Water Quality Monitoring is the system by which we test, assess and support our marine environment. It’s important to monitor water in different marine areas as it provides objective evidence. This supports sound decision making on implicating strategy and management of water quality. This is important for the present and in our future.

We monitor water through these biogeochemical indicators; dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, salinity and nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus). Depending on the size and scale of the area to be monitored, we have a range of sampling platforms; for in situ sampling these include our 7 metre RIB our fully equipped 21m Maritime and Coastguard Agency Category 2 workboat, able to operate up to 60 miles from a safe haven carrying 12 passengers plus crew during the day or 6 overnight berths. For larger areas, with better spatial coverage, we use drones, fixed wing aircraft, or data from Earth observation satellites.