What term describes organic carbon captured and sequestered by coastal marine ecosystems, particularly mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and salt marshes, burying carbon in sediment for centuries?

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: A. Blue carbon

  1. Step 1: Coastal vegetative ecosystems cover less than 0.5% of the ocean floor but account for up to half of all carbon burial in ocean sediments.
  2. Step 2: 'Blue carbon' ecosystems sequester carbon up to 10 times faster per hectare than mature terrestrial tropical forests because waterlogged, anoxic sediments inhibit microbial decomposition, locking organic carbon away for millennia.
Answer
Blue carbon
Why not the others: 'Green carbon' Green carbon refers to carbon sequestered by terrestrial forests, agricultural soils, and grasslands through standard photosynthesis; 'Black carbon' Black carbon is fine particulate sooty carbon produced by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuels, and biomass; 'Brown carbon' Brown carbon refers to light-absorbing organic aerosols released from the combustion of biomass, contributing to atmospheric warming.

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