Gulf of Maine Projects

Final Report: Evaluation of the Gulfwatch Monitoring Program

Table of Contents

1. Summary Table of Recommendations
2. List of Review Panel Members
3. Coastal Monitoring; Background to Gulfwatch Review

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Introduction

The Gulfwatch Program incorporates some of the essential elements of a monitoring program and it is at a good point in time to reevaluate it's goals and objectives and to more sharply focus available finite resources on achievable goals. This reevaluation can be built on an extensive monitoring literature (e.g., NOAA 1991, 1997) and on the experience of other programs (e.g., NOAA 1995) In this review of Gulfwatch, we focus on a chemical contaminant monitoring program but have summarized coastal monitoring in more general terms in Appendix 2.

A comprehensive monitoring program of toxic contaminants requires understanding of:

(1) the physical processes (specifically flow characteristics) that influence the transport of contaminants;

(2) the chemical processes that influence contaminant availability, persistence, and degradation in sediments and water;

(3) the long-term biological effects that result from low-level contaminant exposure; and

(4) the human health risks associated with toxic contaminants.

The first two aspects are important in establishing realistic exposure scenarios in space and time and the last two aspects are important in linking ecological effects with concerns of contamination of resources.

In designing a monitoring program for evaluating human health risks and coastal environmental degradation, the following objectives should be considered, although not all of them are currently included in Gulfwatch:

• Define the sources of contamination (both point and non-point sources) and determine the degree to which those sources can be controlled. Assemble production and use data. This may be an extremely difficult task but if changes in contaminant inputs through changes in use patterns, new treatment technologies, or recycling efforts are to be effective, we must begin to understand the magnitude of contaminant inputs to coastal waters and how they may be reduced.

• Determine the persistence, degradation rates, and biogeochemical cycling of contaminants within coastal marine sediments and the flux of those contaminants between sediments, water, and organisms. Obviously, this requires links to current environmental research.

• Relate contaminant concentrations in the environment to ecological changes of concern.

• Describe variability of selected parameters in the natural system. Analytical, spatial and temporal variability must be described in order to interpret monitoring data.

• Improve analytical methodology and sampling design so that data of the requisite quality are generated. It is also important that a monitoring program remain flexible to incorporate the introduction of new techniques as they become available.

• A systematic and rigorous quality control-quality assurance program must be an integral component of any analytical program; including participation in inter-laboratory comparison exercises. This component is essential for the interpretation of program results.

• Data analysis and interpretation is an essential part of any monitoring program and is too often given insufficient effort. This step includes the translation of expensive monitoring measurements into coherent information that is relevant to managers.

• Public assess to monitoring results on a timely basis is important and data should be incorporated into regional and national electronic databases as soon as practicable.

Together, the above components constitute a technically sound monitoring program and the continuous incorporation of state-of-the-art scientific knowledge into the monitoring program design will ensure credible results. To avoid the trap of expending effort on simple data-collection, a well-designed monitoring program should incorporate the concept of "hypothesis testing" common to scientific experimentation. A specific testable question based on a resource management issue of concern will guide the nature and quality of measurements made. Using this approach, monitoring measurements will only be made for variables which are relevant to address the general question, "Will this measurement provide the data to permit a management decision?" This approach will create an obvious link between data collection and decision making, thus making the monitoring program more cost effective.

The kinds of testable questions to be developed fall into several categories: contaminant characterization, input quantification, near-field, short-term effects (e.g., respiratory effects) and far-field, long-term effects (e.g., community alterations). Once testable questions are developed, they are organized into a "tiered" monitoring strategy (e.g., Zeller and Wastler, 1986; NRC, 1990). A similar approach based on measured effects has also been described by Phelps et al (1987).

This monitoring strategy will generate only that information which is needed for decision-making and will not resolve other questions that may arise. It is important to avoid the natural tendency to overuse monitoring measurements by applying them to questions that were not asked when the data were gathered. A well-designed monitoring program should provide a framework within which resource management agencies can address specific management issues. The tiered approach to sampling and analysis encourages a conscious decision at each step (tier) concerning stepping up to the next level of resolution (and expense). At each point, the monitoring staff must decide if temporal and spatial resolution is adequate to address the question asked and if data resolution is of adequate precision for a management action. This tiered approach will also discourage the automatic use of expensive high-tech measurements until they are clearly needed. Scientific uncertainty should be explicitly considered at each tier level when considering adequacy of data in hand.

The tiered approach described is organized into a monitoring plan to be used by the agencies now making less organized measurements of coastal contamination. In one sense, this monitoring plan will always be evolving because we do not yet fully understand the natural processes (physical, chemical, and biological) that control the transport, fate and effects of contaminants in coastal systems. Through the adoption of this approach, it will become clear to the monitoring program staff why each tier is a necessary base on which to build the next tier of data of increased resolution (and cost). Initial tiers represent observational data and simple measurements of bulk parameters. Depending on the response provided by such data to the testable question posed, a decision will be made whether or not to continue to the next tier. Proceeding from tier to tier will generate data of increasing resolution, accuracy and cost. Thus, more sophisticated data will not be sought unless a specific need is identified at the preceding tier level. Ideally, the more detailed studies required in the later tiers will be carried out only when simpler studies conducted in an earlier tier reveal that data of higher resolution or reduced uncertainty are necessary. Continual close links to ongoing academic research are essential so that the monitoring plan can be modified as new information becomes available. One possible mechanism for creating such links could be the application of graduate thesis research to Gulf monitoring questions that cannot be directly addressed within the monitoring activities.

On to the Review

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