Six sites in Lough Swilly, County Donegal

Dissolved oxygen parameters in the water column; Fauna abundance per unit area of the bed; Sediment grain size parameters; Nitrate concentration parameters in the water column; Phosphate concentration parameters in the water column; Salinity of the water column; Temperature of the water column; Concentration of suspended particulate material in the water column; Zoobenthos dry weight biomass; Zoobenthos taxonomic abundance; Zoobenthos taxonomy-related counts; Zoobenthos taxonomy-related wet weight biomass per unit area of the bed; Dissolved organic carbon concentrations in sediment pore waters; Silicate concentration parameters in the water column; Carbon concentrations in sediment; Oxygen production and respiration in the water column

Discrete water samplers; salinity sensor; sediment grabs

The aim of the lough survey was to investigate water and sediment quality to comply with an integrated pollution control licence, granted to an industrial company. Six sites, at various distances from the outfall were tested for water and sediment quality using standard methodology. Triplicate sediment samples were collected in each station using a 0.1 square metre day grab for macrofaunal analysis. All analyses were undertaken in quality control laboratories. The water and sediment quality data are stored in simple summary tables. The macrofauna data are stored in two separate spreadsheets, the first representing abundance data, identified to family level and the second representing biomass data, also identified to family level.

MARENCO Environmental Consultants
Elmwood House, 74 Boucher Road
Belfast
Northern Ireland
BT12 6RZ
United Kingdom