Chapter 2 



ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY 



Over the past three decades human activi- 

 ties have had a growing impact on the quaHty 

 of the marine environment. The introduction 

 of biologically active chemicals into the oceans 

 has made it necessary to determine the extent 

 to which these pollutants threaten to alter the 

 natural state of the oceans. 



In August 1971 an international group of 

 scientists actively engaged in environmental 

 research met to consider critical areas in en- 

 vironmental quality research and to recom- 

 mend research priorities. They emphasized 

 the need to: (1) identify major pollutants and 

 their probable sources and rates of release; 

 (2) delineate processes affecting the dispersal 

 of these pollutants; (3) understand the geo- 

 chemical and biological transfers of each ele- 

 ment or compound in the ocean; (4) determine 

 the effects of pollutants on organisms and 

 their life processes; and (5) determine the sites 

 where pollutants are finally deposited in the 

 ocean.' 



These recommendations, plus those from 

 subsequent workshops, have provided the 

 basis for the IDOE program in Environmental 

 Quality. Its major research areas include base- 

 line data collection, studies of the transfer and 

 effects of pollutants and the use of geochemi- 

 cal analysis in the study of diffusion, mixing 

 and large scale ocean circulation. 



PROGRAM: 



BASELINE DATA RESEARCH 



In 1971-72, regional baseline data acquisi- 

 tion projects funded by NSF/IDOE were con- 

 ducted in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the 

 Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean. Quantita- 

 tive results were obtained on the occurrence 



and distribution of trace metals, chlorinated 

 hydrocarbons (DDT, DDE, TDE), polychlori- 

 nated biphenyls (PCB] and petroleum in the 

 water, biota and sediment. A deliberate effort 

 was made to use reference samples and to in- 

 terchange replicate samples frequently among 

 participating laboratories in the United States 

 and United Kingdom. Throughout the study 

 analytical data were constantly interchanged. 

 The extensive sampling provided sufficient 

 material to establish approximate baseline 

 levels for the pollutants measured. 



Baseline Conference 



The participants in the baseline data ac- 

 quisition projects and other environmental 

 scientists — 60 university, industrial and gov- 

 ernment experts from both the U.S. and 

 abroad — met at Brookhaven National Labora- 

 tory in May 1972 to assess the data, evaluate 

 the program and make recommendations for 

 future research. 



Prior to this Conference an 800-page com- 

 pilation of data resulting from the baseline 

 data acquisition projects was studied by all 

 the participants to ensure a thoroughly critical 

 review. The Conference was extremely valu- 

 able in describing program deficiencies and in 

 stimulating new insights into research projects. 



Within a week after the Conference a report 

 summarizing the results and recommendations 

 for future marine environmental research was 

 published, and distributed shortly thereafter 

 at the UN Conference on The Human Environ- 

 ment held in Stockholm." The following gen- 

 eral position was taken by the participants: 



RECOMMENDATION 



The participants of the National Sci- 

 ence Foundation's IDOE Baseline Confer- 



1 Marine Environmental Quality, National Academy 

 of Sciences, Wasliington, D. C, 1971. 



-BaseJine Studies of Pollutants in the iVIarine En- 

 vironment and Researcii Recommendations, The IDOE 

 Baseline Conference, May 24-26, 1972, New York 1972. 



