Living Shorelines in Blue Carbon Capture and Storage

This project's aim is to gain a better understanding of living shorelines in blue carbon capture and storage in support of climate smart conservation practices that may be installed in Texas. Blue carbon sequestration has emerged as an incentive for living shoreline restoration, yet the role of oyster reef living shorelines as blue carbon sources or sinks is poorly understood. 

To determine living shoreline blue carbon storage ability as it relates to shoreline age and design, this project will evaluate the role of living shoreline ages and project design in the Mission-Aransas Estuary. Oyster reef age will be categorized as old, young and pre-restoration and design will be categorized the reef vertical relief. Carbon content and deposition rates will be quantified using sediment geochemical analyses and radioactive dating.