This article is from the spring 2025 edition of Mobile Baykeeper’s print quarterly, CURRENTS. The magazine is mailed to active members who have given more than $50 in the past year. To get on the magazine’s mailing list, donate here.
By Gabriel de Oliveira
The Mobile-Tensaw Delta is an incredibly important and diverse coastal ecosystem that plays a significant role in both local and global environmental health. It is often referred to as “North America’s Amazon” due to its immense biodiversity, housing a variety of plant and animal species. However, this vital area has been severely affected by human activities over the years, including logging, development, and alterations to natural water flow. In addition to these issues, climate change has started to have more noticeable effects, further stressing the delicate balance of the Delta’s ecosystems.
Climate change brings a variety of challenges, both on land and in water, and the Mobile-Tensaw Delta is no exception. On land, rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and changes in the types of plants that can thrive are all directly linked to climate change. These alterations can have wide-reaching effects on the overall health of the environment. For instance, when certain plant species are unable to survive in changing conditions, it disrupts the natural cycles of the area, which can lead to a loss of biodiversity. In aquatic areas, problems like rising sea levels and saltier water are increasingly common. These issues, combined with changing flood patterns, further stress plant life and disrupt the delicate balance of water flow and carbon movement that the Delta relies on.
As the climate continues to shift, extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods, are becoming more frequent and intense. These events not only harm plant life but also interfere with the way carbon is stored and managed in the environment. Plants, especially trees, play a crucial role in absorbing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil. When plant life is damaged by extreme weather or when land is cleared for development, the amount of carbon the environment can absorb decreases. This contributes to the overall increase in carbon in the atmosphere, further accelerating climate change. Changes in plant types, land use, and weather patterns can therefore have a domino effect, disrupting how energy, water, and carbon are managed within an ecosystem.
In order to understand the full impact of climate change on environments like the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, scientists have been using specialized tools and techniques for over 20 years. These tools help track how energy, water, and carbon move through the environment, allowing researchers to monitor the effects of climate change in real time. However, despite this long period of study, there is still much to learn about how climate change and human activities are affecting these delicate ecosystems.
One key aspect of addressing climate change is understanding which ecosystems, agricultural practices, and land management methods are most effective at conserving water and carbon. This knowledge is especially crucial for the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, where the combination of natural beauty and ecological importance requires careful protection and management. As global temperatures rise, many areas will face hotter conditions and more water scarcity, so knowing which ecosystems and methods can adapt and thrive under these conditions is vital for reducing the impact of climate change.
In light of these challenges, setting up a research center in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta focused on tracking water and carbon would provide invaluable insights into how to best manage the region’s resources. Such a center could monitor how these elements move through the Delta and assess how climate change, along with human activities, is affecting the area. This research could also help develop strategies for better conservation practices and for protecting the areas of the Delta that store large amounts of carbon.
In addition to benefiting local ecosystems, this research could have broader implications for businesses and industries that are involved in water management, food production, and carbon trading. By learning more about how the Delta stores and manages carbon, researchers could create carbon credit markets that reward landowners or organizations for preserving areas that act as carbon sinks. This could provide a financial incentive for conservation efforts, helping to protect important ecosystems like the Mobile-Tensaw Delta while simultaneously addressing the global issue of carbon emissions.
This research could contribute valuable educational materials for universities and colleges, raising awareness about the importance of protecting vital ecosystems. The Delta is not only an important region for Alabama but also plays a critical role in the overall health of the United States’ environmental systems. Protecting it from the effects of climate change and human development is essential for both the local community and the planet as a whole.
The Mobile-Tensaw Delta is a unique and vital ecosystem that faces numerous challenges due to human activity and climate change. By investing in research and conservation efforts, we can gain a deeper understanding of how water and carbon move through this area and learn how best to protect it. This will not only benefit the Delta itself but also provide valuable insights that can be applied to other ecosystems facing similar issues. Protecting the Mobile-Tensaw Delta is a crucial step in ensuring the health of the environment for future generations.
Gabril de Oliveira is an assistant professor at the Stokes School of Marine & Environmental Sciences at the University of South Alabama.
