastal UK has lost about 85% of its saltmarshes since 1860. They were seen as useless land and many were drained for agriculture. Hesketh Out Marsh has been restored - bought by the wildlife charity RSPB and re-flooded by tide. Now, in late spring, it is teeming with bird life. A variety of species, including avocets, oyster catchers and black-tailed godwits, probe the mud for food and nest on the land between lagoons and researchers hope the findings will help make the case to restore and protect more of these muddy bufferzones between the land and the sea."The mud here is so important," explained Alex Pigott, the RSPB warden at Hesketh Out Marsh. "It's is like a service station for birds."With their differently shaped bills - some ideal for scooping and some for probing - marshland birds feed in the tidal mud."We know these sites act as a natural flood defences, too and that they store carbon," said Ms Pigott. "Any any of these habitats that we can restore will be a big win for nature."
