MONITOOL project, present at the International Symposium on Marine Sciences 2022

ITC and AZTI partners attended the Iberian Seminar on Marine Chemistry (SIQUIMAR) in the framework of the International Symposium on Marine Sciences (ISMS), 6 – 8 July 2022, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain

This event (https://isms-canarias.com) brought together a Spanish and Portuguese chemical scientists involved in ocean and coastal processes, but open to other Iberoamerican and European scientists.

In addition, of being an open forum to present results and exchange viewpoints, SIQUIMAR was an ideal framework to explore new lines of research, identify common interests and establish synergies as the seed of new collaborative projects.

Following previous lines of action, the symposium brought marine chemical scientists of multidisciplinary research activities related to Chemical Oceanography, Biogeochemical process studies, Tracers in the Ocean, Marine Ecotoxicology and Pollution and Global Change related processes.

Due to all the above, it was a good opportunity to publicize MONITOOL project and its main results.

A poster entitled “MONITOOL PROJECT: NEW TOOLS FOR MONITORING THE CHEMICAL STATUS IN TRANSITIONAL AND COASTAL WATERS UNDER THE WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE”, was exposed during each of the 4 days the Symposium lasted, which explained the main objective, the sampling campaigns and analysis carried out and the proposed EQS by DGT passive sampling devices for cadmium, nickel and lead, as well as for other metal ions under study.

Next steps, thanks to the granted 18-month project-extension (January 2022-June 2023), will extend searching for higher metal concentrations in order to validate and improve the obtained results.

MONITOOL project participation in the Summer Internships Program 2022 of the IST (Lisbon)

The MONITOOL project participated, through its project partner Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), in the Summer Internships Program 2022, promoted by the Chemical Engineering Department of IST.

For two weeks (11th – 22nd July), a BSc. Student of Chemical Engineering engaged in the laboratory analysis of spot water samples collected by MONITOOL partners upon extension of the project. Aiming at identifying higher levels of contamination of Cd, Ni and Pb, the student used electroanalytical techniques such as anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) for the quantification of Cd and Pb concentrations, either using the Hg-drop or the Hg thin-film electrodes. As to Ni, adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (CSV) with a Hg-drop electrode was used for its determination.
During the internship, supervised by Prof. Margarida Correia dos Santos and Dr. Carlos Monteiro, the student could get additional laboratory training with a focus on analytical chemistry aspects such as the quality control of the analyses. In addition, the student could understand the aims of MONITOOL project and its contribution to monitoring the aquatic environment.

DCU Sampling Campaign (2022) in the Irish Coastal Region

Researchers Martin Nolan MSc, and Dr. Chloe Richards from Dublin City University (DCU) have completed a seven-day sampling campaign within two Dublin coastal areas, Dun Laoghaire and Poolbeg marina.

Deployments followed the guidelines set by the MONITOOL project and used DGT passive samplers as well as spot sampling. An increase in metal contamination levels is expected within these areas due to the anti-fouling paint present on the various boats and small yachts. Anti-fouling paint contains high copper and zinc concentrations which are toxic to marine life.

Passive samplers will be dispatched to IFREMER, also partner of the project, for metal analysis by ICP-MS and to DCU for biofouling analysis by SEM.

Martin Nolan of DCU, (left) collecting a spot sample and (right) deploying a DGT device

MONITOOL project results obtained in the Canarian region are now available by the IDECanarias viewer of GRAFCAN

GRAFCAN (Cartográfica de Canarias, S.A.), a public entity from Canary Islands Government, has added to its cartographic viewer, IDECanarias, the WMS service "Coastal water quality”. It includes the results obtained during the MONITOOL sampling campaigns carried out by the Canary Islands Institute of Technology (ITC) in 2018 on the four established locations" in Gran Canaria.

To consult the results on https://visor.grafcan.es/visorweb/, it is necessary to zoom in on the island of Gran Canaria and then select "Gran Canaria coastal water quality (MONITOOL project) (year 2018)" within the "Environmental quality" layer.

By clicking on one of the 4 sampling points, a pdf sheet is opened. It contains the concentrations obtained for metals, both by punctual and passive sampling, as well as the values for other series of parameters, such as temperature, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, suspended matter and dissolved organic carbon.

The main goal of MONITOOL project is to provide a robust database of dissolved and labile metal concentrations in transitional and coastal waters for adapting existing Environmental Quality Standards (EQS; 0.45 µm filtered) to suitable EQS-DGT for passive sampling devices in order to evaluate the chemical status of the waters under the Water Framework Directive (WFD).