A subset of 2017 Louisiana Coastal Master Plan model output to estimate climate change mitigation potential of Louisiana's coastal area

A subset of the Louisiana's 2017 Coastal Master Plan model output was used to estimate the potential climate mitigation role of Louisiana’s coastal area. Model output of surface water salinity, land/water classification, and area of eight habitats for elapsed years of 6, 11, 16, 26, and 36 were post-processed to estimate habitat areas at years of 2020, 2025, 2030, 2040, and 2050, that align with the Governor of Louisiana’s greenhouse gas reduction targets. In addition, the Louisiana coastal boundary and a static mask of upland and developed area were used to define the coastal area. The modeled habitat areas with literature review of net ecosystem carbon balance fluxes per habitat were used in an analytical framework to estimate the net greenhouse gas flux of Louisiana coastal area.