Surveys and monitoring undertaken at Darwin Mounds Special Area of Conservation (SAC); Whittard Canyon submarine complex; Haig Fras Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ)

Fauna abundance per unit area of the bed; Habitat characterisation; Habitat extent; Bathymetry and Elevation; Macroalgae generic abundance in water bodies; Side-scan sonar; Salinity of the water column; Temperature of the water column; Acoustic backscatter in the water column; Transport in the water column; Electrical conductivity of the water column; Coral infection and damage; Raw current meter output parameters; Seabed photography

Multi-beam echosounders; benthos samplers; cameras; unconsolidated sediment corers; acoustic backscatter sensors; CTD; current meters; sediment traps

A collection of geophysical and oceanographic data from several cruises dedicated to the repeated mapping and monitoring of three UK Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Data will be collected during oceanographic cruises between 2024 and 2029. Data collection will take place at three UK MPAs: Haig Fras Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) in the Celtic Sea; Whittard Canyon submarine complex, which includes The Canyons MCZ, situated off the southwest UK continental shelf; Darwin Mounds Special Area of Conservation (SAC), situated in the northern Rockall Trough. An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) will be used to collect photographic data, sidescan sonar and multibeam bathymetry. Other data include shipboard multibeam bathymetry data; moored ADCP, CTD and sediment trap datasets from repeat mooring deployments; deep glider data; ROV video, pushcores and specimen samples; settling plate experiments; box cores and mega cores. The MPAs under investigation were previously surveyed under the Climate Linked Atlantic Sector Science (CLASS) Programme (2018-2023). Here repeated observations and surveys of MPAs and their surroundings aim to provide insight into the development and recovery of benthic ecosystems following natural and/or anthropogenic impacts. The data collection will be undertaken by scientists at the UK National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and forms part of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Atlantic Climate and Environment Strategic Science (AtlantiS) Programme (Grant reference NE/Y005589/1).

British Oceanographic Data Centre
Joseph Proudman Building 6 Brownlow Street
Liverpool
Merseyside
L3 5DA
United Kingdom