Environmental specimen banks - An important column in environmental observation

Natural events as well as human activities are affecting the environment an d even with large-scale monitoring programs it is not possible to completel y assess the state of the environment. But a documentation of the environme ntal status with respect to its chemical composition can be realized with s ystematically collected representative environmental samples, which can be stored for decades at very low temperatures almost without degradation. Suc h 'banking activity' allows a current environmental monitoring and also a r etrospective analysis for the determination of components which have not be en analyzed at the time of sampling because of a lack in analytical techniq ues or because they have not been known or considered environmentally relev ant. The concept of environmental specimen banking and general procedures a re described. Various examples illustrate the many facets of such activitie s.