Research on Coastal Wetlands and Climate Change Wins Recognition

Kerrylee Rogers, a professor at the University of Wollongong, received the 2019 Eureka Prize for Environmental Research for her work on coastal ecosystems and climate change. Her studies examine how wetlands like mangroves and saltmarshes respond to rising sea levels, which have increased approximately 25 centimeters since 1880 along Australian shores. These ecosystems can adapt by accumulating sediment or retreating to higher ground, processes that also enhance carbon sequestration. Rogers' findings contributed to Australia's development of a blue carbon methodology under the Emissions Reduction Fund, enabling carbon credit trading for wetland restoration. She aims to expand this approach to support ecosystem adaptation to sea-level rise, advocating for management strategies that work with natural processes rather than resisting them.