Marine monitoring department

Marine monitoring department

The Marine monitoring department carries out a wide range of academic and applied research, and ensures the implementation of the Marine Monitoring Section of the National Monitoring Programme for Open and Coastal Waters of the Latvian Economic Zone.

There are four laboratories in the department:

• Chemistry laboratory with a range of activities including hydrological parameter determination, analysis of nutrients and heavy metals in water and soil, analysis of heavy metals in biota
• Hydrobiology laboratory for phytoplankton, zooplankton and macrozoobenthos analysis
• Ecotoxicology laboratory for the testing of ecotoxicity of various chemicals and mixtures of chemicals in wastewater, sediments and eluates, using a variety of test organisms
• Microplastic laboratory for handling microplastic samples.

Since the beginning of the 21st century The initial marine monitoring uses accredited observation, sampling and testing methods in accordance with EN ISO/IEC 17025:2017.

The unit also carries out assessments of currents and sediment fluxes, and studies microplastics in water and sediments. Staff are also involved in marine planning and strategic environmental impact assessments.