Global Coastal Vegetated Ecosystem Masks for the FOCI Earth System Model Simulations

This dataset contains NetCDF masks representing the spatial distribution and fractional coverage of coastal vegetated ecosystems (CVEs) on the NEMO ocean grid used by the Flexible Ocean and Climate Infrastructure (FOCI) Earth System Model. The dataset was developed for the study: Liadova, M., Kemena, T.P., and Keller, D.P.Assessing the global potential of expanding coastal vegetated ecosystems as a carbon dioxide removal method: results from a parameterization in an Earth System Model. Three coastal vegetated ecosystem types are represented: Mangrove forests Seagrass meadows Salt marshes The repository contains three NetCDF files corresponding to the scenarios used in the model experiments: CVE_mask.nc – present-day CVE distributions used in the baseline simulations. CVE_mask_30.nc – moderate expansion scenario representing a 30% increase in CVE coverage. CVE_mask_400.nc – idealized upper-bound sensitivity scenario representing a 400% increase in CVE coverage. The masks contain fractional ecosystem coverage for each ocean grid cell and were generated by mapping global CVE distribution datasets onto the FOCI ocean grid. The files provide spatial coverage information only and do not contain carbon burial rates, carbon fluxes, or model output. The dataset was created to enable the representation of coastal vegetated ecosystems within a coupled Earth System Model and to investigate their potential influence on the global carbon cycle and climate. Usage Notes The masks represent a simplified and static representation of coastal vegetated ecosystems and do not account for historical changes in ecosystem extent, future migration, degradation, restoration dynamics, species composition, or regional variability in carbon burial rates. They were developed for global Earth system modelling applications and are not intended for regional management or conservation planning.