Marine ecologists and oceanography experts from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) embarked on a four week survey on 19 May, as part of ongoing work to improve scientific understanding of Scotland’s natural marine environment.
Utilising SEPA’s survey vessel, the Sir John Murray, data and samples will be collected from locations across Scotland’s west coast, to gauge the health and ecological condition of coastal water bodies. Scanning technology aboard the Sir John Murray will also be used to create high quality 3D maps of the various habitats and physical features found on the seabed, the first work of its kind to be carried out by SEPA.
Through partnership working agreements, SEPA also has access to a newly built high definition underwater camera system for environmental monitoring. The survey will see SEPA’s first use and trial of the camera system for capturing video footage of the seabed and underwater habitats. The system was custom built by Marine Science Scotland and Scottish National Heritage specifically for use on SEPA’s survey vessel.
David Ross, Senior Scientist from SEPA, said: “The survey is an exciting opportunity to really broaden our scientific knowledge of these coastal environments.
“Application of this cutting edge mapping technology means that SEPA can now easily and affordably collect data to model how the environment operates at a broad scale, as well as giving us detailed habitat maps of what lives on the seabed.”
The first two weeks of the survey will see the Sir John Murray operating in Loch Linnhe and Loch Tuath, in Argyll, with the second half of the survey carrying out mapping and sampling work in Skye and the Western Isles.
