Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Portsmouth
Disciplines :
Earth sciences & physical geography
Author, co-author :
Richir, Jonathan ; University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK > School of Biological Sciences > Institute of Marine Sciences
Pini, Jennifer
White, Shannon
Watson, Gordon
Language :
English
Title :
Spatiotemporal evolution of the distribution of trace elements in the sediments of the English Channel
Publication date :
18 September 2014
Event name :
Channel Catchments Cluster (3C) - Water Quality Monitoring and Management Symposium
Event place :
Le Havre, France
Event date :
du 17 au 18 septembre 2014
Audience :
International
Name of the research project :
Channel Catchment Cluster (3C)
Funders :
FEDER - Fonds Européen de Développement Régional
Commentary :
Among the variety of contaminants that threaten the marine environment, trace elements remain of major concern because of their toxicity, their ability to highly concentrate in biota and persistence in sediments. Large spatiotemporal surveys are thus performed to monitor their environmental occurrence. But the resulting databases generated, that represent an important source of information readily available to environmental scientists, remain however often underexploited. This is notably the case along the anthropized coasts of South England. This study therefore aim to investigate the long term trends of sediment contamination along the coasts of South England over a 30 year period of time, using the existing trace element databases of the Environment Agency and the British Oceanographic Data Centre. We also aim to point out the drivers for the changes seen and to predict what mitigations can be expected in the coming years, and when the achievement of the European objectives will be completed.
