Can we unlock one of the great mysteries of our time?

The role of mangroves, seagrass and saltmarsh ecosystems to sequester and store carbon is increasingly recognised. But there is limited understanding of the dynamics of the carbon cycle across the global continental shelves. 

Developed in partnership by Blue Marine, University of Exeter, and Convex Group Ltd, the Convex Seascape Survey is delivering new, reliable, open-source data on continental-shelf carbon to educate, inspire, and enable informed decisions on ocean use. Around 100 experts from more than 20 institutions are collaborating to identify sediment carbon stores, understand how they form and how secure they are, and investigate how quickly they can recover from disturbance. 

In 2025, we undertook international fieldwork expeditions to Canada, Australia and South Africa to investigate the role of marine life in carbon storage and the impact of protection. The data generated in Australia is supporting local collaborators by feeding into a consultation process and zoning approach for a new marine park. 

A further team visited Antarctica to explore the complex contributions of both Great Whales and seaweed to carbon storage in the region. In the UK, colleagues used a converted fishing vessel to simulate the impact of trawling on seafloor biology and chemistry to further our understanding of the impact of human activity on carbon stores. 

Five new publications added to our growing results, covering topics from seabed sediment distribution to the role of fish digging and disturbing the seafloor. We shared our progress and findings at key international conferences, including the One Ocean Science Congress and the UN Ocean Conference in Nice. In August 2025 the Convex Seascape Survey was endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade programme.