Shifting Seas & Sinking Carbon: From Avalanches to Estuaries

Episodic avalanches of sediment, called turbidity currents, sculpt channels and deep canyons on the seafloor. The avalanches are triggered when sediment accumulates and becomes unstable. The flows themselves are highly energetic and are capable of breaking communication cables and oil pipelines. I will describe how we monitor these flows and how one such flow ran out for over a thousand kilometers, breaking two communication cables that affected internet connectivity across southern Africa.

Saltmarshes are being increasingly recognised as important in storing marine (blue) carbon. Due to historical losses of saltmarsh in the Humber Estuary, there have been a number of saltmarsh restoration projects using nature-based solutions and rewilding. This study focuses on both blue and green carbon in the sediments of three sites on the Humber Estuary; managed realignment sites, in different stages of development, and one naturally formed saltmarsh.