Report on the Nantes workshop on contaminant fluxes through the coastal zone

The Nantes Symposium on Contaminant Fluxes through the Coastal Zone was held in Nantes 14 - 16 May 1984 at the Institut Scientifique et Technique des Peches Maritimes after the kind invitation of Professor Cl. Maurin. The local co-ordinator and organizer was Dr C. Alzieu. The Symposium originated from interest and concern about how processes of a physical, chemical and biological nature influence the transfer through the coastal zone of contaminants from land-based sources, and the need for a quantification of the effects of these processes on the flux through the coastal zone. A Mini-Symposium on this subject was held at the Statutory Meeting in 1980, and in several Working Groups as well as in the Advisory Committee on Marine Pollution this problem has been discussed. At the Statutory Meeting in 1981, it was proposed that a Symposium be held on the subject which should be followed by a Workshop. The exercise should be interdisciplinary, and the Workshop should use the papers presented and discussions held at the Symposium as input to its analyses of the current knowledge. The present report constitutes the result of the Workshop. I am grateful to all the participants for their contributions and to my co-editors for their help in creating the final document. Support from the ISTPM with a very good organization is also acknowledged with many thanks, as well as financial support from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and from the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission to selected participants.