Page 8: of Marine Technology Magazine (June 2012)

In the last 20 years, environmental monitoring in the sea has developed from classical analysis of biodiversity and chemical composition, to biomarkers and diagnostic methods of mea- suring the health status of individuals. There is now a renewed focus on real-time environmental monitoring. New methods are required based on the need for interactive environmental control, where potential impacts on the environment can be identiÞ ed early and the necessary response carried out before irreparable damage is caused. The offshore industry in Nor- way has been one of the driving forces for the development of new environmental monitoring tools, which have been Þ rst implemented in the offshore industry before being used in more general environmental monitoring strategies. Statoil and ConocoPhillips are our initial strategic partners.Measuring on live animals provides a method for environ- mental monitoring that reduces the need for sacriÞ ce of ani-mals, and allows for constant assessment of their health status. Biosensors for use in conjunction with live animals were de- veloped approximately 25 years ago (1st generation), includ- ing heart rate monitors for bivalve molluscs and crustaceans and the open/close frequency of bivalve shells. Improved ver- sions of these methods (2nd generation) represent the center of current real-time monitoring practices. The 2nd generation methods are sensitive and effective at detecting abrupt chang- es in environmental conditions it is difÞ cult to interpret the biosensor response related to complex and low-dose chronic exposure situations. There is a necessity within the real-time environmental monitoring Þ eld for the development of new methods that are both sensitive to low-dose chronic exposure and able to give intuitively understandable responses, at the same time as providing a clear illustration of the degree of exposure to pollutants. Column Real-Time Environmental Monitoring By, Kirsten Redmond and Odd Ketil Andersen, BiotaTools AS Dr. Odd Ketil Andersen, BiotaTools AS, Norway June 20128 MTRMTR #5 (1-17).indd 8MTR #5 (1-17).indd 85/31/2012 1:59:53 PM5/31/2012 1:59:53 PM