Sampling of the biological and physical characteristics of 155 stations in the
Celtic Seas, English Channel and the North Sea. This data is specifically from
Irish sea samples collected in 2006-2007 and contains infromation on the
abundance of macrofauna at each station.
Environmental variables quantified for each station included bathymetry
(except North Sea and western Scotland), stratification, bottom temperature
and a number of derived granulometric parameters (e.g., % silt, % gravel,
sorting coefficient, skewness, kurtosis), together with modelled parameters
such as bed tidal stress, wave stress, bottom temperature, a stratification
index and satellite-derived surface chlorophyll a (mean values for 2002-07
used).
Estimates of the benthic productivity associated with such communities were
also derived, for the first time, at this large spatial scale.
