Central North Sea: The area of the Dutch continental shelf North of 54° 14min N.

Chlorophyll pigment concentrations in water bodies; Plankton abundance per unit volume of the water column; Phytoplankton generic abundance in water bodies; Plankton biomass expressed as carbon per unit volume of the water column; Phytoplankton taxonomic abundance in water bodies

Particulates samplers; sieves and filters; optical microscopes

MON*BIO is a part of the Monitoring programme of the National Water Systems (in Dutch : Monitoring Waterstaatkundige Toestand des Lands; MWTL) The primary goal of the MWTL programme is to provide physical, chemical and biological information in relation to long term developments. So the focal point for the monitoring programme is based on trend detection. Another aim is to check the compliance to national and international assessment criteria. The Dutch marine and brackish waters are dived into areas. In field GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE the area is mentioned. In MON*BIO surface water is inspected to determine the numbers of specimen and the totals of these specimens. The starting date mentioned is not necessarily the same for every parameters or location this can differ from one parameter or location to another. The given date is the first year data is available of one or more locations. During the given period more or less locations can be sampled due to changes in the national monitoring programme. All inspections are carried out by Standard Operating Procedures (SOP's). Water The frequency of collecting the samples differs from 7 till 30 times a year. The programme for chlorophyll started in 1988. The monitoring of phytoplankton started in 1990. For actual planning: www.waterplan.nl

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