Chapter 17 - Marine Pollution Monitoring Programs

Abstract

Monitoring is the direct measurement of a pollutant and/or the indirect measurement of its effects with the aim of evaluating its levels and controlling its impact on man and environment. Marine monitoring programs are conducted by national or international agencies and include a strategy of sampling, a selection of measurements, and standardized methodologies. Current monitoring strategies integrate chemical analyses and biological tools to assess the effects on organisms, including biomarkers and bioassays, which provide ecological relevance. Biological tools may also detect emerging pollutants not targeted by the chemical monitoring. Measurements at low levels of biological organization give an insight in the mechanisms of effects while higher levels demonstrate ecological relevance. According to its aims, a monitoring program can be classified as surveillance, intended to identify geographical patterns and temporal trends, or investigative, concentrated in hot spots and intended to guide remediation. Because of the high and stable concentrations shown, sediments are the preferred matrix for marine monitoring, but only biota inform about the bioavailable fraction. Biomonitors are native organisms in passive monitoring and transplanted organisms in active monitoring. Mussels are almost ideal sentinel organisms used for coastal monitoring in many countries, but differences among populations at genetic or environmental level, and seasonal variability, interfere with biomonitoring results. International conventions with regional scope such as OSPAR for the North Atlantic and the Cartagena Convention for the Caribbean Sea promote the assessment of environmental quality and the protection of the marine environment.