"Health Examination" — a semi-enclosed coastal environment: a new concept for marine environmental monitoring
M. Okawa, T. Takahashi, T. Kazama, K. Nakata
2006
Wit Transactions on Ecology and The Environment
unpublished
The problem in water quality has become obvious in the coastal waters of Japan since about 1970. Some areas developed an unpleasant odour and a lot of fish died in many areas where industrial activity was flourishing. The monitoring of these areas started together with missions designed to deal with this water pollution. As a result, the water quality recovered to a constant or decreased level but fishery resources have not recovered to a level to support the Japanese demand for consumption.
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... there a problem in the ideal way of restriction and monitor that focused on the water quality? We propose a "Health Examination of the sea" as a new oceanic environmental diagnosis to monitor and evaluate water quality. This diagnosis focuses on biological production and the purification ability of the sea. The "Health Examination of the sea" method covers ecosystem stability and smoothness of material cycling. This method was devised to understand at an early stage trends in environmental deterioration by using a standard which focuses on the range of variation in the environment parameter of each area, and not a standard that uses an absolute value. In effect, this new evaluation method incorporates the concept of preventive medicine. Our objective is to clarify the points of difference between the established monitoring method to redress water pollution, and to introduce a new approach to marine environment protection. The sea provides us with numerous benefits through its existence and its functions. It is essential that we take care of the health of the sea so that we are able to continue enjoying those benefits. While many of these benefits-ranging from adjustment mechanisms to climate change, through the function of preservation and accumulation of matter, and the function in the marine transportation and amenities-exist, this paper focuses on the role it performs in nature in the biological production. While the materials being carried from land is diluted and dispersed throughout the sea, the sea itself is a field of biological production that contribute www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on-line) WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol 95, Water Pollution VIII: Modelling, Monitoring and Management 27 m ma an na ag ge em me en nt t d di ia ag gn no os st ti ic c www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on-line) Artificial beach (The intertidal zone is a natural coast) The number of occurrences of Red Tide(time) www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on-line)
doi:10.2495/wp060031
fatcat:bcmwmmo4tzehpgkftqufcsbdre