Environmental Specimen Banking - Marine Monitoring Strategies and Oceanographic Perspectives

The establishment of an international marine specimen bank for worldwide collection, preparation and storage of authentical biological and environmental samples for monitoring and retrospective analysis is supported by a number of straightforward arguments. Discharge of radioactive waste, organic and inorganic pollution, various mining activities and ammunition disposal into the seas of the world in enormous quantities gives raise to serious concern about the future integrity of the marine ecosystem. Impact to climatic changes as well as large economic losses could result from marine ecosystem damages. International efforts should therefore be immediately initiated for global monitoring together with banking of authentical materials to enhance our present knowledge about cause/effect relationships and the physico-chemical background of stress to our marine ecosystem