Environmental Monitoring & Assessment Program

1991 Field Operations and Safety Manual

Draft 6/16/91

Strobel, C.J. and S.C. Schimmel, 1991. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Environmental Research Laboratory, Narragansett, RI, 02882-1197.

View the appendices (84 pp, 335 Kb, about PDF)

Abstract

The Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) is a Nation-wide program initiated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1990. The purpose of this program is to annually monitor the condition of all the Nation's major ecosystems. As a component of the Near-Coastal (EMAP-NC) Program, annual sampling will be conducted in the Virginian Province (Cape Cod, MA to Cape Henry, VA). The purpose of this project is to produce data to be used in the characterization of the bays and estuaries of the Virginian Province, and to evaluate logistics, indicators, sampling methods, etc. 1991 Field operations are scheduled to begin in July, 1991.

Three teams of field personnel will be required to complete data collection activities. Each team will be comprised of two 4-person crews, alternating on a six day cycle. Teams will be supplied with a 24 foot workboat on a trailer, a four wheel drive pick-up truck, a modified van (to serve as a mobile laboratory), and all sampling gear and supplies required to complete all activities. All field activities will be monitored and coordinated by the Field Operations Center at the Environmental Research Laboratory in Narragansett, RI (ERL-N).

Field crews will collect electronic data (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, transmissivity, fluorescence and Photosynthetically Active Radiation) as well as sediment and water samples, fish, and bivalves. Data will be recorded on data sheets as well as in an on-board computer. All data entered into the computer in the field will be uploaded to the ERL-N VAX computer on a daily basis via modem communications.

This manual describes, in detail, all field collection methods, including Quality Assurance (QA) and safety. It will serve as a guide for field personnel and will be carried on the boats at all times. An effort has been made to anticipate problems and questions that may arise, and to include information on resolving them. All methods, as described in this manual, must be adhered to by all field personnel. Any changes in methods will be communicated to the field crews by the Field Coordinator or Project Manager. As [if] methods change, an updated version of the pertinent section[s] will be prepared and provided to the field crews.