MERMAN: UK Marine Sediment Contaminants and Biological Effects from 1989

Contaminant and biological effects data from sediment samples collected in UK waters under the Clean Safe Seas Environmental Monitoring Programme. The data, submitted annually by Competent Monitoring Authorities, fulfills the UK's mandatory monitoring requirements under the OSPAR convention and supports European directives and national assessments. Records start from 1987, with greater database use from 1997 onwards.

Use Cases

• Assessing long-term trends in marine sediment contamination based on the multi-decade time series.
• Evaluating biological effects of pollutants in UK coastal ecosystems as described in the monitoring programme.
• Supporting compliance reporting for OSPAR and European Commission directives using the mandatory monitoring data.
• Modeling the spatial distribution of contaminants based on sampling stations in UK waters.

Strengths

• Data includes a quality weighting score based on laboratory accreditation, reference material, and detection limits.
• Time series begins in 1987, providing a long-term perspective on marine environmental changes.
• Data fulfills mandatory international monitoring requirements under the OSPAR JAMP.

Limitations

• Row count and file formats are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data failing a quality threshold are stored but not made available to external users.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service, via Competent Monitoring Authorities (CMAs).

Collection Method

Samples collected from stations in UK waters using grabs, then analyzed by accredited laboratories.

Time Range

1987 onwards, with greater use from 1997.

Freshness

Data are submitted annually, but the last update date is unknown.

Geography

UK waters.