Das Projekt "ODER Discharge - Environmental response" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Leibniz-Institut für Ostseeforschung durchgeführt. Objective: Project ODER addresses a range of key objectives concerning sources, pathways and biogeochemical cycling of metals, organic compounds and radionuclides at both spatial and temporal scales within the Oder System. - To develop a database (GIS) on the concentration and distribution of organic and inorganic compounds and metals in conjunction with benthic ecosystem statistics within the southern Baltic coastal system; - To use appropriate field and remote sampling techniques in order to characterise the spatial processes affecting the discharge of key organo-metallic compounds in the Oder discharge plume including the distribution and dispersal pathways of sediments and particulate materials; - To study the cycling of suspended particulates and their attendant remineralisation and impact on the ecosystem; - To collect and interpret the historical (the last 150-200 years) record of natural and anthropogenic input to the Oder System, and to ascertain and predict the response of the ecosystem to change. - To evaluate the role of particulate transport, biogeochemical cycling (and diagenesis) in modifying the spatial pattern and historical record of natural and anthropogenic compounds in the Oder System. General Information: Specifically, five study areas (the Oderhaff, Greifswalder Bodden, the coastal zone, the Arkona Basin and the Bornholm Basin) will be studied over a two year period. Long sediment cores will recover the depositional history of sediments in these areas over the last one to two centuries. Sampling and analytical procedures will include: - Remote observation vehicle for 'live' observation of bottom sediment dynamics. - Remote sensing and satellite analysis of plankton colour, water temperature and turbidity. - Marine expeditions using research vessels (R/Vs) from the Christian Alberechts University, Kiel, and small craft from the University of Greifswald. Specialised marine sampling equipment for taking long, undisturbed cores in a variety of water depths . Sediment traps to collect sinking particulate material will be deployed. - Large volume filtration for obtaining both suspended and dissolved metals and radionuclides at the same time. - Laboratory analysis of metals, organic compounds, radionuclides and benthic faunas. - The construction of a Geographical Information System using dBase formats and the development of a user-friendly interface of use of the GIS by the project members and interested third-parties. Prime Contractor: University of Edinburgh, Department of Geology and Geophysics-Grant Institute; Edinburgh; UK.