Valuable observational data were collected, from remote sea areas in the northeast Atlantic where cetacean observations are not routinely conducted. Marine mammal observations were carried out daily, over a 28 day period in July and August 2005, as part of a geophysical survey on MV Kommandor Jack for the Department of Trade and Industry's (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) Strategic Environmental Assessment SEA7 west of Scotland. This report describes exactly how and where the marine mammal observations were made. It also presents and summarises the 40 sightings that were made during the course of the survey.

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA7) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). The report concentrates on reviewing existing data and published sources, rather than attempt a quantitative baseline of wrecks and casualties. There is a comprehensive corpus of legislation, plans and polices concerned with the protection of the submerged maritime archaeological resource within the SEA 7 study area. The study outlines the known history of maritime activity within the SEA 7 area. Despite being an extremely large body of water that at times can produce dangerous sea and weather conditions, and encompasses the rugged coastlines of western Scotland and Northern Ireland, the area has been used extensively by seafarers from at least the Mesolithic (from 9000 BC) up to present times. During each time period there has been evidence of human activity within the SEA 7 area, often demonstrated by the discovery of maritime archaeological remains. The waters between the north east of Ireland and Scotland have been used as a means of communication throughout the centuries. Previous investigations of maritime archaeological remains within the SEA 7 area are discussed in the report. The spatial distribution of submerged archaeological remains is discussed, and comments are made on the limitations of any mapped baseline of data. The study concludes with a comment on the potential impacts of oil and gas activities on the submerged maritime archaeological resource and suggests possible monitoring methodologies.

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 is a synthesis of information on human activities which might have an impact on, or themselves be affected by, further oil and gas developments in the SEA4 area. The activities include fishing, mariculture, shipping, energy (both existing oil and gas developments and renewable energy), telecommunications, military activities, waste disposal, dredging and aggregate extraction, tourism, coastal and marine archaeological sites. The SEA4 area hosts a wide variety of different users. Some have been there for centuries, others are more recent arrivals. Among the older industries and activities are fisheries, ports and shipping and military activities; the oil and gas industry and mariculture are newer arrivals. Orkney and Shetland have provided major infrastructure for the North Sea oil and gas industry since the 1970s, and there have been producing oil fields to the west of Shetland since 1997. Finfish and shellfish farming are important industries in the coastal regions of the SEA4 area.

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 deals with fishing activity in the SEA6 area over the period 1998 - 2003. The different types of fishing carried out are briefly described and the fishing effort is presented in annual and seasonal maps for the area, based on data acquired by aerial surveillance by regular British Fishery Protection flights. The major fleets in the Irish Sea are otter trawlers, beam trawlers, scallop trawlers and potters.

This report describes the processing methods employed for the analysis of the SEA6 biological samples from a range of depths in the Irish Sea collected from SV Kommandor Jack in October 2004 as part of the Department of Trade and Industry's (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) Strategic Environmental Assessment SEA5. . A spreadsheet of data is included.

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 contains heavy metal concentrations (As, Ba, Cr, Cu, Cd, Fe, Hg, Pb, Mn, Ni, Sr, V and Zn) and sedimentological characteristics (particle-size analysis) which were determined in respectively 61 and 68 samples for the Atlantic margin Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA6) campaign. A spreadsheet of data is included.

As part of the UK Department of Trade and Industry's (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) sectorial Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) programme a seabed survey programme (SEA2) was undertaken in May/June 2001 for areas in the central and southern North UKCS. This report summarises the sediment total hydrocarbon and aromatic data generated from the analyses of selected samples from three main study areas: area 1 (sand bank/wave study areas, Norfolk Coast), Area 2 (Dogger Bank transects) and Area 3 (South Fladen pockmark study areas of the central North Sea).

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.

As part of the Department of Trade and Industry's (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) 1999 Strategic Environmental Assessment SEA1 (White Zone) Environmental Survey: Seabed survey of the deep-waters to the north and west of Scotland. The aims were to : Complete TOBI sidescan sonar survey of the "White Zone" begun on RRS Charles Darwin cruise 119C leg A; To carry out photographic surveys of the "White Zone" to ground truth the sidescan sonar imagery and provide an assessment of the seabed fauna; To carry out seabed sampling to further ground truth the sidescan sonar imagery and generate samples for the future analysis of selected environmental parameters (hydrocarbons, elements, particle size). 39 samples were collected. Raw TOBI Bathymetry - includes sidescan sonar, sub-bottom profiler and magnetometer data and Mosaiced TOBI sidescan imagery are available. The survey report is also available. The preliminary report describes the data collection and interpretation carried out by Southampton Oceanography Centre in the summer of 1999 on behalf of the DTI. The areas surveyed were in unlicensed parts of the UKCS NW of Scotland, and the purpose of the work was to obtain regional environmental information. The work was carried out in two survey legs, Leg A was a regional side-scan sonar survey, whilst leg B was a seafloor survey of targets selected from the results of leg 1. This report is presented in 4 sections: Section 1 - Cruise report for Leg A; Section 2 - Cruise report for Leg B; Section 3 - Regional environmental interpretation from side-scan sonar and camera data; Section 4 - Initial environmental assessment.

As part of the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) Strategic Environmental Assessment for Area 6 (SEA6) an environmental survey was carried out from Kommandor Jack during October 2003. The aim of the survey was to acquire seabed and water samples for biological, physical and chemical analysis together with video and digital stills photography to ground-truth the geophysical data ans enable a general characterisation of seafloor habitats and community types present within a number of offshore areas containing pockmarks and shallow gas seeps within the Irish Sea. The areas surveyed were: St Georges Wall; Yuan's Pockmarks; Pisces Reef; Texel 11, Codlings Extension; Harvey's Trench; Texel 10. This report provides a log of the field sampling work undertaken.