§ Mr. RuaneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the Jonus programme; and what are the future funding levels for the programme over the next five years. [47791]
§ Angela EagleThe Jonus I research programme, which ended in December 1995, has led to a better understanding of the flux of nutrients (particularly nitrogen) from the land, through the Humber and Wash, to the North Sea, especially in relation to the nitrification/denitrification processes in estuaries. The work has indicated that algal blooms of phytoplankton only occur when tidal energy is below a certain level and light levels are sufficiently high.98W The data collected from Jonus I, together with data collected from similar work conducted under the Southern Nutrient Study (Sonus), has also been analysed under a modelling contract which ended on 31 October 1997. A follow-on Jonus/Sonus modelling contract was let in early 1998 and is scheduled to end on 31 March 1999. In addition, the Jonus II programme, which ends on 28 February 1999, aims to quantify the impact of nutrients discharged from land-based sources on the Irish Sea and from the Thames.
The estimated funding, supported by a number of agencies, is £148,000 for the follow-on Jonus/Sonus modelling contract and £487,955 for Jonus II.
Decisions remain to be taken on what further work would be justified in this field.
§ Mr. RuaneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if information on marine pollution collected by(a) the Environment Agency, (b) the MAFF and (c) local authorities is collected on a central database. [47741]
§ Angela EagleUnder the UK National Marine Monitoring Plan, a central data base is being set up by the Environment Agency, with the support of My Department. This holds all the relevant data collected under the plan from 1993.