JINAN -- An international standard for marine surveys, proposed and formulated by China, was published on Dec 10 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

The standard was jointly proposed by the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS) and the First Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources, providing requirements and recommendations for conducting marine surveys of interstitial biota in marine sediments.

According to Lei Yanli, a researcher with the IOCAS, the biota involved in the standard are the key to the study of marine biodiversity and other fields.

Lei said that the international standard will be conducive to marine biodiversity conservation and ecological environment assessment, and will provide technical support and standard guarantees required for the development of relevant international cooperation.

Many scientists from Chinese universities and institutes, including Tongji University, and their peers from eight countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia, also participated in the formulation of the standard.