Loch Ewe COMPASS metocean buoy

Project Dates: 
December, 2020
Project Summary: 

The Loch Ewe metocean buoy was deployed in December 2020 by Marine Scotland Science though the INTERREG VA COMPASS project, replacing the previous COMPASS mooring oceanographic instrumentation deployed since 2018. It adds to the COMPASS monitoring network of buoys across the regional seas of West Scotland, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The project aims to collect sustained meteorological and oceanographic observations in the region to develop our marine observational and data management capacity across the region for effective monitoring and management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), developing long-term monitoring strategies for highly mobile protected species such as marine mammals and salmonids and providing essential infrastructure for baseline oceanographic and ambient noise monitoring.

The metocean buoy is located in the outer basin of Loch Ewe, a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. It is collecting data to complement the observations from the COMPASS pCO2 sensor (deployed since 2018) to collect data to monitor ocean acidification, and the Scottish Coastal Observatory (SCObs) weekly monitoring programme (started in 1999) which measures water properties, nutrient concentrations and the plankton community, contributing to our understanding and assessment of the health of our coastal marine environment.

 

(A) Location of the Loch Ewe COMPASS metocean buoy on the west coast of Scotland. (B) The metocean buoy in the water (photo courtesy of Jane Grant).