standardization of environmental data and information - International ...

PART III
Environmental Parameters Needing Assessment
INTRODUCTION
Having reviewed the data standards employed in recent exploratory
research on the deep oceans, the Workshop turned its attention to specific
scientific disciplines in which such standards are to be applied. These
include chemical oceanography, physical oceanography (sediments,
sedimentation and bioturbation) and biology. Biological aspects received
special attention, in the form of papers and discussions on benthic fauna
and the pelagic community in the upper waters.
Chemical oceanography was the topic presented by Dr. Gerald
Matisoff, Chair of the Department of Geological Sciences, Case Western
Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. He pointed to two reasons for
monitoring the water column: protection of aquatic health and protection of
human health.
He identified three factors related to mining that might raise
concerns about aquatic health. These were: the possible reduction of
oxygen in the deep ocean, due to the injection of mining wastes and organic
material; the addition of nutrients from the bottom, affecting carbon
productivity and the food web; and the return of sediment and other
materials to the upper waters, affecting productivity there. The main human
health issue concerned the release of metals and their accumulation in the
food chain.
He suggested a number of specific measurements that could be
used to monitor water chemistry, with special emphasis on oxygen and
metal levels. These would be taken by recording and sampling instruments
attached at different standard depths to four moorings located in each
study area.
Some participants stressed the need to ensure, as one of them put
it, that monitoring would be done for a reason rather than to collect
information for its own sake. It was argued that more attention should be
paid to how animal and human life might be affected. One speaker,
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