standardization of environmental data and information - International ...

Dr. Sibuet expressed the view that it was too early to standardise
many of the devices and procedures used for deep-sea investigations,
because the understanding of this subject was still in its infancy and
researchers should be given leeway in selecting the most suitable ways of
conducting their studies. For example, cores had to be studied at different
depth levels of sediment in order to elucidate temporal changes in the
vertical distribution of fauna, but researchers were still searching for the
best way to observe such changes. While a de facto international standard
existed for box corers, there was no common standard for the trawls used
to collect megafauna. Nor could the measurement of active microbial
biomass be standardised, because scientists had not yet found the best
way to make such measurements.
On this point, the moderator, Craig Smith, agreed that
standardization was inappropriate for certain kinds of site-specific
investigations into biological and other processes, but he saw the need for
taxonomic standards and for agreement on mesh sizes for box-core
processing
Describing the Biocean database developed by IFREMER, Sibuet
said it was organised taxonomically, enabling users to find information
about each species collected by all of the Institute’s research cruises over
the years. Data initially entered on board the research vessel were later
inserted into Biocean for everyone to share. She spoke of the need for an
ecologically organised database for impact studies in the nodule areas that
would enable researchers to draw comparisons and analyse temporal
changes.
She urged an international cooperative effort to organise long-term
monitoring in an area by maintaining a ship that would place and service
moored sediment traps and current meters. She also stressed the need for
an international network of taxonomists that would help to identify animal
specimens collected from the seabed. She voiced the intention of IFREMER
to organise a multidisciplinary cruise within the next five years that would
add to existing geological, biological and environmental information about
the French exploration area.
Drs. Woong-Seo Kim and Sang-Mook Lee, senior scientists of the
Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute (KORDI), outlined the
equipment and procedures their organization had been using between
1991 and 2000. The Institute’s programme included physical
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INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY