Identification

Title

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

Abstract

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.

Resource type

dataset

Resource locator

http://www.bgs.ac.uk/data/sea/home.html

name: Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) data portal

description: The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) data portal provides free access to available data and reports which have been produced through the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change 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.

function: download

Unique resource identifier

code

BGS_SEA_80

codeSpace

British Geological Survey

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

authority code

OGP

code identifying the spatial reference system

urn:ogc:def:crs:EPSG::4326

Additional information source

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

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

biota

environment

geoscientificInformation

oceans

Keywords

Keyword set

keyword value

Keyword set

keyword value

originating controlled vocabulary

title

reference date

date type

revision

effective date

2011-03-25

Keyword set

keyword value

Habitats and biotopes

Species distribution

originating controlled vocabulary

title

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2008-06-01

Keyword set

keyword value

originating controlled vocabulary

title

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2008-06-01

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

-6

East bounding longitude

-4

North bounding latitude

55.3

South bounding latitude

51.7

Extent

Extent group

authority code

title

reference date

date type

revision

effective date

2006-01-01

code identifying the extent

Temporal reference

Temporal extent

Begin position

2005-01-01

End position

2005-01-01

Dataset reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2005-06-05

Frequency of update

notPlanned

Quality and validity

Lineage

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.

Conformity

Data format

name of format

version of format

Constraints related to access and use

Constraint set

Use constraints

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.

Constraint set

Responsible organisations

Responsible party

organisation name

British Geological Survey (BGS)

full postal address

Murchison House, West Mains Road

Edinburgh

EH9 3LA

UK

telephone number

+44 (0)131 667 1000

email address

offshoredata@bgs.ac.uk

responsible party role

custodian

Responsible party

organisation name

Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC)

full postal address

Admiralty Way

London

SW1A 2HD

UK

telephone number

+44 0300 060 4000

facsimile number

+44 (0) 1823 284077

email address

enquiries@decc.gsi.gov.uk

responsible party role

originator

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact

organisation name

British Geological Survey (BGS)

telephone number

+44 (0)131 667 1000

facsimile number

+44 (0)131 668 4140

email address

offshoredata@bgs.ac.uk

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata date

2011-08-30

Metadata language