Goal
The goal of this project is to develop measurement tools and an assessment framework to evaluate the impact of sediment contaminants on benthic aquatic life within estuaries.
Status
Data collection for the development of sediment quality assessment tools for estuaries is currently underway. Few studies have previously been done on the direct effects of sediment contamination in estuaries.
Approach
Like research in bays, estuary research will include development of chemistry, toxicity, and benthic assemblage indicators, as well as the integration of these indicators for a multiple lines of evidence assessment.
However, separate tools are needed for estuaries because:
- Different environmental conditions mean that different biological communities live in estuaries as compared to bays
- Salinity differences in particular may affect the chemical form of contaminants
- Contaminant distribution patterns may differ from those in bays
- Different toxicity tests may be needed to assess sediments from estuaries
For more information on this topic, please contact Steve Bay at steveb@sccwrp.org
