Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory: projects/activities

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Directory entires that have specified Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory as one of the geographic regions for the project/activity and are included in the AMAP, ENVINET, SAON and SEARCH directories. Note that the list of regions is not hierarchical, and there is no relation between regions (e.g. a record tagged with Nunavut may not be tagged with Canada). To see the full list of regions, see the regions list. To browse the catalog based on the originating country (leady party), see the list of countries.

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Displaying: 1 - 20 of 31 Next
1. Minch Habitat Mapping

To survey and characterise the occurrence of biogenic reefs of cold-water corals in the Minch: • Conduct side scan sonar survey of ridge feature east of Mingulay. • Ground-truth the sonar results with targeted camera / ROV deployments. • Repeat this survey at other locations to examine how widespread this habitat may be in the Minch. • Sample live coral and rubble zones with minimally invasive video-directed grab sampling. • Report on findings and present summary data in a GIS compatible format (ArcView).

Geology Hydrography Mapping Spatial trends GIS Sediments
2. Microalgae as Cell Factories for Chemical and Biochemical Products

• To survey and document the state of the art in microalgal technology • To examine legislative and regulatory matters connected with the field • To bring together the various information on European algal collections into a single on-line portal • To develop the on-line database into a comprehensive tool for dissemination of knowledge pertaining to microalgae and microalgal research • To investigate current barriers to the use of microalgae and identify possible future uses of microalgae and microalgal technology • To help steer the direction of European research • To carry out technology transfer to the end users within the network, with measurable benefits for efficiency • To ensure the strategy involves dissemination to end-users outside the network partners • To ensure network cohesion and good communication between the partners • To develop an ongoing ‘virtual institute’ model and lay the groundwork for future RTD projects

Biological effects Food webs
3. Arctic-subarctic Ocean Flux-Array for European Climate: West

-To measure the variability of the dense water and freshwater fluxes between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic in the critical region off Southeast Greenland with a view to understanding and predicting their response to climate forcing -To construct an autonomous, bottom mounted profiling device capable of taking key water profile measurements.

Marine Technology Climate variability Climate change Ocean currents Temporal trends
4. Algal Toxins; their Accumulation and Loss in commercially Important Shellfish, including larval Mortality and Appraisal of Normal sampling procedures.

-Development of methods to enhance the rate of toxin depuration ( detoxification), especially in shellfish species of high economic value and prolonged retention e.g., King Scallops -Understanding the reaction products and metabolic transformations of toxins in shellfish tissues. -Determine the relationship between algal population dynamics ( including free cell and encysted stages ) to seasonal and spatial patterns of toxicity in shellfish populations. -Assess the effects of harmful algae on the various stages in the life history of shellfish ( Larvae, Spat, Adults ). -Investigate sampling frequencies and protocols ( live shellfish sampling ).

Biology Fish Environmental management Contaminant transport Food webs Diet Temporal trends Human health Human intake
5. Ice ridging information for decision making in shipping operations

IRIS brings together several EU partners to investigate methods to estimate sea ice ridging severity from satellite imagery and assess the impact of these ridges on icebreaker transit times, particularly in the Baltic Sea. The consortium is largely Finnish and is co-ordinated by the Helsinki Technical University. SAMS’ role is to study statistical properties of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images and relate these to ridge parameters.

Shipping Ice Ice sheets Arctic
6. Algal Toxins; their Accumulation and Loss in commercially Important Shellfish, including larval Mortality and Appraisal of Normal sampling procedures.

-Development of methods to enhance the rate of toxin depuration ( detoxification), especially in shellfish species of high economic value and prolonged retention e.g., King Scallops -Understanding the reaction products and metabolic transformations of toxins in shellfish tissues. -Determine the relationship between algal population dynamics ( including free cell and encysted stages ) to seasonal and spatial patterns of toxicity in shellfish populations. -Assess the effects of harmful algae on the various stages in the life history of shellfish ( Larvae, Spat, Adults ). -Investigate sampling frequencies and protocols ( live shellfish sampling ).

Biology Fish Environmental management Contaminant transport Food webs Diet Temporal trends Human health Human intake
7. Greenland Arctic Shelf Ice and Climate Experiment

-Quantify changes in ice dynamics and characteristics resulting from the switch in AO phase -Establish a climate record for the region north of Greenland through the retrieval and analysis of sediment cores -Improve an existing dynamic-thermodynamic sea ice model, focusing on the heavily deformed ice common in the region -Relate the region-specific changes which have occurred to the larger-scale Arctic variablity pattern -Place the recent ice and climate variability for this critical region into the context of long term climate record, as reconstructed from sediment cores

Climate variability Climate Sea ice Environmental management Climate change Modelling Ice Arctic Ice cores Temporal trends
8. Sea Ice Thickness Observation System

SITHOS (Sea Ice Thickness Observation System) is also a three-year EU Framework 5 project. The Nansen Environmental Remote Sensing Centre (NERSC) will co-ordinate six institutions in the development of an integrated system for measuring sea ice thickness in the Arctic Ocean. Several approaches for obtaining ice thickness will be used, including novel flexural-wave methods, remote sensing and electromagnetic induction techniques. SAMS’ role is to provide data from UK submarines and aid in the development of the novel tiltmeter-based instruments. Data will be used to improve sea ice models and validate the new CRYOSAT satellite sensors. The resulting synoptic thickness monitoring network will be used to investigate the postulated dramatic thinning in the Arctic Ocean sea ice cover as a result of climate change.

Shipping Ice Ice sheets Arctic
9. Climate Change and Competitive Interactions

The effects of climate change in a dynamic competitive interaction between two or more species can be bought about either as direct responses of species to change or indirectly through effects on competing species. Intertidal barnacles are ideal model organisms to test these alternative causal mechanisms, being easily censussed and directly competing for space. Single- and multi- species models will be developed for barnacles in SW England to determine whether direct or indirect mechanisms better predict responses to change. The models will include functions for space-limitation, environmental influence and, in the latter models, functions for interspecific competition. Historical data from a network of sites collected over a 40-year period will be used to develop and test the models.

Climate variability Spatial trends Climate change Biodiversity Temporal trends Ecosystems
10. Reducing the environmental impact of sea cage fish farming through the cultivation of seaweeds

Although the most visible effect of fish cage aquaculture is the output of particulate organic waste, 80% of the total nutrient losses from fish farming are plant-available as potentially eutrophicating substances. This project will assess the ability of commercially important seaweeds, cultivated in the immediate vicinity of caged fish, to reduce the impact of such nutrient releases. The algae cultivated in high nutrient sites will be tested as a food source for humans and for cultivated shellfish, and a model of the distribution of dissolved contaminants from sea-cage fish farms will be developed to predict the impact of introducing algal cultivation at any site.

Pathways Biological effects Fish Spatial trends Environmental management Contaminant transport Food webs Sediments Pesticides Temporal trends Ecosystems
11. Environmental sensitivity of cold water corals

Distribution • What is the current distribution of coral colonies in the North Sea? • Where are coral colonies located on the structures? • Do any colonies show evidence of exposure to drill cuttings? Monitoring & Environmental Recording • What hydrodynamic regime and levels of suspended particulate material are coral colonies exposed to? • Does the coral skeleton retain an archive of any past contamination? • Does skeletal growth vary over time and does this correlate with any past contamination? • How variable is the rate of coral growth and does this correlate with any environmental variables? Environmental Sensitivity • What effect does increased sediment load have on coral behaviour and physiology? • What effect does exposure to discharges (e.g. cuttings and produced water) have on coral behaviour and physiology? • Are such exposures realistic in the field?

Shelf seas Biological effects Pollution sources Environmental management Contaminant transport Petroleum hydrocarbons Oceanography Biodiversity Local pollution Ecosystems
12. The Effects of Turbidity on Marine Fishes

(a) To assemble and further develop an integrative methodology for in situ evaluation of the effects of turbidity and hypoxia on fish physiological and/or behavioural performance. (b) To determine experimentally the threshold values beyond which oxygen and turbidity levels are liable to alter fish physiological and/or behavioural performance. (c) To integrate the results obtained in a conceptual and predictive model. Main expected achievements: [1] establishment of a link between laboratory studies, studies in mesocosms and field studies, using the most advanced techniques for monitoring behaviour in various environmental conditions. [2] an understanding of the impact of water turbidity and oxygenation on three major components of the behavioural repertoire of fish: habitat selection, predator-prey interactions and schooling-aggregation. [3] Predictive ability for the effect of the environmental variables studied on ecologically relevant behaviour.

Shelf seas Biological effects Fish Environmental management Local pollution Food webs
13. Benthic processes in the Arabian Sea: mechanistic relationships between benthos, sediment biogeochemistry and organic matter cycling

1. To quantify benthic community parameters for all size classes of fauna across the Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) 2. To make a detailed assessment across the OMZ of a) sediment accumulation, mixing and irrigation rates and depths and b) environmental factors acting as controls on faunal activity 3. To characterise solid phase and porewater geochemistry of sediments across the OMZ 4. To assess a) faunal digestive Organic Matter (OM) alteration, b) the relative importance of chemo- and photosynthetic food sources, and c) benthic food web structure, across the OMZ 5. To determine porewater profiles and benthic solute fluxes in situ, and to assess faunal OM assimilation and trophic relationships by monitoring tracers during shipboard and in situ incubations 6. To obtain high resolution porewater profiles of oxygen and other key analytes, free of pressure and other effects potentially introduced by core recovery 7. To determine in situ oxygen consumption rates and benthic fluxes 8. To use labelled tracers to assess mixing and irrigation rates, faunal OM assimilation, and size-selective ingestion and mixing 9.To determine sediment denitrification and sulfate reduction rates and their contributions to OM remineralisation

Biological effects Oceanography Geochemistry Sediments
14. Development of monitoring guidelines and modelling tools for environmental effects from Mediterranean aquaculture (MERAMED)

1. To undertake a review of procedures used in the regulation and monitoring of marine cage fish farms in Norway, Scotland and elsewhere to be used as the basis for creating an appropriate set of protocols, monitoring systems and techniques for the control of such farms in Mediterranean conditions 2. To carry out a field research programme to provide appropriate data on the environmental impact of marine cage fish farms in a range of conditions in the eastern Mediterranean. 3. To develop a predictive model to simulate the environmental response at Mediterranean sea cage farms to differing cage stocking levels and feeding regimes. This will be designed as a management tool for both the industry and regulatory authorities.

Biological effects Sources Aquaculture Mapping Discharges Pollution sources Environmental management Contaminant transport Modelling Local pollution Sediments Ecosystems
15. Time series monitoring of the UK's deep water territorial seabed: Sustainable development of the Atlantic margin

1. To compare temporal influences of environmental variables (e.g. depth temperature, contaiminats) on species and families 2. To corroborate inferences made from the previous two datasets. We hope to determine whether temperature is still the most important variable influencing the macrofauna 3. To analyse between temporal and spatial trends to determine whether there has been any significant change in the benthic community structure, especially at stations near past exploration activity 4. To compare results with those from the South of the Faroe Islands being collated by Daniel Jacobsen of the University of Copenhagen.

Mapping Spatial trends Oceanography Biodiversity Sediments Oil and Gas Temporal trends
16. Late Holocene and Shallow Marine Environments of Europe (HOLSMEER)

1. To generate high-resolution quantitative palaeoceanographic/palaeoclimatic data from NE Atlantic coastal/shelf sites for the last 2000 years using a multidisciplinary approach 2. To develop novel palaeoclimatic tools for shallow marine settings by (i) calibrating the proxy data against instrumental datasets, (ii) contributing to transfer function development, and (iii) then to extrapolate back beyond the timescale of the instrumental data using the palaeoclimate record 3. To investigate the link between late Holocene climate variability detected in the shelf/coastal regions of western Europe and the variability of the oceanic heat flux associated with the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation, and to compare such variability with existing high-resolution terrestrial proxies to help determine forcing mechanisms behind such climate change 4. To lay a foundation for the identification of hazards and resources linked with, or forced by, such climate change.

Geology Climate variability Spatial trends Environmental management Climate change palaeoceanographic/palaeoclimatic Modelling anthropogenic Geochemistry Sediments Temporal trends
17. Marine biodiversity and climate change (MARCLIM)

1. To use a combination of archival and contemporary data to develop and test hypotheses on the impact of climatic change on rocky intertidal animals and plants. 2. Forecast future community changes based on Met. Office Hadley centre models and UKCIP models. 3. Establish a low-cost fit-for-purpose network to enable regular updates of climatic impact projections. 4. Assess and report likely consequences of predicted changes on coastal ecosystems. To provide general contextual time-series data to support marine management and monitoring. 5. Evaluate use of intertidal indicator species as sustainability indices. Disseminate the results as widely as possible. 6. Provide a basis for the development of a pan-European monitoring network.

Climate variability Spatial trends Environmental management Climate change Biodiversity Temporal trends Ecosystems
18. UK Marine environmental change network

1. Establish a network to measure environmental change in marine waters by undertaking long-term research and monitoring 2. Maintain and enhance existing long-term research programmes 3. Restart important discontinued long-term research programmes 4. Develop a quality controlled database of long-term marine data series 5. Deliver and interpret long-term and broad scale contextual information to inform water quality monitoring 6. Demonstrate the benefits of preserving and networking long-term time series programmes

Biological effects Mapping Climate variability Environmental management Climate change Modelling Biodiversity Data management
19. Oceanographic Applications to Eutrophication in Regions of Restricted Exchange (OAERRE)

1. Observations of the physics of vertical and open boundary exchange in Regions of Restricted Exchanges (REEs), leading to improved parameterisation of these processes in research and simplified models. 2. Study of the phytoplankton and pelagic micro-heterotrophs responsible for production and decomposition of organic material, and of sedimentation, benthic processes and benthic-pelagic coupling, in RREs, with the results expressed as basin-scale parameters. 3. Construction of closed budgets and coupled physical-biological research models for nutrient (especially nitrogen) and organic carbon cycling in RREs, allowing tests of hypotheses about biogeochemistry, water quality and the balance of organisms. 4. Construction of simplified 'screening' models for the definition, assessment and prediction of eutrophication, involving collaboration with 'end-users', and the use of these models to analyse the costs and benefits of amelioration scenarios.

Pathways Biological effects Sources Catchment studies Spatial trends Pollution sources Environmental management Contaminant transport Local pollution Sediments Temporal trends Ecosystems Eutrophication
20. Development of Elasmobranch Assessments (DELASS)

1. The improvement of the scientific basis for the management of fisheries taking elasmobranch species by: a)Species Identification /biological sampling b)Stock discrimination / separation c)Data compliation and exchange d)Data preparation, stock assessment & species vulnerability

Shelf seas Fish Spatial trends Environmental management Biodiversity Ecosystems Marine mammals