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About the project
CONTRAST in a nutshell
CONTRAST will advance understanding on the properties, occurrence, fate and effects of the most relevant CECs in the marine ecosystem and deliver solutions for efficient integrated assessment and effect-based monitoring of marine environments.
We will design, demonstrate and deliver fit-for-purpose framework(s) for innovative monitoring of CECs in European seas, with the vision of significantly supporting policymakers at the EU and national levels and contributing to the implementation of relevant environmental policies. Our main ambition is to develop an integrated chemical and biological effects framework that will become part of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) to evaluate Good environmental Status (GES).
Specific objectives
1) develop chemical prioritisation schemes for the selection of CECs
2) determine fate and circulation of CECs in the marine environment.
3) Elucidate the mechanisms of toxicity of CECs to marine organisms.
4) Establish biological effects toolbox to cover mechanisms of toxicity of CECs to be used in monitoring
5) Develop assessment tools to measure the impact of CECs on marine biodiversity.
6) Establish an integrated effects assessment framework (IAF) to measure the risk and impact of CECs in the marine environment for evaluating Good Environmental Status.
7) Include IAF with guidance documents for its application into EU policy.
8) Determine impact of climate change factors on CEC toxicity and transport and fate in the marine environment.
9) Determine accumulation and transport of CECs into deep sea environments.
10) attest proficiency and quality of the methods through coordinated ring tests.
11) raise the awareness level about the issues of CECs among the general public
Project Structure
Work Package (WP) 1 will ensure proper management and coordination of the project.
WP2 will include the creation of prioritisation schemes for the selection of priority CECs to be monitored in marine environments as well as modelling approaches for understanding the circulation and fate of CECs in water and sediment, also accounting for the influence of climate change drivers.
WP3 will investigate the biological effects of priority CECs, in which the suitability of existing biological effects tools and their integration for assessing the impacts of CECs on marine organisms will be analysed leading to the improvement and/or development of new protocols/ bioassays with relevant sentinel species from European marine ecosystems for the major water column and sediment dwelling trophic groups, considering current and future climate-predicted scenarios.
WP4 will go beyond measuring biological effects in individual species and will include ecological traits to investigate the potential impacts of CECs on marine biodiversity.
In WP5, the tools tested and developed under controlled conditions in WP2-4 will be applied and tested under realistic field scenarios. Several European marine areas will be used as case studies for the application of the chemical, biological effect and biodiversity tools developed within the project.
WP6 will organise the outputs from the project and deliver sound science solutions through the assessment of existing integrated assessment frameworks and performing of integrated impact (GES) and cumulative effect assessments, which will lead to the development of best practices for the integrated assessment of CECs in the marine environment and towards harmonisation of monitoring of marine ecosystems in the EU.
CONTRAST will be supported by training workshops and intercalibration exercises on the chemicals and biological effects assessment tools, ensuring harmonised and quality science throughout the project (WP7).
WP8 will be dedicated to communicating science in an effective way interacting with all relevant actors and building the right pathways to achieve the outcomes and impacts.