2005 Strategic Environmental Assessment SEA6 Technical Report - Benthos. Synthesis of information on the benthos of area SEA6 (Irish Sea)

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA6) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). This report provides a synthesis of current knowledge of the benthic communities and seabed habitats in the SEA6 area. The area is a predominantly shallow, well flushed, fully saline, partially enclosed, temperate sea. The seabed is predominantly sedimentary, ranging between mud and cobbles but consisting mainly of sand. The coastal fringe hosts excellent examples of a broad range of habitat types including exposed rocky shores, sheltered rias, highly productive sand flats, estuaries and areas exposed to rapid tidal currents. This diverse range of habitats supports a broad range of animals and plants with numerous species.



The focus of the report is on dominant species and broad descriptions of community types (biotopes). The benthos associated with the littoral (intertidal) and sublittoral zones from the Mull of Kintyre and the Northern Irish coast in the north to Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire in the south are discussed. This area includes the important industrial estuaries of Morecambe, Liverpool and the Mersey, together with a number of minor estuaries, and the major islands of Anglesey and the Isle of Man. The deep water (depth greater than 50 m) and offshore areas are also discussed.



Where appropriate, details of rare or unusual species are included, together with the threat offered by oil and gas related activities. Other major human activities in the SEA6 area that are currently affecting the benthos are also discussed.

Simple

Date (Publication)
2005-06-05
Citation identifier
British Geological Survey / BGS_SEA_80
Point of contact
Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role

British Geological Survey (BGS)

Paul Henni

offshoredata@bgs.ac.uk

Custodian

Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC)

enquiries@decc.gsi.gov.uk

Originator
Maintenance and update frequency
Not planned
Resource format
Name Version

Documents
Keywords

SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0

  • Habitats and biotopes

  • Species distribution

SeaVoX Vertical Co-ordinate Coverages
Use limitation

The SEAs data were produced as part of the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change's Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment programme; Crown Copyright, all rights reserved. The DECC SEA must be acknowledged in any maps or publications that make use of the data. All the data files are freely available to the public. The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) data portal provides free access to available data and reports which have been produced through the SEA process. The site is run and managed by BGS on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). Many files can be downloaded directly from this website. Those that are too large to download can be ordered via the website for postal delivery from BGS. BGS (NERC) has been contracted by DECC to publish SEA datasets on its behalf. All intellectual property rights (including , without limitation, copyrights, database rights and all other rights which subsist or may at any time in the future subsist in the Dataset(s)) in the Dataset(s) ('Intellectual Property Rights') are owned by DECC (formerly the Department of Trade and Industry, and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform). BGS has been authorised by DECC to use SEA datasets for all purposes but on a 'not-for-profit basis'. BGS has been authorised by DECC to pass on SEA datasets to third parties so that they can use them for all purposes but on a 'not-for-profit' basis.

Access constraints
Intellectual property rights
Distance
5  m
Language
English
Topic category
  • Biota
  • Environment
  • Geoscientific information
  • Oceans
Title

SeaVoX salt and fresh water body gazetteer
Date (Revision)
2006-01-01
Code
Irish Sea
N
S
E
W
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Begin date
2005-01-01
End date
2005-01-01
Supplemental Information

http://www.offshore-sea.org.uk/site/index.php

Reference system identifier
OGP / urn:ogc:def:crs:EPSG::4326
Distribution format
    OnLine resource
    Protocol Linkage Name
    http://www.bgs.ac.uk/data/sea/home.html

    Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) data portal
    Hierarchy level
    Dataset
    Statement

    The report was prepared by the Scottish Association for Marine Science as part of the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change's Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment programme. The report was compiled using various sources and published literature.

    Metadata

    File identifier
    aba64100-c144-4de3-e044-0003ba6f30bd XML
    Metadata language
    English
    Hierarchy level
    Dataset
    Date stamp
    2011-08-30
    Metadata standard name

    MEDIN Discovery Metadata Standard
    Metadata standard version

    Version 2.3.5
    Metadata author
    Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role

    British Geological Survey (BGS)

    Mary Mowat

    offshoredata@bgs.ac.uk

    		Point of contact
     
     

    Overviews

    Spatial extent

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    Keywords



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