Shorelines

by Kristen Goodhue

When Superstorm Sandy reached New York on Oct. 29, 2012, it pummeled the coastline with 80 mile-per-hour winds, flooding streets and subway tunnels. Leaving over $70 billion of destruction across its entire path, Sandy ranks among the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. But in the northeastern U.S, coastal wetlands prevented an estimated $625 million in damage.

The world needs wetlands to protect us from climate change, and not only in the form of extreme weather. Coastal wetlands are champions at storing carbon in their soils—231 metric tons per hectare on average, according to one estimate. 

“Wetlands are pulling a lot of weight for the given amount of area that they take up on the planet,” said Jaxine Wolfe, a research technician with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). “And so there’s a lot of excitement about leveraging these ecosystems for the mitigation of climate change effects. You can do a lot by conserving a particular wetland or restoring it.”

“The conservation of wetlands, while it might have global effects, also has the most localized benefits,” said fellow data technician Henry Betts, citing examples like sustaining fisheries and recreation. “Keeping them healthy and growing can benefit people directly in their everyday lives.”

Wolfe and Betts work on a team illuminating the unique powers of wetlands. This winter, in the January issue of Global Change Biology, the team unveiled an online database centered on how wetlands store carbon worldwide: The Coastal Carbon Atlas and Library. It contains data from nearly 15,000 soil cores from every continent except Antarctica. Like a true public library, the data are freely available to everyone. And it’s revolutionizing our ability to make predictions about wetlands and climate change.

by Sara Aoki

Over one hundred years ago, San Francisco built its first seawall: a 3-mile, concrete wall that protects the city’s shores from sea level rise and erosion.

by Sara Aoki

Beth Bowers follows the journeys of aquatic animals, using tags that transmit sound signals. As a new postdoc in SERC’s Fisheries Conservation Lab, she’s now using her skills to study how offshore wind farms could impact marine life along the Atlantic coast. Her specialty is “acoustic telemetry”—a technology where scientists outfit animals with special acoustic tags to track their movements underwater. By knowing where animals move, feed and breed, governments can make better decisions about how we develop renewable energy while minimizing impacts to the environment.  

In this Q&A, Beth explains how acoustic telemetry works, her hopes for the future and advice for aspiring scientists. Edited for brevity and clarity.

by Kristen Goodhue

Animals that can thrive on floating trash. A possible origin story for toxic mercury in our food web. The true power of protected areas, and the secret to a successful forest. This past year had its fair share of jaw-dropping moments for the scientists at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). Here are eight of our favorite discoveries from 2023—from the hopeful and inspiring to the utterly bizarre.

Coastal creatures are flourishing in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Floating plastic pollution is creating a new habitat in the open ocean, one where coastal animals can prosper. In a new study, ecologists analyzed 105 pieces of debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. They found hundreds of marine invertebrates, belonging to 37 groups which they once thought could survive only on the coasts. The discovery heralds a new era fighting invasive species, when animals can cross entire oceans on plastic rafts. It’s also a shakeup for once-stable ecosystems on the high seas: The newcomers are grabbing space from ocean-open animals and occasionally even eating them.

by Sara Aoki

In an era of climate change and global warming, the United States must look to an unlikely savior for reducing greenhouse gas emissions: coastal wetlands.

Wetlands, otherwise known as salt marshes or tidal swamps, have achieved celebrity status for their ability to store large amounts of carbon. Unfortunately, man-made structures like bridges and dams have triggered many wetlands to emit carbon in the form of methane, an even more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Luckily, a recent study indicates that some coastal wetlands could slash their methane emissions dramatically–up to the equivalent of 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide–if they’re restored to their most natural, environmentally friendly state.

by Kristen Goodhue

“Plant it and forget it for 10 years. Nothing interesting happens in young forests.”

John Parker remembers hearing that advice from a colleague who worked in tropical forests. It was the summer of 2012. Parker, a senior scientist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), was on the verge of planting 20,000 tree saplings on the center’s campus. Once planted, his team would watch a new forest grow from scratch. He hoped the project would continue for at least a century.

“I was pretty worried,” Parker said. The early years were especially rough, as his lab worked to win small grants and recruit interns to help keep it going. “We didn’t forget it,” he said. “We kept the experiment running and collected data. But it was somewhat piecemeal without a big grant to hold it all together.”

Just over a decade later, the 60-acre experiment—BiodiversiTREE—is a thriving mosaic of sycamores, elms, tulip poplars and 13 other tree species. It’s attracted scientists from around the world. Some are former SERC postdocs returning with their students. Others are new collaborators.

Parker now sees the project as a model of “if you build it, they will come.” But building it was tough.

by Anna Davis

Though the Smithsonian is home to both mind-bending art and groundbreaking science, these disciplines all too often appear as opposites. The myth of “analytical, left-brained” scientists and “creative, right-brained” artists creates a false dichotomy. However, art is an increasingly important way to communicate complex scientific ideas.

This spring, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) sponsored its first science illustration internship and experienced the power of bridging the gap between art and science. Anna Pedersen joined SERC for an 11-week internship, thanks to generous funding from the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation. Her intern project centered on creating a beautiful and original painting that helps communicate SERC science.

by Laila Hurd

We may think we’re familiar with photosynthesis—the textbook recipe plants use to make food from light, water and carbon dioxide (CO₂). But measuring it, particularly in natural settings, requires factoring in complex variables. Kelvin Acebron is a postdoc in the Quantitative Ecology Lab at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. He’s spent the last decade measuring photosynthesis and studying its regulation in the field. In this Q&A, Kelvin discusses photosynthesis in agriculture and in plants’ natural habitats (like tropical forests). He also shares what he’s learned in his global scientific journey. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

by Laila Hurd

Though currently a volunteer with the Chesapeake Water Watch project, this is not Maria Alejandra Ceballos’ first rodeo at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). Thirty years ago, Ceballos spent her summer interning at SERC’s Photobiology and Solar Radiation Lab with Pat Neale. Since then, she has made a career studying water quality and ecology, combining her passion for the outdoors with scientific pursuits.

by Laila Hurd

When it comes to media coverage, not all invasive species get equal treatment. A new study found that out of 209 invasive plant species in the United States, half the media coverage over the past decade centered around just 10 species. Additionally, 80% of media coverage focused on only the top 25 invasive species.