Study of Temporal Trends of Pollution in Selected Coastal Areas by the Application of Isotopic and Nuclear Tools

Closed for proposals

Project Type

Coordinated Research Project

Project Code

K41016

CRP

2070

Approved Date

27 May 2016

Start Date

21 September 2016

Expected End Date

31 December 2020

Participating Countries

Australia
Brazil
Italy
Jordan
Kenya
Kuwait
Malaysia
Mexico
Morocco
Russian Federation
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sweden
Viet Nam

Description

The increasing worldwide exploitation of coastal areas poses serious environmental problems and requires science-based policy for a sustainable management of the marine ecosystems and resources. Knowledge on pollution levels and trends is essential to define environmental protection measures. However, data availability in coastal areas is still very uneven. In large areas of the world information is totally missing and, although monitoring programmes are being undertaken, very little is known on past contaminant levels and trends. The use of natural environmental archives (sediments, shells, corals, etc.) when properly dated by radioisotopic methods, may allow for defining the temporal variability and trend of the levels of a variety of contaminants  in the marine environment, complementing conventional monitoring programmes and/or reconstructing past environmental conditions when monitoring data is missing.   The aim of this CRP is to critically review the use of natural environmental archives to retrospectively investigate pollution trends in the marine environment and to show how the application of radioanalytical, isotopic and tracer techniques can contribute to provide an improved approach enabling to produce comprehensive data on the behaviiour of contaminants in coastal marine systems.

Objectives

To provide Member States with improved and harmonized environmental archive dating tools to evaluate sources and temporal trends of pollutants which will enable them to sustainably manage their coastal marine environment.

Specific objectives

To globally verify the improved and harmonized common approach in selected coastal areas with high sedimentation rates

To appraise pollution sources by the use of stable and radioisotopes

To establish a scientific platform to improve the radiometric dating methods for defining time trends of pollution

To globally verify the improved and harmonized common approach in selected coastal areas with high sedimentation rates

To appraise pollution sources by the use of stable and radioisotopes

To establish a scientific platform to improve the radiometric dating methods for defining time trends of pollution

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