Data Utilization and Examples of Database Application

The database is a growing document that can be used by persons throughout the region for scientific and management purposes. The data tables can be queried to provide appropriate subsets of data for the generation of plots, maps, statistical analysis, and scientific interpretation needed to address specific questions. In order to manage or restore degraded sediment and coastal marine systems, information is needed about the types and locations of

1) human activities,
2) contaminants,
3) biological habitats, and
4) detrimental effects.

The information provided in this Database of Contaminated Sediments can be used to help address scientific and regulatory issues for the Gulf of Maine, such as how best to:

• Protect human health
• Improve quality of (human) life: aesthetics, disease, reproduction, and perception of risk
• Provide multiple use: recreation, commerce, waste disposal, and resource utilization
• Protect living resources: recreation, diversity, health, and commerce
• Optimize ecosystem health for its own sake: habitat losses, restoration, and biodiversity
• Plan effective and economical monitoring programs and environmental regulations
• Better understand natural backgrounds and variability
• Identify and quantify natural processes
• Determine system sensitivity
• Identify data gaps, unknowns or poorly constrained terms.
• Advise managers and the public as to which questions they need to ask
• Provide guidance on how to reach the desired endpoints
• Provide information on the implications of various practices

EXAMPLE of Database Application:The Distribution of Lead in Gulf of Maine Sediments: Query results from the Contaminated Sediment Database