As part of the Department of Trade and Industry's (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA7) a seabed sampling survey was undertaken at Anton Dohrn Seamount, Rockall Bank, Hatton Bank, George Bligh Bank and Rosemary Bank. The objective of this cruise were: To carry out a seafloor sampling programme in selected areas within the SEA7 area of the UK Continental Shelf to the west of Scotland. The purpose of this work is to study the ecology of seamounts and other potential Annex 1 (Habitats Directive) type habitats in deep water. The survey to include target areas of the Anton Dohrn and Rosemary Bank seamounts and the George Bligh Bank, northern Rockall Bank and selected areas on the Hatton Bank. The sampling to be guided by a broad survey designed developed in advance of the cruise and modified on the basis of field observations and information generated by geophysical data, including swathe bathymetry, side scan sonar and sub-bottom profiling, conducted immediately previously to this seafloor sampling programme; To similarly carry out seafloor photographic surveys in the same areas; To repeat seafloor sampling at selected stations on transects previously sampled by SAMS during oil-industry related surveys, and the LOIS-SES surveys. 54 video files are available and 1813 photos are available.

Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) as part of the SEA1 (White Zone) environmental sampling programme. The biodiversity, characteristics and distinguishing features of deep-water epifaunal communities from the Wyville-Thomson Ridge, Darwin Mounds and Faeroes Plateau. Samples were obtained using a benthic television (TV) grab on board the R/V Professor Logachev during cruises in August 2000. 19 grab samples were collected.

Cruise report for Multibeam swath bathymetry, sidescan sonar and underwater video survey in the vicinity of Portland Bill as part of the Department of Trade and Industry's (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA8) . Emu Ltd was commissioned by Geotek Ltd on behalf of the DTI to perform hydrographic and ecological surveys within the vicinity of Portland Bill to further understand regional processes around a tidal headland. Survey work was required specifically to investigate the sediment processes and seabed habitats present.

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA4) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). This report summarises the geological history of the SEA4 area from Pre-Cambrian times to the present day, sets the framework in which oil and gas fields have been discovered to the west of Shetland, and discusses the seismicity of the area. A generalised geological map of the area is presented and three approximately NW-SE trending sections across the southern part of the SEA4 area are shown. The petroleum geology of the area is reviewed and the geological settings in which oil has been found at the Clair, Foinaven, Schiehallion and Loyal oilfields is described. Other hydrocarbon fields to the west of Shetland, for which there are no immediate development plans, are briefly touched on. The seismicity of the SEA4 area, which is very low, is discussed.

As part of Strategic Environmental Assessment SEA1, sediment samples were collected from the area designated as the White Zone at the request of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as part of its sea-going research activities during summer 2000. The objective of the cruise was to provide a description of the current state of the seabed in the survey area, while providing baseline environmental data and identifying larger-scale environmental patterns and processes. The survey programme was conducted from Charles Darwin between July and September 2000, with samples for a number of chemical and biological analyses being collected. An Excel file containing detail of species abundance is available.

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA4) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). It is a synthesis of information describing the seabed habitats, species and communities on the continental shelf of the west of Orkney and Shetland relevant to the SEA 4 area. It provides a summary of the benthic communities and assemblages which inhabit the shallow waters of the SEA4 area, from littoral to offshore areas. A wide range of habitats exist in the area because of the heterogeneity of the seafloor environment, ranging from hard rock sites exposed to the full force of waves and tidal currents to muddy sediments in sheltered inlets. The shelf and offshore areas include varying bedforms of sand and gravel, some of high carbonate content, and considerable amounts of glacigenic material. The epifauna and infauna which inhabit these different environments are summarised. A section of the report discusses the environmental impacts of anthropogenic activities in the area. These include the harvesting of algae from rocky shores, the release of radionuclides on the Caithness coast (Dounreay), dredging for sedimentary material, trawling and mariculture, in addition to the offshore oil and gas industry.

As part of the Department of Trade and Industry's (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA7) a regional seafloor environmental survey was undertaken in the Faroe Shetland Channel off the north and west coasts of Shetland. The work included bathymetric surveys, sediment sampling for biological and chemical analysis, and seabed photography. 7 video files and 507 photographs are available. Raw multibeam data are available. A cruise report is also available.

As part of the Department of Trade and Industry's (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA7) a geophysical survey was undertaken from SeaTrax Xplorer in the vicinity of Portland Bill. Multibeam and sidescan sonar data were collected.

This report is a contribution to the Department of Trade and Industry's (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) Strategic Environmental Assessment SEA2. This review presents a summary of published data and their interpretation from areas in the mature oil and gas areas of the UK North Sea. The basis for this review is the premise that the modern environment is a synthesis of past environmental conditions. The purpose is to review: the evolution of the deeply buried sediments with reference to the petroleum geology and production-related seabed subsidence; the evolution of the shallow seabed sediments with reference to present sediment distributions and seabed features; the evidence for possible hydrogeological exchange across selected onshore/offshore areas; and the history of earthquakes and the hazard that they may pose. It is intended that the review will provide a basis for a better understanding of the impacts of possible future changes in the natural environment.

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA4) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) and provides an overview of cephalopods - squid and octopus - in the SEA4 area. Cephalopods are short-lived, carnivorous animals that have rapid growth rates and play an important part in oceanic and coastal food webs. They are preyed on by cetaceans, seals, fish and seabirds, and are predators themselves, feeding on fish, crustaceans, molluscs and cephalopods. Knowledge of cephalopod distribution in Scottish waters is mainly based on information from commercial whitefish vessels that catch squid as a by-catch. Fishery landings of cephalopods consist mainly of the loliginid squid Loligo forbesi. At present there are no commercial landings of the ommastrephid squids Todarodes sagittatus or Todaropsis eblanae. The benthic octopod Eledone cirrhosa, though a highly valued species in southern Europe, is usually discarded by Scottish fishermen. Various deep-water squid are likely to be present in the Faeroe-Shetland Channel, of which the most important is probably the Arctic squid Gonatus fabricii. Cephalopods naturally accumulate high levels of trace metals. The potential of drilling operations to introduce trace metals into the sea is discussed. But the most likely impact of oil industry activities on cephalopod populations is disturbance of spawning grounds. Although squid in spawning condition are caught every year in the SEA4 area, where they spawn is not known. It is concluded that the overall impact on cephalopods and cephalopod fisheries in the SEA4 area of further oilfield development would be slight.