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MONITOOL project main results 2017-2023
MONITOOL project meets schools by UNICA
Our MONITOOL partners Jean-Louis Gonzalez (IFREMER) and Natalia Montero (AZTI), guest editors of a Special Issue of the Water journal
MONITOOL project, present at the International Symposium on Marine Sciences 2022
MONITOOL project participation in the Summer Internships Program 2022 of the IST (Lisbon)
DCU Sampling Campaign (2022) in the Irish Coastal Region
MONITOOL project results obtained in the Canarian region are now available by the IDECanarias viewer of GRAFCAN
Passive samplers (PS) for the assessment of dredging activity impacts
MONITOOL Project Final Conference (2021)
Interview with Professor Hao Zhang, Lancaster University, UK, and member of the MONITOOL scientific advisory board
Designing and development of an additional experiment performed by IFREMER at the laboratory
AZTI presents MONITOOL results at different scientific events during 2020
Instituto Tecnológico de Canarias (ITC) carried out a wastewater sampling campaign following the MONITOOL standardized methods
DCU Masters student, Martin Nolan, submits his MSc Thesis based on MONITOOL acquired knowledge
Evaluation of the impact of biofouling on deployments of DGT
COVID-19 impact on MONITOOL project implementation
MONITOOL Partners take part in the annual ICES expert’s meetings
Technical conference on passive samplers and MONITOOL project takes place in the Basque Country
Interview with Isabelle Amouroux, leader of MONITOOL Work Package 6 (EQS Adaptation and Chemical Status Assessment)
MONITOOL partners share and assess the results in Nantes and proceed with the last steps of the project
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UNICA promotes the application of the MONITOOL approach for other organic compounds

UNICA promotes the application of the MONITOOL approach for other organic compounds

Currently, regulatory chemical monitoring, to comply with the requirements of European Directives (i.e. the Water Framework Directive (WFD)), relies on the collection of spot water samples and the comparison of contaminant concentrations with the existing Environmental Quality Standards (EQSs). However, this approach presents several limitations.

Thus, passive samplers have been suggested as an alternative to spot sampling for obtaining high quality data in dynamic systems. However, the main factor hindering the use of passive samplers for regulatory monitoring is the lack of specific EQSs that could be used for the environmental assessment of water bodies.

Hence, the main aim of the MONITOOL project is to adapt existing dissolved metal-EQSs for passive samplers (i.e. Diffusive Gradients in Thin-films (DGTs). In this sense, the University of Cagliari (UNICA) has carried out two sampling campaigns, in winter and summer, at four stations in the Harbour of Cagliari. This consisted in the deployment of DGT passive samplers for 5 days and the simultaneous collection of spot water samples during this period.  The data gathered in these campaigns, together with that obtained by the other Partners, will be used for obtaining DGT-EQSs.

Additionally, one of the future outputs of MONITOOL is to promote the future application of the approach used in this project to other organic compounds. Thus, UNICA complements MONITOOL project with the high-frequency monitoring of the Harbour of Cagliari by means of SR (Silicon Rubber) and POCIS (Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Sampler) passive samplers, for the measurement of legacy organic pollutants (PAHs, PCBs, PBDEs, pesticides) and emerging substances (steroid hormones, pharmaceuticals, UV-filters, fragrances). The MONITOOL project will ultimately capitalize from these findings.

Due to the privileged position of UNICA in the Mediterranean, they will actively pursue the dissemination of the MONITOOL project outputs beyond the Atlantic Region. Besides, their expertise in the field of passive samplers for organic contaminants will encourage, in the framework of future projects, the adaptation of existing EQSs for these compounds.