MESL - Marine Environmental Studies Laboratory
The Marine Environmental Studies Laboratory manages the Subprogramme H3, Monitoring and Study of Non-radioactive Marine Pollution. MESL has expertise in the fields of marine analytical chemistry, pollution monitoring and marine biogeochemistry. Often working in partnership with other UN organisations (UNEP, UNESCO-IOC, UNDP), MESL provides a range of services that are necessary for assuring data quality in pollution monitoring programmes. The laboratory supports regional monitoring networks, particularly in the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Persian / Arabian Gulf areas. MESL assists countries and regions with designing monitoring programmes (PERSGA in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden), together with monitoring and assessment of marine pollution (ROPME in the Gulf and Gulf of Oman). Recent pollution assessments have been carried out in the Caspian Sea, in support of an UNDP-GEF International Waters Project, and in the United Arab Emirates. The laboratory also has a research programme encompassing technique development, environmental case studies, biogeochemical cycling of mercury and climate change studies based on interpreting carbon-13:carbon-12 isotope ratios in biomarkers.
