SEA4 Benthic Ecology Report: Faroe Shetland Channel Surveys 1996-2002

A 2003 technical report provides an overview of extensive seafloor surveys conducted between 1996 and 2002 in the Faroe-Shetland Channel. The report, a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA4) by the UK Department of Trade and Industry, describes the deep-water benthos and its relationship to regional hydrography and seabed sediments. Additional supporting files in Excel, Word, and CorelDraw formats are also available.

Use Cases

• Modeling benthic community distribution based on hydrographic and sediment data mentioned in the description.
• Analyzing the impact of deep-water oil industry development on seafloor ecology as referenced in the report's scope.
• Studying the relationship between complex temperature regimes and benthic ecology highlighted in the description.

Strengths

• Report is based on extensive regional surveys funded by the Atlantic Frontier Environmental Network and a government department.
• The deep-water benthos of the area are described as being at least as well known as any other deep-water area worldwide.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service (UK), originating from the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change).

Collection Method

Extensive regional surveys of the seafloor environment.

Time Range

Survey period from 1996 to 2002; report published in 2003.

Freshness

Last updated is unknown.

Geography

Faroe-Shetland Channel, west of Shetland, within the SEA4 area.