DoomsdaysCW<p>Sinking in Saltwater: <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Maine" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Maine</span></a>’s <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/coastal" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>coastal</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/marshes" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>marshes</span></a> at risk as sea levels rise</p><p>Between 28 and 57 percent of the state’s coastal marshes could disappear by the end of the century, victims of a rising sea, coastal <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/development" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>development</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PollutedRunoff" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PollutedRunoff</span></a>. </p><p>By<br />Kate Cough<br />July 28, 2024</p><p>PORTLAND — &quot;It takes hundreds of years for a <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SaltMarsh" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SaltMarsh</span></a> to form, for fine sediment brought in on the tides to settle in sections of shoreline sheltered from the worst of the wind and waves. As salt-tolerant plants — smooth <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/cordgrass" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>cordgrass</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SaltmarshHay" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SaltmarshHay</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/saltgrass" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>saltgrass</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BlackRush" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>BlackRush</span></a> — begin to grow, their dense stems and roots trap more sediment, and the marsh builds more rapidly, up and out. </p><p>&quot;<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Crabs" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Crabs</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/shrimp" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>shrimp</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/worms" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>worms</span></a> arrive, drawn to the rich food of dying marsh grasses, followed by a variety of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/fish" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>fish</span></a> — <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/alewives" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>alewives</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/StripedBass" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>StripedBass</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/smelt" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>smelt</span></a> and Sea-run <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BrookTrout" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>BrookTrout</span></a> among them — many of which eventually migrate between the marsh and the sea.<br />logo for the sinking in saltwater series</p><p>&quot;Acre by acre, a healthy salt marsh anchors a <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FoodWeb" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>FoodWeb</span></a> &#39;more productive than most midwestern <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/farmland" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>farmland</span></a>,&#39; according to a 2003 paper published by the University of Maine.</p><p>&quot;The same dense grasses that are so good at trapping silt also excel at ensnaring pollutants, pulling out nitrogen and nutrients that cause <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AlgalBlooms" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>AlgalBlooms</span></a>, and burying <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/toxic" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>toxic</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/contaminants" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>contaminants</span></a> in the peat. </p><p>&quot;Once established, plants in salt marshes grow quickly, fed by the rich soil, and pull <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/carbon" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>carbon</span></a> from the atmosphere. Salt marshes are ten times more effective at storing carbon than tropical forests, and, left undisturbed, can trap the gas in the ground for centuries, a phenomenon scientists refer to as &#39;blue carbon.&#39;</p><p>&quot;Maine has some of the most extensive blue carbon reservoirs in the northeast — second only to Massachusetts, according to a study published by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2023. </p><p>&quot;But as sea levels rise and development presses in, these reservoirs, and the habitats they create, are at risk of disappearing.</p><p>&quot;An analysis by the University of Maine suggests that a significant portion of the Maine’s salt marshes — between 28 and 57 percent, depending on the sea level rise scenario — could be gone by the end of the century. They are also threatened by polluted runoff from <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/pesticides" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>pesticides</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/septic" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>septic</span></a> systems and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AgriculturalWaste" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>AgriculturalWaste</span></a>.</p><p>&quot;&#39;The decisions Mainers make over the next 10 years are going to determine whether these important ecosystems persist,&#39; said Bates professor Beverly Johnson, who has been studying blue carbon for years, speaking to The <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MaineClimateCouncil" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MaineClimateCouncil</span></a> in December.</p><p>&quot;Over the past 25 years, nearly 300 acres of Maine’s wetlands — both fresh and saltwater — have been impacted by or lost to development, according to a Press Herald/Maine Monitor analysis of data from the state’s In Lieu Fee Compensation Program. The program allows developers to fill or convert certain <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/wetlands" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>wetlands</span></a> if they pay a fee, money that is used for conservation projects elsewhere.&quot;</p><p>Read more:<br /><a href="https://themainemonitor.org/sinking-in-saltwater/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">themainemonitor.org/sinking-in</span><span class="invisible">-saltwater/</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BlueCarbon" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>BlueCarbon</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SeaLevelRise" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SeaLevelRise</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SaveTheMarshes" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SaveTheMarshes</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SaveTheWetlands" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SaveTheWetlands</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SaveSearsIsland" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SaveSearsIsland</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ScarboroughMarsh" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ScarboroughMarsh</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SaveSmilingHillFarm" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SaveSmilingHillFarm</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GorhamConnector" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>GorhamConnector</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RedBrook" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>RedBrook</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OceansAreLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>OceansAreLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PesticideRunoff" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PesticideRunoff</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SewageRunOff" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SewageRunOff</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Pollution" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Pollution</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WebOfLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WebOfLife</span></a></p>