SEAGUARD: Seagrass Growth and Adaptation Using AI Research & Development

Underwater seagrass meadow with fish
Image is AI-generated.

Can AI help bring eelgrass to the Baltic?

SEAGUARD uses satellite imagery, regional climate projections, and machine-learning models to find seabed sites where eelgrass can persist and recover.

What we do

  • Map today’s habitats
    High-resolution remote sensing + field validation to locate existing eelgrass beds.

  • Find the best restoration sites
    Habitat-suitability models that score where planting is most likely to work under present and future conditions.

  • Accelerate climate simulations
    ML “surrogates” that make key ocean–coast model runs faster and less energy-intensive.

  • Track change
    Simple indicators and dashboards to monitor recovery over time.

Close-up of healthy eelgrass blades underwater

Why it matters

Seagrass locks away carbon, shelters marine life, clears the water, and buffers coasts. Restoring it helps to:

  • Increase carbon sequestration
  • Improve water quality and biodiversity
  • Strengthen natural coastal protection
  • Support EU policy goals (Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Water Framework Directive)
Eelgrass shoots and seedlings prepared for planting
The Research Vessel Elisabeth Mann Borgesee

What you get

  • Site-suitability maps with confidence scores
  • Restoration shortlists tailored to constraints (depth, access, protection status)
  • Planting windows based on projected temperature and light
  • Monitoring toolkit to track outcomes after planting
Field crew working with eelgrass restoration trays

Who we work with

  • Public agencies (marine & coastal management)
  • Local communities and practitioners (divers, fishers, NGOs)
  • Scientists and students (training and co-development)

Partners

IOW University of Kiel (CAU) EOMAP

Our team spans AI, oceanography, marine ecology, and remote sensing.

Open science

  • Code and data released on GitHub and Zenodo
  • FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable)
  • Hands-on training for users of our tools

SEAGUARD is funded by the  Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) on the basis of a decision of the German Bundestag.