Point

ECOMMAS is a long-term, on-going study into how underwater noise generated by offshore industry impacts the distribution of dolphins and porpoises in the Scottish North Sea. 
Acoustic recorders (C-PODs and SM2Ms) are deployed at 30 sites across 10 locations along the east coast.  They record underwater noise and count echolocation clicks to measure dolphin and porpoise presence and absence.  They are deployed in the spring and are recovered after ~ 4 months.  In 2015 and 2016, a second deployment was issued in July/August.

Data is presented as detection-positive days (DPD) and detection-positive hours (DPH) for both species.

DPD = The detection of echolocation clicks per day
(1 = Detection-positive, 0 = Detection-negative)

DPH = The number of hours echolocation clicks are detected per day

Nall = Total number of clicks detected per day

Ndays = Total number of days recorded

PorpDPH_median = Median porpoise detection-positive hours for each site

DolDPH_median = Median dolphin detection-positive hours for each site

Proportion_PorpDPD = Proportion of porpoise detection-positive days (out of total days recorded, Ndays)

Proportion_DolDPD = Proportion of dolphin detection-positive days (out of total days recorded, Ndays)

Data has been prepared as ArcGIS maps showing median DPH and proportion of DPD for both species across all 30 sites.  It has also been converted to be viewed on the NMPi, and for direct download as a spread sheet (.csv)

Dataset shows aquaculture-related CAR Licences for Scotland. The Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 – more commonly known as the Controlled Activity Regulations (CAR) – and their further amendments apply regulatory controls over activities which may affect Scotland’s water environment. This legislation arose from the European Community (EC)’s Water Framework Directive (WFD) becoming law in Scotland as the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 (WEWS Act). The regulations cover rivers, lochs, transitional waters (estuaries), coastal waters groundwater, and groundwater dependant wetlands.

UKCP09 is the name given to the UK Climate Projections. UKCP09 provides future climate projections for land and marine regions as well as observed (past) climate data for the UK.This layer is part of the Sea Level / Storm surges, Tides and Wave Height Change sub-set of the UKCP09 marine and coastal projections up to 2090s using a medium emission scenario and, where appropriate, medium probability. It displays the 2095 projection of exceedance of the Highest Astronomical Tides by 50-year return period storm surge combined with a worst case estimate of relative sea level rise.

Summarising the anticipated changes around Scotland based on central estimate projections for 2080-90 using the medium emission scenario, Storm surges / tides current estimates do not suggest storminess will increase significantly over Scotland making the predictions of increases in storm surge heights over the next 100 years small. For example extreme storm surges with return periods of 2, 10, 20 and 50 years are between about 1 and 3 cm by 2095. There is some regional variation.  Currently, the highest storm surge that may occur in a 50-year period raises the sea surface by between 90 and 180 cm. The effect is least on the east coast and in Shetland, and greatest on the west coast. The central estimate predicts that by 2095, these extreme water levels will have changed very little.

Marine Environmental Assessment Group data for organic contaminants, metals, biological effects and water chemistry collected for the Clean Seas Environment Monitoring Programme (CSEMP). Sediment and biota samples are analysed for organic contaminants (PAHs, PCBs and PBDEs) and trace metals. Biological effects are also measured in biota. Nutrients are measured in water samples. This layer shows the assessments from the UK Marine Environment Monitoring and Assessment National (MERMAN) database for reporting EROD in biota (female).

All data prior to 2011 is stored on the MSS Contaminants database, all data from 2012 is on LIMS. All data is submitted to the UK Merman database.