Environmental monitoring
ERT provides an environmental monitoring service comprising marine environmental survey capability and our in-house biology and chemistry analytical services.
Marine environmental survey
A marine environmental survey is important in trying to understand the status of the marine environment. It assists sound decision making with respect to the potential impact of any activity on the marine environment. ERT has over 30 years experience in planning, designing and executing marine environmental surveys. This means a survey is designed to suit both your needs and any regulatory standards.
In these surveys we typically take samples of the seabed and analyse them for a range of chemical parameters. These may be hydrocarbons and heavy metals as well as sediment characterisation. In addition, we identify the species of animals living in the sediment, called macrofauna, and may take water samples to determine which plankton species are present. The interpretation of data, combined with photographs, means we can present you with a ‘picture' of the seabed environment at the time of the survey. In some cases this may be as a biotope or a habitat map.
Marine environmental monitoring
Initial environmental surveys often act as a baseline against which any changes may be measured in further monitoring surveys. Marine environmental monitoring surveys involve returning to the original survey area, collecting samples, analysing them, interpreting the data and, where possible, explaining any changes that may have occurred.
Our strength in carrying out these surveys rests in our ability to provide you with full chain of custody of the process. This is achieved by our in-house survey team of marine chemists and marine biologists, in our own laboratories, who understand the importance of analytical procedures relevant to the marine environment. This ensures you have full confidence in any submission to the regulators and for public consultation.
Discharge monitoring for consent compliance may also be required by the regulator and we often support clients in their discussions with the regulators to agree appropriate monitoring and analytical methodologies.
Our analytical services for marine biology and marine chemistry are available separately if you already have your own marine environmental survey capability.
If you would like to find out more about the application of ERT's marine environmental monitoring services, please browse our selection of case studies.
To discuss your own requirements, please contact a member of our environmental monitoring team.