This report, the second in a three-volume series on development of coastal indicators by EEA, explains the process and results of a study of potential state and pressure indicators for hazardous substances in coastal waters. Due to a lack of reliable and comparable European data, the testing...

These technical guidelines detail the content and format of data required by the European Environment Agency from the marine conventions and national sources. The information collected on Europe's transitional, coastal and marine waters is used for the production of indicators in the EEA's core...

This report provides guidance to member countries on quality control procedures for Eurowaternet data which need to be taken into account at national and regional levels. The guidance focuses on quality control of sampling and analysis. It describes tests on the integrity of the data carried out...

This report provides an assessment of trends in concentrations of six hazardous substances in mussels and fish in Europe's seas since 1985. The trends are linked to reduction measures, foodstuff limit values and trends in inputs to coastal and marine waters. The results are presented in a series...

The Baltic is the largest brackish water system in the world. Its only connection to more open seas are the shallow sounds between Sweden and Denmark. x01x02 The sea is slowly shrinking because of geological uplifting of land after the last glaciation. x01x02 In many respects the Baltic is...

Nearly 87 % of the Black Sea is entirely anoxic (without oxygen) and contains high levels of hydrogen sulphide. This is the result of past geological events, its shape and its specific water balance (high degree of isolation from the world ocean, deep water depression with a maximum depth of 2...

The Arctic Ocean covers a large area with harsh climatic conditions. x01x02 There are strong seasonal and geographical variations in light, temperature and ice cover. x01x02 The European part of the Arctic Ocean covers only about 8 % of the total area of the Arctic Ocean, but due to its great...

The North Sea is a shallow and rather young ecosystem formed by the flooding of a landmass some 20 000 years ago. Its coasts and waters are still being colonised by new species from the Atlantic. The strong coupling between benthic and pelagic communities in the shallow parts of the sea makes it...

The Caspian is the largest enclosed sea in the world. It is brackish, with salinity up to 13.7 u0089. Significant changes in water levels occur. These, combined with the presence of large shallow areas, constitute a potential threat to biodiversity and especially to the many endemic species. The...