site.btaBulgaria Uses Cutting-Edge Equipment to Monitor Underwater Noise in Black Sea

Bulgaria Uses Cutting-Edge Equipment to Monitor Underwater Noise in Black Sea

Varna, on the Black Sea, October 31 (BTA) - Bulgaria is monitoring underwater noise in the Black Sea with the help of state-of-the art equipment, Black Sea Basin Directorate Director Dessislava Konsoulova told BTA in an interview. The pressure tank systems, which measure the noise in real time, have been procured within the framework of a project entitled "Marine litter, euthrophication and noise assessment tools (MARLEN)". The Varna-based Institute of Oceanology with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is the beneficiary, and the Basin Directorate is a partner in the project, which is financed by the EEA Financing Mechanism.

Underwater noise is monitored under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, which has been transposed in Bulgarian legislation, Konsoulova pointed out.

When enough data are built up, criteria will be established for good ecological status of underwater noise in the sea, the Basin Directorate head said. The criteria will be submitted to the European Commission, but will also have to be reviewed for a coordinated assessment of all Black Sea countries.

The interviewee specified that whatever action Bulgaria and Romania may take as EU Member States, they cannot influence the ecological condition of the seaspace in full measure unless all other coastal states take the same action.

Bulgaria already carries out monthly monitoring of the chemical status of marine water, analyzing priority and specific pollutants, which has never been done before, Konsoulova also said. The results show that the condition of the sea tends to improve, with a decrease in nitrogen and phosphorus pollution.