Research Areas > Contaminants > Sediment Quality Assessment
Research Area: Sediment Quality Assessment
The evaluation of sediment quality is an essential step in assessing the impacts of pollution on the coastal environment. Many contaminants bind to sediments and can accumulate to harmful concentrations in coastal habitats. Because a complex array of sediment processes influence the exposure of marine life to sediment contamination, a multifaceted approach is needed to assess contaminant impact on ecosystems and human and wildlife health.
SCCWRP Research
Researchers at SCCWRP are developing tools and assessment frameworks for investigating both the direct and indirect effects of sediment contamination. This work applies to estuaries and bays along the coast of California.
Direct Effects - Risk to aquatic organisms caused by direct contact with contaminated sediments.
Indirect Effects - Risk to humans, wildlife, or aquatic organisms through consumption of food containing bioaccumulated contaminants.
Concentration of contamination in sediments affects not only benthic invertebrates, but animals higher up the food chain, such as marine mammals, birds, and even humans.
The sediment quality assessment tools developed by SCCWRP will provide environmental managers with a more consistent and reliable scientific foundation for sediment quality assessments within monitoring and regulatory programs. The State of California has proposed using these tools to assess sediment quality in bays and estuaries as part of their Sediment Quality Objectives (SQOs).
Sediment quality assessment project groups include:
This page was last updated on: 1/27/2010