EUROMAR-MERMAID: experimental operation of the prototype network

The need for automated systems for the monitoring of chemical and biochemical parameters for which, however, appropriate instruments have not been available in the past, resulted in the definition of the EUREKA-EUROMAR project MERMAID. It is a joint project incorporating scientific and industrial partners from Germany, France, Norway, and Canada. In the first two phases of the MERMAID project several different modules with standard interfaces and standard data formats had been developed. Important components are automatic nutrient analysers and remote-controllable samplers for toxic trace substances (heavy metals and synthetic organic compounds) in addition to a high performance data management system with bidirectional telemetry units for remote-controlled network operation. These modules were implemented in a Marine Pollution Network (MERMAID-MAPONET) consisting of three sea stations, two of them built up in the Elbe estuary and one station which is at the same time part of the BSH network in the Elbe influenced coastal zone.