ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the aspects of sea level most tied to the ability of coastal wetlands to sequester carbon (C). It utilizes the terms coastal wetland, sea-level controlled wetland and tidal wetland with distinct intent. Rates of sea level change vary across time and space. Hydrogeomorphology of and within coastal wetlands affects the interaction between wetlands and sea level. The chapter describes various aspects of sea level change and how it could affect pools and accumulation rates of blue C. It provides a brief review of the science behind sea level change and the trends found that are germane to C sequestration of coastal wetlands. Holocene estimates of relative sea level change with errors ranging from few tens of cm to less than 1 m are based mainly on basal peats and paleo-marsh elevation reconstructions based on proxies within saltmarsh soils.
