Melissa Ward, Ph.D.
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I am a California-based marine scientist investigating coastal climate change impacts and solutions.
Key focal areas include: 1) Blue Carbon: How do aquatic vegetative habitats such as seagrass meadows, kelp forests, and salt marshes absorb and store carbon, and what role do they play in regional and global climate change mitigation? 2) Ocean Acidification: Where is the U.S. West coast most vulnerable to impacts from ocean acidification? How will shellfish industries manage OA stress, and can we use aquatic vegetative habitats such as seagrass meadows to ameliorate this stress? 3) Coastal Policy and Management: To ensure persistence of coastal communities and economies in a rapidly changing environment, coastal resource managers must be able to make adaptive changes on timescales that can keep pace with this change. What federal, state, and regional policies exist that limit adaptive capacity and how can we improve these policies? |