‘Help the Kelp cos Kelp can Help!’ by Kat Mitchell

 Coastal ecosystems, such as kelp forests, store up to 20 times more carbon per square kilometre than land forests and are very important in mitigating climate change.  They also provide habitat for many animals, including sea lions and seals.  However, kelp forests are highly vulnerable to marine heatwaves which have doubled in frequency since 1982 and are getting hotter.

The kelp in this painting shows the annual anomalies (difference from average) in coastal sea-surface temperature in New Zealand from 1982 to 2017. Where the healthy (green) kelp hangs below the horizontal line, coastal sea-surface temperatures were below average (shown by the blue water). Where the dead (brown) kelp forest lies above the horizontal line, coastal sea-surface temperatures were above average (shown by the red water). Marine heatwaves have already led to the death and, in some cases, local extinction of native bull kelp forests off the coast of the South Island.