Environmental monitoring

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Environmental monitoring is the processes and activities that are done to characterize and describe the state of the environment. It is used in the preparation of environmental impact assessments, and in many circumstances in which human activities may cause harmful effects on the natural environment. Monitoring strategies and programmes are generally designed to establish the current status of an environment or to establish a baseline and trends in environmental parameters. The results of monitoring are usually reviewed, analyzed statistically, and published. A monitoring programme is designed around the intended use of the data before monitoring starts.

Environmental monitoring includes monitoring of air quality, soils and water quality.

Many monitoring programmes are designed to not only establish the current state of the environment but also predict future conditions. In some cases this may involve collecting data related to events in the distant past such as gasses trapped in ancient glacier ice.