Marine Scotland

  • Collecting Cameras and Grabbing Samples

    28th October 2019 by

    MRV Scotia Survey: 1619S Duration: 26 October – 1 November 2019 Equipment: Day grab; sieve table; time lapse cameras and associated moorings, acoustic device mooring with broadband receiver. Objectives: Recover the time lapse cameras used to assess the macro benthic ecology of drill cuttings around the Murchison oil field. Deploy an acoustic mooring at approximately…

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  • Marine Mammals, Sediment Sampling and Looking for a Missing Buoy

    21st October 2019 by

    MRV Alba na Mara Survey: 1819A Duration: 21 – 31 October 2019 Objectives: Recover and redeploy marine mammal monitoring moorings with acoustic releases, at eight sites in the Sea of the Hebrides and North Minch. Collect sediment samples at a number of sites south of Skye. Attempt to locate and recover ‘missing’ buoy close to…

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  • Half-way there! Monitoring the West Shetland Shelf

    9th September 2019 by

    MRV Scotia Survey: 1219S (Times given are in Coordinated Universal Time (abbreviated to UTC), 24-hour format throughout.) With a full complement of staff aboard, including 19 officers and crew and a team of 11 scientists from Marine Scotland Science (MSS), the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and the National Museum of Scotland, MRV Scotia departed…

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  • Scotia’s Hunt for Organic Carbon

    21st August 2019 by

    I am a second-year PhD student at the University of St Andrews and was recently very fortunate to be one of the research scientists aboard the Scotia 1019S survey that took us across Scotland’s seas at the end of July. Following an unpredictable summer, we weren’t sure of what to expect weather-wise at sea. However,…

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  • Scotia Amongst the Fjords

    5th August 2019 by

    I was one of 11 scientists on-board the MRV Scotia seeking to better understand carbon dynamics in the sediments and water column around Scotland. My personal goal was to sample sea lochs (fjords) around the northern and western coast of Scotland. Fjords are globally recognised as hotspots for the burial and storage of organic carbon…

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  • BOWLing for Prey Species

    20th June 2019 by

    MRV Alba na Mara Survey: 0919A Programme Duration: 8-12 June 2019 Equipment: Pelagic net PT 154; “Bongo” net plankton sampling equipment; Seabird SBE19 CTD; Water sampling mini-rosette; Sandeel dredge; Day grab and grab table; and EK 60 sounder. Location Names: Beatrice Offshore Wind farm Limited  (BOWL); Moray East Offshore Wind farm (MEOW); and Moray West…

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  • Nephrops Burrowing Complexes

    6th June 2019 by

    MRV Scotia Programme Survey: 0819S Duration: 2-24 June 2019 Gear: 2 x Scotia BT175 60mm prawn trawls; 2 x Day grabs and 1 x sieving table; 2 x towed UWTV sledges; 3 x 600m umbilical towing cables and associated TV equipment (including back up); COMPASS work: VEMCO deck box, transponder and charging unit for acoustic release;…

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  • Grabbing Samples at Decommissioned Murchison

    14th May 2019 by

    MRV Scotia Survey: 0619S Programme Duration: 28 April – 05 May 2019 Equipment: Day grab; Sieve table; TV drop frame with lasers; Armoured cable; Multibeam echosounder system; Sound Velocity Profile (SVP); Time-lapse cameras; and Associated moorings. Objectives Assess the macro benthic ecology of drill cuttings material using time-lapse cameras. Procedure MRV Scotia will depart from…

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  • Camera Trials and Nephrops Trawls

    16th January 2019 by

    Survey: 0119A Alba na Mara Programme Duration: 05 – 21 January 2019 Objectives: Calibrate the RoxAnn Acoustic Seabed Mapping System. Obtain video footage to estimate Nephrops burrow entrance size. Compare two different methodologies to establish Nephrops burrow abundance using the sledge and drop frame underwater TV (UWTV) systems. Monitor burrow reconstruction following trawl activity. Trial…

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  • Meet Andy Wilson – Assistant Environmental Chemist (Modern Apprentice)

    19th December 2018 by

    In our series of Science in Government Conference posters we now have Andy Wilson – Modern Apprentice and Assistant Environmental Chemist.  Andy gives us an insight into what a day in his work life is like as he prepares and analyses samples. Further Information: Science in Government 2018 posters Meet Pablo Chevallard our Renewables and…

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