In the brief history of marine environmental toxicology, most research has been media oriented. A great deal of scientific and regulatory effort in aquatic toxicology has concentrated on characterizing the toxic effects in the water column environment resulting from contaminants of terrestrial origin. Likewise, the hazards posed by contaminated sediments also have been recognized. Now it is necessary for environmental scientists, managers, and regulators to expand the scope of their respective media-oriented research. This broadening of research scope must acknowledge the potential for interaction between the water column and sediment environments. The interaction, as a function of several chemical, physical, and biological processes, may result in the eventuality of detrimental effects in one medium (i.e., the water column) as a result of the contaminated status of another (i.e., the sediments). Understanding these processes and the resulting detrimental effects will provide us a greater foundation for studying, managing, and regulating the entire integrated aquatic environment. (Copyright (c) 1992 Lewis Publishers, Inc.)