Protecting and effectively managing the oceans and seabed is key to combating climate change. The oceans have absorbed more than 90 percent of excess heat from global warming and at least 25 percent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. They also store huge amounts of carbon, separating it from the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years. Coastal habitats such as mangroves, seagrasses, salt marshes and kelp forests have received much attention as natural climate solutions. In comparison, the sediments that line the sea floor have been largely ignored, even though they are estimated to contain far greater carbon stores than trees and soils on land. A major contributing factor has been the lack of reliable, high-resolution maps of seafloor carbon stocks. (Graham Epstein, University of Victoria and Julia K. Baum, University of Victoria, full article at greenpeace.org)