Rising sea levels could do more than flood coastlines. Research from Missouri University of Science and Technology shows they may also trigger the release of large amounts of carbon stored in coastal ecosystems into the atmosphere.

“What’s fascinating is that this process can become a self-reinforcing loop,” says Suvrajit Ghosh, a geology and geophysics Ph.D. student at Missouri S&T. “Rising sea levels can trigger carbon release, and that release can further accelerate changes that lead to even more sea-level rise.”