Special Topic: Wetlands

Climate Central’s multi-component project reveals precise locations where wetlands -- critical habitat for innumerable species of fish and wildlife -- might survive rising seas either by migrating upland or by growing higher to stay above rising water levels.

A peer-reviewed paper published in Environmental Research Communications, with an advanced national-scale analysis concluding that changes in wetland area could result in an annual gain of $222 billion compared to an annual loss of $732 billion in ecosystem services in the US alone.

An accompanying lay-language report (also in Spanish) and a Climate Matters bulletin (these bulletins, which contain data-rich graphics and analysis, are distributed each week to more than 2,000 media professionals who have asked to receive them).

Two interactive map layers, which have received more than 34,000 pageviews since launch on June 8, 2022:

Localizable maps, which show where wetlands can survive, expand, or recede, by decade, depending on coastal development vs. conservation, pollution pathways/sea level rise scenarios, and wetlands' rate of vertical growth.
County-level maps projecting total gains/losses
of coastal wetlands by decade, based on coastal development vs. conservation, pollution pathways/sea level rise, and wetlands' rate of vertical growth.
Multiple in-depth news articles co-bylined by Climate Central’s Partnership Journalism Program and local news outlets, including in New Orleans, LA; Charlotte, NC; and Bangor, ME. An additional co-bylined story was produced with Quartz
Approximately 150 other national and local news outlets including print/digital and broadcast outlets covered the report.