UK coastal and estuarine data tracks the relative input of six hazardous substances to the marine environment. The dataset includes five heavy metals (cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, zinc) and the organic compound lindane, with the latest data point from 2013. It is one of 24 indicators published by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee on behalf of Defra.
Use Cases
- Tracking progress towards the OSPAR Convention's 2020 hazardous substances cessation target based on pollutant input data.
- Analyzing long-term trends in legacy contaminant mobilization from soils and sediments based on heavy metal and pesticide measurements.
- Modeling the impact of point source and river-carried pollution on marine biodiversity based on the indicator's scope.
- Assessing the effectiveness of historical bans and restrictions (e.g., lead in petrol) based on time-series pollutant levels.
Strengths
- Focuses on six of the most hazardous substances as defined by the OSPAR Convention's strategy.
- Part of a structured suite of 24 UK biodiversity indicators with a published technical methodology.
- Data is associated with a specific policy framework and goal (OSPAR Convention's 2020 target).
Limitations
- The latest data point is from 2013, which may limit analysis of recent trends.
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count and dataset scale are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
Provenance
- Source
- Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) on behalf of Defra.
- Collection Method
- Underlying data for the biodiversity indicator B5b; methodology detailed in a supporting technical document.
- Time Range
- Latest data are for 2013.
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-07-08 13:32:29.684012; freshness should be verified
- Geography
- UK coastal waters and estuaries, including inputs carried via rivers.