Accessing and Developing the Required Biophysical Datasets and Datalayers for Marine Protected Areas Network Planning and Wider Marine Spatial Planning Purposes

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Accessing and developing the required biophysical datasets and datalayers for Marine Protected Areas network planning and wider marine spatial planning purposes

Report No 8 Task 2A. Mapping of Geological and Geomorphological Features

Version (Final)

27 November 2009

1 Project Title: Accessing and developing the required biophysical datasets and datalayers for Marine Protected Areas network planning and wider marine spatial planning purposes

Report No 8: Task 2A. Mapping of Geological and Geomorphological Features

Project Code: MB0102 Marine Biodiversity R&D Programme

Defra Contract Manager: Jo Myers

Funded by:

Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Marine and Fisheries Science Unit Marine Directorate Nobel House 17 Smith Square London SW1P 3JR

Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) Monkstone House City Road Peterborough PE1 1JY

Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) Maes y Ffynnon Penrhosgarnedd Bangor LL57 2DW

Natural England (NE) North Minister House Peterborough PE1 1UA

Scottish Government (SG) Marine Nature Conservation and Biodiversity Marine Strategy Division Room GH-93 Victoria Quay Edinburgh EH6 6QQ

Department of Environment Northern Ireland (DOENI) Room 1306 River House 48 High Street Belfast BT1 2AW

2 Isle of Man Government (IOM) Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry Rose House 51-59 Circular Road Douglas Isle of Man IM1 1AZ

Authorship:

A. J. Brooks ABP Marine Environmental Research Ltd [email protected]

H. Roberts ABP Marine Environmental Research Ltd [email protected]

N. H. Kenyon Associate [email protected]

A. J. Houghton ABP Marine Environmental Research Ltd [email protected]

ABP Marine Environmental Research Ltd Suite B Waterside House Town Quay Southampton Hampshire SO14 2AQ www.abpmer.co.uk

Disclaimer: The content of this report does not necessarily reflect the views of Defra, nor is Defra liable for the accuracy of the information provided, nor is Defra responsible for any use of the reports content.

Acknowledgements: To Andrew Pearson and Nigel West of ABPmer for the front cover images.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 6 1. Introduction 8 1.1 Biophysical Data Layers Project 8 1.2 Aims and Objectives 9 1.3 Format of the Report 9

2. Adopted Approach Used to Identify, Categorise and Map Geological and Geomorphological Features 11 2.1 Sources of Data Used 11 2.2 The Categorisation of Features 11 2.3 The Mapping of Features 12 2.4 Key Observations 14

3. Key Findings of the Geological and Geomorphological Feature Mapping Phase 17

4. Adopted Approach used in the Conservation Importance / Value Assessment for Marine Geological and Geomorphological Features 18 4.1 Introduction 18 4.2 Conservation Assessment Methodology 20 4.2.1 Overall Approach 20 4.2.2 Feature Importance Assessment 22 4.2.3 Vulnerability Assessment 24 4.2.4 Conservation Assessment Confidence Evaluation 29

5. Key Findings from the Geomorphological and Geological Feature Importance / Value Assessment 32 5.1 Feature Importance Assessment Outcomes 32 5.2 Feature Vulnerability Assessment Outcomes 37 5.3 Confidence Assessment Outcomes 37

6. Conclusions and Options to Consider for the Way Forward 39 6.1 Conclusions 39 6.2 Considerations for the Way Forward 40 6.1.1 Continued Development of Scientific Understanding 40 6.1.2 Protecting Marine Geological and Geomorphological Features of Interest 40 6.1.3 Refinement of Feature Classes 41 6.1.4 Integration with Geological Conservation Review Coastal Sites 41 6.1.5 Consideration of Other Potentially Damaging Human Activities and Installations in UK Waters 41 Abbreviations 43 References 44 Acknowledgements 47

Appendices Appendix I. Project Expert Working Group 48 Appendix II. Bibliography 49 Appendix III. Geomorphological and Geological Features on the UK seabed 64 Appendix IV. Feature Categories and Description 75 Appendix V. Geological Conservation Review Site Details 82 Appendix VI. GIS Feature Attribute Table Description 97 Appendix VII. Users Guide for the Conservation Assessment Excel Spreadsheet 98 Appendix VIII. Susceptibility of Identified Feature Classes to Marine Activities and Infrastructure 100 Appendix IX. Assessment: Zones of Influence Around Identified Features 103

List of Figures Figure 1: Conservation assessment work plan and expert working group input 19 Figure 2: Summary of the linkages between the Irish Sea Pilot study and the conservation assessment presented here 21 Figure 3a: Human activities in UK waters (after Defra (forthcoming); ABPmer 2009) 27 Figure 3b: Human activities in UK waters (after Defra (forthcoming); ABPmer 2009) 28 Figure 4: UK regional seas (taken from JNCC, 2004) 33 Figure 5: Highest ranking features from the feature importance assessment as identified in Table 6 36

List of Tables Table 1: Look-up table detailing the category classifications and class weightings employed in the feature importance assessment 22 Table 2: Sensitivity look-up table 26 Table 3: Look-up table to assess the vulnerability of identified features to damaging human activities 28 Table 4: Confidence score look-up table for the sensitivity assessment 30 Table 5: Confidence score look-up table for the vulnerability assessment 30 Table 6: Summary table detailing the highest ranking features from the feature importance assessment 34

5 Executive Summary

The UK is committed to the establishment of a network of marine protected areas (MPAs) to help conserve marine ecosystems and marine biodiversity. MPAs can be a valuable tool to protect species and habitats and can also be used to aid implementation of the ecosystem approach to management, which aims to maintain the ‗goods and services‘ produced by the healthy functioning of the marine ecosystem that are relied on by humans.

A consortium1 led by ABPmer have been commissioned (Contract Reference: MB0102) to develop a series of biophysical data layers to aid the selection of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) in England and Wales under the Marine and Coastal Access Act and the equivalent MPA measures in Scotland. Such data layers would also be of use in taking forward marine planning in UK waters. The overall aim of the project is to ensure that the best available information is used for the selection of MPAs in UK waters, and that these data layers can be easily accessed and utilised by those who would have responsibility for selecting sites.

The Marine and Coastal Access Act allows for the designation of MCZs for geological and geomorphological features of interest. As such there has been a need to identify those geological and geomorphological features of interest. To deliver this requirement, the project has been divided into a number of discrete tasks, one of which is to map geological and geomorphological features found on the seabed in UK waters from the coast out to the limit of the UK Continental Shelf (Task 2A).

The key findings of this report are outlined below:

 The first phase of Task 2A involved the identification, categorisation and mapping of geological and geomorphological features on the UK seabed. This was achieved through an extensive desk based literature search as well as the development of a detailed feature categorisation system which identified a series of process-based feature units and sub-categories. In total, over 70 separate feature categories have been established, each containing numerous individual features and/or fields of bedforms. Approximately 6,500 separate data entries have been made within a Geographical Information System (GIS) including rock exposures, active and relict landforms and sedimentary deposits formed by marine processes.  The geomorphological and geological feature conservation importance / value methodology developed by Furze and Roberts for the Irish Sea Pilot study was reviewed. An adapted version of this methodology was developed and used to assess the conservation importance/value of geological and geomorphological features identified in the first phase of Task 2A. The need for this revised approach was, for the most part, due to the disparity in both the spatial scale and number of features under consideration in the two separate investigations.

1 ABPmer, MarLIN, Cefas, EMU Limited, Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory (POL) and Bangor University.

 The conservation importance / value assessment was undertaken on a feature- by-feature basis and represents the first step towards highlighting key geodiversity interests and their geographic distribution in the marine environment. In the future, the assessment presented here may help inform the identification of possible MPA‘s.  The conservation importance / value assessment methodology adopted here comprises three separate components. These are (a) a feature importance assessment; (b) a feature vulnerability assessment and (c) a confidence assessment of scores. These three components have been considered separately and have been carried out using a highly automated procedure which combines ArcGIS, Excel and a sequence of ‗look-up‘ tables. The feature importance assessment follows a quantitative approach which takes into consideration the rarity of the features in a national and international context as well as the ‗exceptionality‘ of individual features. The feature vulnerability assessment uses a qualitative method to deliver a vulnerability score of either ‗high‘, ‗medium‘, ‗low‘ or ‗none‘ for each feature to a range of human activities taking place in the marine environment. The confidence assessment also follows a qualitative format and returns scores of ‗high‘, ‗medium‘ and ‗low‘.  Following the calculation of the feature importance scores, all of the features were subsequently ranked according to overall score. A list of features which return the highest scores is presented. The majority of the features which have scored highly in the feature importance assessment belong to either the ‗Glacial Process Features‘ or ‗Geological Process Features‘ category. All of these features have scored highly in the exceptionality assessment and these features are relatively evenly distributed across the extent of the UK Continental Shelf.  The feature vulnerability assessment was carried out on all of the features identified in phase one and eight human activities have been considered. In total, over 50,000 individual assessments are available. In general, the highest abundance of vulnerable features is contained within the Marine Process Features Category and a high number of these vulnerable features are located in the Southern North Sea, English Channel and Irish Sea.

7 1. Introduction

1.1 Biophysical Data Layers Project

1.1 The UK is committed to the establishment of a network of marine protected areas (MPAs) to help conserve marine ecosystems and marine biodiversity. MPAs can be a valuable tool to protect species and habitats and can also be used to aid implementation of the ecosystem approach to management, which aims to maintain the ‗goods and services‘ produced by the healthy functioning of the marine ecosystem that are relied on by humans.

1.2 As a signatory of the OSPAR Convention the UK is committed to establishing an ecologically coherent network of well-managed MPAs. The UK is already in the process of completing a network consisting of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Areas of Protection (SPAs), collectively known as Natura 2000 sites to fulfil its obligations under the EC Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) and EC Birds Directive. Through provisions in the Marine and Coastal Access Act Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) may be designated in English and Welsh territorial waters and UK offshore waters. The Scottish Government is also considering equivalent Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Scotland. These sites are intended to help to protect areas where habitats and species are threatened, and to also protect areas of representative habitats. For further information on the purpose of MCZs and the design principles to be employed see http://www.defra.gov.uk/marine/biodiversity/marine-bill/guidance.htm Defra, 2009.

1.3 MCZ selection will be undertaken via a participatory stakeholder engagement approach. Four regional MCZ projects have been established to lead this process and are expected to be fully functional by early 2010. The full stakeholder engagement process is anticipated to begin in February 2010, continuing until the end of 2011. A formal public consultation is expected in 2012.

1.4 Selection of MPAs should be based on the best available information from a wide range of sources including biological, physical and oceanographic characteristics and socio-economic data such as the location of current activities. To ensure such data are easily available to those who would have responsibility for selecting sites Defra and its partners2 commissioned a consortium lead by ABPmer Ltd and partners to take forward a package of work. New Geographical Information System (GIS) data layers to be developed included:

2 Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Countryside Council for Wales (CCW), Natural England (NE), Scottish Government (SG), Department of Environment Northern Ireland (DOENI) and Isle of Man Government.

8  Geological and geomorphological features;  Habitats and species of conservation importance;  Fetch and wave exposure;  Marine diversity layer;  Benthic productivity; and  Residual current flow.

1.5 In addition to the development of data layers, there is a need to ensure such information can be easily accessed through a webGIS given the participatory nature of the MCZ process that is currently being planned.

1.6 This report provides a detailed description of the development of the geological and geomorphological features data layer, and the conservation assessment.

1.2 Aims and Objectives

1.7 The Marine and Coastal Access Act allows for the designation of MCZs for geological and geomorphological features of interest. As such there is a need to identify those geological and geomorphological features of interest. The specific aims of Task 2A: Geological and geomorphological features are as follows:

 To identify a suite of geological and geomorphological features located around the UK continental shelf;  To prepare digital GIS data layers showing the distribution of geological and geomorphological features; and  To undertake a conservation importance / value assessment to identify possible geological and geomorphological sites for inclusion in Marine Conservation Zones and Marine Protected Areas.

1.8 To ensure that the methods developed for this task are widely accepted, expert review of the adopted methodology was considered key. Accordingly, two technical workshops were held, details of which are included in Appendix I.

1.3 Format of the Report

1.9 The report comprises six main sections:

 Section 1 delivers an introduction to the Marine Protected Areas Datalayers project;  Section 2 provides an overview of the adopted approach used to identify, categorise and map geological and geomorphological features on the UK seabed;  Section 3 contains a concise overview of the key results of the geological and geomorphological feature mapping phase;

9  Section 4 outlines the adopted approach used to develop and implement a conservation importance / value assessment for those features mapped in Section 2;  Section 5 presents the results of the feature importance / value assessment; and  Section 6 delivers a series of conclusions and recommendations relating to the data layers described in Sections 2 and 3 and the conservation importance / value assessment methodology outlined in Sections 4 and 5.

10 2. Adopted Approach Used to Identify, Categorise and Map Geological and Geomorphological Features

2.1 Sources of Data Used

2.1 The mapping of seabed features was achieved following an extensive literature search for information on geomorphological and geological features in UK Continental Shelf waters and UK Territorial Waters. (The territorial waters of the Isle of Man were also included). Principal information sources included:

 BGS 1:250 000 seabed sediment maps;  Scientific journal articles;  DTI Strategic Environmental Assessment Reports;  Various BGS publications (e.g. United Kingdom Offshore Regional Geology Reports, GEOSYNTH, The Eastern English Channel Marine Habitat Map etc);  The Coastal Geomorphology of Great Britain (GCR) series;  Published datasets e.g. BRITICE glacial features GIS database (Clark et al., 2004); English Heritage intertidal and coastal peat database (Hazell, 2008); JNCC submerged/partially submerged caves dataset (JNCC, 2007)  Institute of Oceanographic Sciences Publications (published and unpublished reports); and  UK Estuaries Database.

2.2 A complete reference list of literature used in the compilation of the data layers is included in Appendix II.

2.3 The approach to the mapping of seabed features adopted here focused on the consideration of publications which themselves have identified features. No attempt was made to identify geological or geomorphological features from raw, unprocessed survey data.

2.2 The Categorisation of Features

2.4 Identified features have been classified into one of five Geomorphological/ Geological ‗process units‘:

1. Glacial Process Features; 2. Marine Process Features; 3. Mass Movement Features; 4. Features indicating past change in relative sea level; and 5. Geological Process Features.

2.5 Overview of these five process units are given in Appendices III and IV.

11 2.6 Within each process unit, several ‗process unit sub-categories‘ were identified, each containing individual (or fields of) features. As with the main process units, these sub-divisions were based on similarities in the way in which the features have formed. Further details of the categorisation and a brief description of each process unit and process unit sub-category are provided in Appendix IV. Specific methodological considerations regarding the mapping of each process unit are outlined in Section 2 and 3.

2.7 The categorisation and mapping focussed on the identification of features visible at the seabed as mapping of sub-surface features was outside the remit of this task. However, in those instances where the literature search inadvertently revealed articles or reports documenting sub-surface features (e.g. buried tunnel valleys in the North Sea; buried peat horizons etc), the features have been mapped and a comment included in the GIS attribute table.

2.8 Nationally and internationally important coastal sites have previously been identified through the Geological Conservation Review (GCR) (Ellis et al., 1996) and protected with Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). In total, there are approximately 100 GCR sites which belong to the ‗Coastal Geomorphology GCR block‘ and these have been included as a separate data layer (see Appendix V for site details). Whilst the vast majority of the coastal GCR sites have only been considered in detail above the low water mark, it is likely that many of the features or strata that are responsible for the award of GCR status will extend seaward. However, detailed site-specific sub-tidal mapping is absent from these sites and it is therefore impossible to identify their seaward extent. As such, the locations of these sites have only been indicated as a point on the shore. These GCR sites have not been incorporated into the five process units. This is because they have been established on the basis of assemblages of geomorphological and/or geological features whilst this project focused on the mapping of individual features (or fields of small features such as sand waves).

2.3 The Mapping of Features

2.9 The mapped geological and geomorphological features included in the GIS layers were derived from either previously developed GIS layers (e.g. the Irish Sea Pilot), scanned images sourced from hardcopy reports/papers etc or images ‗clipped‘ from electronic reports/publications. ArcGIS 9.3 was used to ‗georeference‘ each image into the correct geographic space using crosshair points of known spatial locations on each image. This process was completed using a minimum of 4 correction points however to enhance the spatial accuracy in this project, 10 or more correction points were commonly established.

2.10 Where possible, UKHO Admiralty Charts and/or a digital bathymetric grid (defined on a 0.0017x0.0017 decimal degree grid) were used to more accurately fix the position of the digitised feature.

12 2.11 Potential error sources introduced through spatial inaccuracies in the mapping process included:

 The original image may contain existing inaccuracies;  Error may be introduced during the printing, photocopying and scanning of images;  Georeferencing may contain accuracy errors;  Inaccurate digitisation as a result of the source image being of low spatial resolution;  Inaccurate digitisation as a result of human error;  The georeferenced image may not be in WGS 1984 geographic projection. Conversion between projections in ArcGIS may introduce an additional spatial error term.

2.12 Quantification of the overall accuracy error term is problematic. However, where possible, information has been provided to help users make a relative judgment on the precision and accuracy of the mapped feature. Information on the nominal scale of the source map is given in the feature attribute table whilst further details are also included in the accompanying metadata (which are provided in .xml format and conform to the internationally recognised MEDIN standard, see MEDIN (2009)).

2.13 Despite the above, these spatial error terms need to be viewed both in the wider context of the mapping exercise and in particular, the specific features being mapped. It is the case that a large proportion of the mapped features have had their positions corroborated by either (digital) UKHO Admiralty Charts or with a digital bathymetric grid. In such instances, positional accuracy will almost certainly be well within 1km. Features that have not had their positions cross-checked may have a spatial error term in excess of 1km. It is worth noting that the vast majority of features that fall within this category either cover a significant geographical area (e.g. a sediment drift), have a diffuse or poorly defined boundary (e.g. a prograding wedge) and/or are transient (e.g. a sand wave field).

2.14 Mapped features were derived from a large number of different georeferenced images which have been compiled at a range of scales. The largest scale Admiralty Charts used to map features were the 1:75 000 series.

2.15 The smallest seabed features mapped were sand waves. Owing to time constraints, these features were mapped as bedform ‗fields‘ and this approach was repeated elsewhere in the mapping of other small and meso-scale bedforms (e.g. sand ribbons, gravel furrows, ice-berg plough marks etc) found during the study.

2.16 A number of the original Irish Sea Pilot (Vincent et al., 2004) GIS layers were incorporated although these have been updated with more recent published research carried out in the period 2003 to 2009 (see Appendix II for details).

13 2.17 Each identified feature has an associated attribute table accessible within the GIS. Full details of the attribute table structure are provided within Appendix VI.

2.18 All the GIS layers have been generated using ArcGIS 9.3 and contain shape files which have been mapped using a WGS 1984 geographic coordinate system.

2.4 Key Observations

2.19 Glacial Process Features: defined as features that have been created as a direct result of cryospheric processes. Successive glacial periods have left distinctive bedforms of various ages and morphologies formed during the retreat and advance of ice sheets.

2.20 A number of the mapped features in this category are taken directly from the BRITICE GIS dataset which is freely available to download in GIS format (see Clark et al., 2004).

2.21 The scale for BRITICE GIS dataset was given as 1:50 000 since Clark et al. (2004), state that… ‗Data (for the BRITICE dataset) came from a variety of scales (typically 1:5000-1:50000) and were entered into the GIS at their full resolution.‘

2.22 The GIS layer ‗Ice Limit‘ was included to help the viewer put the mapped glacial features in context. This layer is based on the findings of Sejrup et al. (2005) and shows the maximum lateral extent of ice across the UK during the last glacial period (80 000 - 10 000 yrs BP).

2.23 Marine Process Features: defined as features that are created directly by marine processes such as waves, tides and currents. Different marine processes transport, erode and deposit sediment in different ways and hence create a variety of different morphological forms in different ocean environments.

2.24 The smallest features mapped within this process unit are fields of sand waves. Accordingly, smaller features such as mega ripple fields, sand patches and sand streaks are not included.

2.25 In a small number of instances, it is evident that feature classes may be overlapping‘ one another. This may give the impression that certain features coexist side by side on the seabed. This situation arises where separate data sources (often defined on differing scales) have been mapped adjacent to one another. (This issue is largely but not exclusively confined to the Marine processes unit).

2.26 Care was taken to differentiate between ‗sandbanks‘ and topographic features which have a covering of sand. This is particularly relevant in the North Sea where a number of the observed banks are moraines with a surface covering of sand.

2.27 The mapped distribution of gravel waves is almost certainly incomplete. This is because gravel waves are small scale features (<0.5m in height) and can usually only be identified by high resolution acoustic backscatter imagery.

2.28 Mass Movement Features: created as a result of the movement of sediment or rock, for example a slump or a slide occurring on the seabed. Mass movements can cover large geographical areas and may involve large quantities of material moving at great speed.

2.29 The mapped prograding wedges included in the glacial process unit can also be considered under the mass movement process unit as these features commonly comprise both glacigenic debris flows and large slide debrites.

2.30 Features Indicating Past Change in Relative Sea Level: the features classed within this category are markers of historic sea levels which have fluctuated over time as a result of successive glacial and interglacial periods periodically reducing and increasing the volume of water in the world’s oceans.

2.31 It should be noted that the suite of features included in this category is by no means an exhaustive record of features that offer information on past sea level change. Indeed, a number of the mapped glacial features also probably evidence a change in Quaternary sea level. However, much of this information is inconclusive, and as such was not included here.

2.32 Although the submerged peat beds and forests mapped here have primarily been observed in the intertidal zone (and hence above LWST), it is likely that many of them will extend out below the low water mark. Accordingly, occurrences of intertidal peats and forests have been included in this data layer. The majority of the mapped peat beds and forests are taken directly from the English Heritage peat database. Details of this resource can be found in Hazell (2008).

2.33 Sea caves are also included in this process unit. However, it is probable that some of these features are located entirely above the low water mark and therefore should not be included in this mapping exercise. However, the elevation of these caves with respect to sea level is unknown therefore all coastal caves are included here.

2.34 The submerged/partially submerged sea cave data layer shows where sea caves have been recorded. However, much of the UK coast is un-surveyed, and therefore the map considerably under-represents the true distribution of this feature. No comprehensive cave datasets are available for the UK, but the concentration of caves in Wales (where a detailed intertidal survey has been conducted) gives an indication of the degree to which the national picture may, at present, be under-represented (JNCC, 2007).

2.35 Geological Process Features: the features within this category are formed by a variety of past and ongoing geological processes including volcanism, diapirism, fluid and gas seepage from the seabed and tectonism.

2.36 The present day distributions of biogenic reef forming species have been obtained from the National Biodiversity Network and are included in this process unit. This is because over time, these organisms may accumulate to form reefs which are solid, massive structures with a geomorphic expression. However, in the absence of detailed high-resolution seabed mapping it is not possible to discern which of the mapped locations are associated with reefs. Accordingly, the dataset obtained from the National Biodiversity Network reveals areas with the potential for biogenic reefs to exist.

16 3. Key Findings of the Geological and Geomorphological Feature Mapping Phase

3.1 The feature mapping phase of Task 2A identified circa 6,500 features or (fields of features) on the UK seabed. These features were identified from a range of sources including academic journals, BGS publications and UKHO Admiralty Charts.

3.2 All of the identified features were categorised according to similarities in the processes which formed the features. Five principal ‗process units‘ were established:

 Glacial Process Features;  Marine Process Features;  Mass Movement Features;  Features indicating past change in relative sea level; and  Geological Process Features.

3.3 These main process units were sub-divided into ‗process unit sub-categories‘ which in turn, were further categorised into ‗Feature Classes‘. As with the main process units, these sub-divisions were based on similarities in the way in which the features formed. In total, over 70 Feature Classes were established.

3.4 The largest numbers of mapped features are contained within process unit 2 (‗Marine Process features‘) and process unit 4 (‗Features indicating past change in relative sea level‘). Together, these two units account for around two thirds of all identified features.

17 4. Adopted Approach used in the Conservation Importance / Value Assessment for Marine Geological and Geomorphological Features

4.1 Introduction

4.1 The development and implementation of a conservation importance/ value assessment was required for all of the c. 6,500 identified geological and geomorphological seabed features. These features identified span much of the geological record and this geological diversity is of international importance in the study of Earth science. The diverse landforms and depositional records found on the UK continental shelf are potentially of great value in understanding linkages between the ocean, atmosphere, cryosphere and biosphere and this is of critical importance to our understanding of climate change. This variety of rocks and landforms also has a central role to play in marine biological diversity and a number of internationally important habitats owe their development to the presence of these seabed features. The justification for conserving certain marine geological and geomorphological features is therefore apparent and remains the same for the marine environment as it does on dry land. The premise that we need to preserve our Earth heritage for future generations and in doing so maintain the resources necessary for continued and future research applies to the same extent beneath the waves as it does terrestrially (Allen et al., 1989; NCC, 1984,1990; Pearce, 1989; Wilson et al., 1994; Furze, 2003).

4.2 The conservation importance/ value assessment methodology adopted was adapted from the techniques developed by the University of Bangor for the Irish Sea Pilot study (Furze and Roberts, 2004). The purpose of the Irish Sea Pilot study was to help develop a strategy for marine nature conservation that could be applied to all UK waters and, with international collaboration, the adjacent waters of the north-east Atlantic. An investigation into the rationale for Earth heritage conservation in the marine environment, as well as recommendations with regards to the most appropriate means of conserving nationally-important marine geological and geomorphological sites are included in this report.

4.3 The feature assessment methodology comprised of three separate components. These were:

a) A feature importance assessment (which considered the ‗rarity‘ and ‗exceptionality‘ of the identified features); b) A feature vulnerability assessment (which considered the threat to identified features from a range of human activities and installations in the marine environment); and c) A confidence assessment (which considered the reliability of the scores associated with the above assessments).

18 4.4 The assessment was undertaken on a feature-by-feature basis and represents the first step towards highlighting key geodiversity interests and their geographic distribution in the marine environment. In the future, the assessment presented here may help inform the identification of possible MPA‘s for geological and geomorphological features of interest.

4.5 It should be noted that vulnerability assessed the potential vulnerability of features to a range of human activities and therefore does not imply that an adverse impact would necessarily result if the feature were exposed to that human activity.

4.6 The large number of features identified in the mapping phase of this project necessitated the development of a highly automated assessment procedure capable of manipulating large datasets in a fast, transparent and cost effective manner. This was achieved through a combined approach involving ArcGIS, Excel and a series of ‗look-up‘ tables which have been linked into the assessment process and used to automatically generate feature scores. Importantly, the methodology was also tailored to cope with the future addition of other datasets and/or feature information.

4.7 Due to the number of individual feature assessments undertaken, full results of the assessment are not presented in this report. Instead, the key findings are outlined in Section 5 whilst all the assessment results are contained within the Excel spreadsheet which accompanies this report (see Appendix VII for details).

Figure 1: Conservation assessment work plan and expert working group input

19 4.8 Whilst the assessment procedure outlined here follows an automated approach, it was underpinned by expert judgement and knowledge regarding (amongst other aspects) feature morphology, origin, composition and sensitivity to pressures as well as the possible impacts on the seabed from human activities and installations in the marine environment. An ‗expert working group‘ comprised of geologists and marine process specialists was established to provide methodological input at a number of stages during the development and implementation of the assessment (Figure 1; and Appendix I). For the most part, the assessment categories, weightings and definitions presented in this report reflect the general consensus of opinion formed during discussions within this group. However, it is important to note that the actual assessments and scoring presented in Section 5 were undertaken by the authors and were neither validated nor endorsed by this expert working group.

4.9 The GCR sites have been omitted from the conservation assessment at this time. This is because the sub-tidal extent of these sites has not been mapped in detail and these sites were established on the basis of assemblages of geomorphological and/or geological features whilst this project focused on the mapping of individual features (or fields of small features such as sand waves). Detailed site-based knowledge would therefore be required to accurately incorporate features contained within the GCR sites. (However, it is recommended that the future development of marine conservation zones containing geomorphological and geological sites should be integrated as much as possible with existing GCR sites).

4.2 Conservation Assessment Methodology

4.2.1 Overall Approach

4.10 The methodology adopted here was adapted from the techniques developed by the University of Bangor for the Irish Sea Pilot study3 (Furze and Roberts, 2004). This was the first conservation assessment of Earth science features in the marine environment, although an extensive conservation assessment of terrestrial sites was undertaken as part of the GCR (e.g. Ellis et al., 1996).

4.11 The Irish Sea Pilot study assessed the conservation value of geological sites in the Irish Sea for the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). The Irish Sea Pilot study methodology comprised four components: scientific value; near and far field threats; and integrity and conservability. The assessment considered 49 possible sites (including 15 coastal geomorphology GCR sites) using a scoring matrix and ranked the sites on the basis of scientific importance.

4.12 Phase one of this investigation identified circa 6,500 features (or fields of features) on the UK continental shelf, all of which required assessment. A similarly detailed site-based assessment approach to that employed the Irish Sea Pilot study was unfeasible in the context of this project, primarily owing to the time required to carry out such an assessment but also the site-specific

3 As stipulated in the project brief.

20 knowledge required to confidently undertake the task. A revised methodology is presented in the following sections, enabling a more general assessment to be implemented at the national scale. The main similarities and differences between the two methodologies are summarised in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Summary of the linkages between the Irish Sea Pilot study and the conservation assessment presented here

4.13 The assessment methodology adopted for this conservation assessment of geological and geomorphological features comprises three separate components. These are: (a) a feature importance assessment; (b) a feature vulnerability assessment and (c) a confidence assessment which considers the reliability of (a) and (b). All of these assessments were undertaken independently and scores were presented separately. Feature importance was quantitatively assessed by the authors and an overall percentage score was delivered for each feature, based on the combined total of three separate assessment criteria. In contrast, a qualitative assessment was adopted for feature vulnerability and confidence with the vulnerability assessment drawing upon the expertise of both the authors and the expert working group. It should be noted that this revised assessment was not based on an explicit GCR-type scientific framework and does not take into account assemblages of features (as per the GCR approach). Instead, this assessment was undertaken on a feature-by-feature basis and represents a first step towards highlighting key geodiversity interests in UK waters.

4.14 Further details on each component of the assessment are provided below.

21 4.2.2 Feature Importance Assessment

4.15 The first stage of the conservation assessment involved quantitatively assessing the importance of each of the identified features. This relied upon broad-scale understanding and knowledge of the identified features and reduced dependency on detailed feature-specific knowledge. For example, the Irish Sea Pilot study took into consideration site representativeness which requires expert judgment regarding which sites best represent those features, events and processes fundamental to UK geological history. It was the assertion of the authors that this level of detail could only be obtained through a programme of technical workshops and discussions involving detailed debate amongst experts from a variety of Earth science backgrounds. (Such an approach was beyond the scope of this investigation although should be considered in future assessments – see Section 6).

4.16 The revised approach presented here also addressed the issue of possible overlap between assessment criteria which may have occurred in the integrity and conservability assessment stage of the Irish Sea Pilot study. Key findings from the feature importance assessment are presented in Section 5 and the confidence assessment procedure used to assess the reliability of these ratings is outlined in Section 4.2.4.

4.17 In order to carry out the feature importance assessment, three separate assessment criteria were established and these are discussed in detail in the following section. These assessment categories and their associated weightings are also detailed in Table 1.

Table 1: Look-up table detailing the category classifications and class weightings employed in the feature importance assessment Importance (and associated score) (Out of) Exceptionality High 40 Medium 20 Low 5 40 Proportional International 20 National 10 Regional 5 20 Importance Rarity High 10 Medium 5 Low 1 10 Total 70

4.2.2.1 Exceptionality

4.18 The exceptionality phase of the assessment considered whether an identified feature possessed unique or special attributes which distinguished it from other features in the same category (i.e. makes it a feature with exceptional attributes including its importance above other similar features). This assessment was carried out quantitatively at a feature level and is based on expert judgement provided by the authors.

4.19 The feature exceptionality rating also took into consideration the research value of identified features with increased weighting given to features that had received detailed study in the past, had the potential for future research, and had played an important role in the development of Earth sciences (Ellis et al., 1996). Caution was exercised when considering this component of exceptionality as many nationally and internationally important features may

22 not have been studied in great detail, either due to their geographic location or perhaps because they have only recently been discovered. Similarly, it is generally the case that features located in accessible (usually shallower) locations have been more intensively studied than those in deep water environments but is does not follow that they are any more exceptional as a result. However, when combined with the other exceptionality components ‗research value‘ still represented a useful additional concept when assessing overall feature importance.

4.20 The ‗exceptionality‘ category is subtly different form the ‗rarity‘ assessment and is not the same as feature ‗representativeness‘ which Furze and Roberts used to take into account whether identified sites were an exemplar of the thematic blocks they belonged to.

4.21 These differences are best illustrated by way of examples:

a) Glacial outburst flood features: although evidence for glacial outburst floods may be found at several locations across northern Europe, the streamlined bed features which evidence a mega-flood in the English Channel have been ranked highly above others for exceptionality. This is because of the geographic extent of the feature field as well as the scale of the palaeo-flood episode they bear testimony to. b) The sarnau found in Cardigan Bay: these features are believed to be medial moraines truncated seawards by Irish Sea ice and winnowed by post glacial marine processes. Whilst moraines are ubiquitous throughout formerly glaciated regions, these features possess an extremely unusual morphology and as such have scored highly on the exceptionality criteria.

4.2.2.2 Proportional importance

4.22 This stage of the feature importance assessment took into consideration the abundance of the identified features at an international level. Expert judgement by the authors was used to classify features into one of three tiers (Table 1). These are

 International;  National; and  Regional.

4.23 The concept of international importance is a key criterion for site conservation, and forms one of the principal tenets of Earth heritage conservation (Furze, 2003). Indeed, a number of features are rare in UK waters but are relatively abundant elsewhere (therefore of ‗National‘ or ‗Regional‘ importance). Carbonate mounds are arguably the best example of this with only one confirmed occurrence in UK waters (Roberts et al., 2008) but several identified elsewhere in the NE Atlantic (e.g. Mienis et al., 2007; Kiriakoulakis et al., 2007). Conversely, some features are relatively well represented in UK waters but are comparatively rare elsewhere (therefore of ‗National‘ or ‗International‘ importance).

23 4.2.2.3 Rarity

4.24 Consideration was given to the rarity of each identified feature within UK waters as part of the feature importance assessment. Similar assessments have attempted this in a purely quantitative manner with scores generated by dividing the feature area by the total layer area. However, it was decided that a semi-quantitative approach was most appropriate here since complications arose when attempting to quantify the rarity of ‗fields‘ of features (e.g. sand waves) as well as individual features which covered very large areas (e.g. sediment drifts).

4.25 It is also the case that a number of the identified features may be rare in sub- marine contexts but abundant in the terrestrial environment. Such features were largely confined to process unit 1 (Glacial features) and process unit 5 (Geological features). For example there are only three known submerged nunataks (exposed summits of mountains which once stood above a surrounding ice sheet) but a relatively large number have been identified in upland regions of the British Isles (e.g. Ballantyne, 1997). Where other such examples have arisen, assessment of the rarity of the feature attempted to take into account the ubiquity of the feature in the terrestrial environment, since the state of being submerged seldom has any relevance to a feature‘s overall importance.

4.2.3 Vulnerability Assessment

4.26 Human developments and activities in the marine environment have the potential to impact upon both geomorphological and geological features at the seabed. Evaluating feature sensitivity to these activities is an important part of developing Earth heritage and habitat conservation management practice, as it is in the terrestrial environment (e.g. Gordon et al., 1998; Kirkbride & Gordon, in press).

4.27 Such developments and activities may be categorised into one of three groups:

 Activities or installations that remove or disturb the seabed (e.g. aggregate dredging);  Activities that dispose of material onto the seabed (dredge waste disposal) and  Installations that sit on the seabed (e.g. some cables and pipelines).

4.28 Given the dynamic nature of the continental shelf, all of these activities have the ability to cause near and far-field effects through the interruption of existing sediment transport pathways and hydrodynamic processes. Furthermore, any disturbance of soft sediments on the seabed may also cause the suspension of fine particles in the water column, potentially altering local-regional sedimentation patterns. Detailed discussions regarding the potential impacts of marine activities on the seabed are presented in Charting Progress II: Productive Seas Report (Defra, forthcoming).

24 4.29 The vulnerability assessment presented here provides a first order guide to the vulnerability of each mapped feature to human activities in the marine realm. Calculation of feature vulnerability to a specific activity relied on the use of look-up tables and follows a two-stage process:

 Feature Susceptibility x Feature Regenerative Ability = Feature Sensitivity; and  Feature Sensitivity x Feature Exposure = Feature Vulnerability.

4.30 The assessment took into account the near-field and far-field threats identified by Furze and Roberts in the Irish Sea Pilot study. However, in this assessment both feature ‗sensitivity‘ and ‗exposure‘ to threats were explicitly calculated then subsequently combined to generate a vulnerability score. This procedure followed established rationale and criteria for the identification of conservation features (Connor et al., 2002). Much of the process was automated through ArcGIS and Excel, enabling fast assessment and future re-assessment of the large dataset. The output is a qualitative vulnerability assessment which was applied to each feature for each activity. Key findings from the vulnerability assessment are presented in Section 5 and the confidence assessment procedure used to assess the reliability of these ratings is outlined in Section 4.2.4.

4.2.3.1 Feature sensitivity

4.31 A feature that is said to be sensitive is one that is readily adversely affected by external factors arising from human activities, and is expected to recover only over a very long time period, or not at all. Accordingly, any assessment of feature sensitivity needs to take into consideration (i) feature sediment type or geology and (ii) the ability of the feature to recover from degradation. These two aspects of sensitivity are considered further below under the headings ‗feature susceptibility‘ and ‗feature regenerative ability‘.

4.2.3.2 Feature susceptibility

4.32 ‗Feature susceptibility‘ addressed sediment type and other aspects of the geology of the given feature. Features comprised of soft, unconsolidated material (e.g. sand waves) are likely to be far more susceptible to a threat than feature comprised of compacted, hard material (e.g. glacial moraines) or cut in bedrock (e.g. glacial troughs). Susceptibility was defined on the following four point scale:

 None: Activity will cause negligible change to the feature;  Low: Activity has the potential to partially smother and/or cause localised damage to the feature‘s surface or stratigraphy;  Medium: Activity has the potential to smother and/or cause general disruption to the feature‘s surface or stratigraphy; and  High: Activity has the potential to completely destroy or remove the feature.

25 4.33 The susceptibility of identified features to various marine activities and infrastructure was determined through consultation with the project expert working group and assigned values are presented in Appendix VIII. This assessment was carried out at the process unit sub-category level (see Appendix IV).

4.2.3.3 Regenerative ability

4.34 ‗Regenerative ability‘ refers to the capacity of a given feature to recover from degradation and to be restored to its original (natural) state. The ability of the identified features to regenerate was assessed with regards to a defined time interval. This is because there are a wide variety of geological and geomorphological processes responsible for the creation and maintenance of the identified features and these processes are operational over differing timescales. For example, both a sand wave field and a sediment drift may both have been identified as active features yet whilst the former may exhibit morphological change on an annual basis, the latter may take many millennia to exhibit noticeable signs of change.

4.35 Regenerative ability was defined on the following four point scale:

 None: Relict (or extremely inactive feature) which has no potential for regeneration over sub-centennial timescales  Low: Presently relict (or extremely inactive feature) but which has the potential for regeneration over sub-centennial timescales should changes occur to prevailing hydrodynamic and/or sedimentary conditions  Medium: Active feature but with low potential for regeneration over sub- centennial timescales  High: Active feature with high potential for regeneration over sub- centennial timescales

4.36 Values for the regenerative ability of identified features to various marine activities and infrastructure was determined by expert judgement. This assessment was carried out on a feature-by-feature basis.

4.2.3.4 Feature sensitivity rating

4.37 Feature susceptibility and regenerative ability were subsequently combined to deliver a sensitivity rating for each identified feature. This was achieved using a look-up table (Table 2).

Table 2: Sensitivity look-up table Feature susceptibility to activity High Medium Low None Regenerative None High High Medium None ability Low High Medium Low None Medium Medium Medium Low None High Medium Low None None

26 4.2.3.5 Feature exposure

4.38 The location and spatial extent of potentially damaging marine activities in UK territorial and offshore waters was mapped using GIS and can be viewed in Figure 3(a) & (b). The eight activities and developments considered were:

 Fishing (beam and dredge trawling) 4;  Aggregate extraction;  Hydrocarbons (oil and gas installations);  Renewable energy developments;  Cables and pipelines;  Navigational dredging;  Dredge waste disposal; and  Military activity.

4.39 Much of this information was obtained from the Defra funded project ‗Charting Progress II‘ which presents an assessment of the various pressures and impacts of human activities in the marine environment. This dataset was augmented by more recent information regarding the location of dredge and beam trawling fishing ‗pressure‘ surfaces (ABPmer, 2009).

Beam & Dredge Trawling Oil & Gas Installations

Cable Routes Pipeline Routes

Figure 3a: Human activities in UK waters (after Defra (forthcoming); ABPmer 2009)

Date By Size Version Legend July 2009 AJB A4 1

Reference

3814 - Human_Activitiesa.xls Produced by ABPmer Ltd. 4 The dataset used© ABPmer, in All rights this reserved, 2008 investigation only includes fishing vessels greater than 15m in length. Pressures and Impacts of Human Activities in the UK Figure 1a However, it is these larger vessels that are likelyWaters (afterto provide DEFRA, 2005; the ABPmer, greatest 2009) threat to the sea bed.

27 Wind Farms (R1, R2 & R3) Aggregate Extraction

Navigational Dredging Military Practice (grey) & waste disposal (red) sites

Figure 3b: Human activities in UK waters (after Defra (forthcoming); ABPmer 2009)

Date By Size Version Legend 4.40 A series of exposureJuly 2009 AJB A4‗zones1 of influence‘ around all of the mapped potentially Reference

damaging marine3814 activities- Human_Activitiesb.xls and infrastructure have been established. These were defined followingProduced by ABPmer Ltd.discussions with the project expert working group (see © ABPmer, All rights reserved, 2008 Appendix I) and are conservativePressures and Impacts of assessmentsHuman Activities in the UK providing ‗worst case Figure 1b scenarios‘. The extent of theseWaters zones (after DEFRA, of 2005;influence ABPmer, 2009) was based on knowledge of the activities and their effects on the seabed through factors such as excavation of the seabed, the interruption of sediment transport and the generation of sediment plumes. Details regarding these zones are presented in Appendix IX. Exposure was assessed on a four point scale (High, Medium, Low, None) and was automatically calculated by overlaying both the feature layers and the human activity layers in the ArcGIS software package.

4.2.3.6 Vulnerability rating

4.41 A look-up table (Table 3) was used to generate a series of vulnerability ratings to each of the potentially damaging human activities shown in Figures 3a and b and combines findings from both the sensitivity and exposure assessments.

Table 3: Look-up table to assess the vulnerability of identified features to damaging human activities Sensitivity High Medium Low None Exposure High High High Medium None Medium High Medium Low None Low Medium Low Low None None None None None None

4.42 The scores provided for each activity were not amalgamated to provide a combined vulnerability rating since such an approach has the potential to mask high levels of vulnerability to a specific activity. For example, a sand ribbon may be in close proximity to an aggregate extraction site and be highly vulnerable to this activity. It may however, be some distance from other potentially damaging human activities thus returning a series of very low vulnerability scores. When combined, these scores may give the misleading impression that the feature is not vulnerable to change when evidently this is not the case. Instead, for each feature a vulnerability score was given for each of the assessed human activities.

4.2.4 Conservation Assessment Confidence Evaluation

4.43 All of the scores associated with both the feature importance and vulnerability assessments have an associated confidence rating, reflecting the reliability of each individual score. Definitions for the different confidence ratings and an explanation of how confidence scores were generated for each feature are outlined in the following section.

4.2.4.1 Feature importance confidence assessment

4.44 All assessments of rarity, proportional importance and exceptionality were assigned an associated high, medium or low confidence score. This score was based on the author‘s expert judgement and reflects the level of uncertainty with the presented ratings. An overall percentage score for confidence was derived by adopting a value of 5 for high; 3 for medium and 1 for low and individual confidence scores were subsequently weighted in accordance with the feature category weightings presented in Table 1. Definitions of confidence in assessment scores are outlined below.

4.2.4.2 Feature importance confidence definitions

 High This judgement reflects a high level of confidence amongst the authors regarding their knowledge of the feature under consideration in terms of either its rarity or an understanding of what attributes would make the feature exceptional. All ‗high‘ confidence scores reflect the fact that there was sufficient data available on which to make the judgement.  Medium This judgement reflects a reasonable level confidence amongst the authors regarding their knowledge of the feature under consideration in terms of either its rarity or an understanding of what attributes would make the feature exceptional.  Low This judgement reflects a low level of confidence amongst the authors regarding their knowledge of the feature under consideration in terms of either its rarity or an understanding of what attributes would make the feature exceptional. Low confidence scores also reflect a lack of available data on which to make a judgement.

29 4.2.4.3 Vulnerability assessment confidence evaluation

4.45 High, medium and low confidence ratings were provided for all eight vulnerability assessments carried out for each feature. Since vulnerability was based on an assessment of both exposure and sensitivity and because sensitivity was derived from judgements of feature susceptibility and regenerative ability, a series of look-up tables were required to provide a confidence score for each vulnerability assessment. An initial confidence score for sensitivity was generated using Table 4 and the output values were then used to derive an overall confidence score for vulnerability using Table 5 (see below). This procedure was undertaken automatically using a macro code executed in Excel.

Table 4: Confidence score look-up table for the sensitivity assessment Susceptibility confidence High Medium Low Regenerative High High Medium Low ability Medium Medium Medium Low confidence Low Low Low Low

Table 5: Confidence score look-up table for the vulnerability assessment Sensitivity confidence High Medium Low Exposure High High Medium Low confidence Medium Medium Medium Low Low Low Low Low

4.46 Confidence definitions for each of the four elements considered in the confidence assessment are provided below.

4.2.4.4 Regenerative ability assessment confidence definitions

 High High level of confidence in the assigned judgement of how able the feature is to recover from disruption. Reflects a good level of knowledge about the feature under consideration in terms of both the processes behind its inception and whether it is active or relict.  Medium Reasonable level of confidence in the assigned judgement of how able the feature is to recover from disruption. Reflects some knowledge gaps with regards to either the processes behind its inception and/or whether the feature is active or relict.  Low Low level of confidence in the assigned judgement of how able the feature is to recover from disruption. Reflects a poor level of knowledge about the feature under consideration either in terms of the processes behind its inception and/or whether it is active or relict.

4.2.4.5 Susceptibility assessment confidence definitions

30  High High level of confidence in the assigned judgement of feature susceptibility to external human influences reflecting a good understanding of the morphological characteristics of the mapped feature and how the given activity may impact the seabed.  Medium Reasonable level of confidence in the assigned judgement of feature susceptibility to external human influences reflecting a generally sound understanding of the morphological characteristics of the mapped feature and how the given activity may impact the seabed.  Low Low level of confidence in the assigned judgement of feature susceptibility to external human influences reflecting a poor understanding of either the morphological characteristics of the mapped feature and/or an incomplete understanding how the given activity may impact the seabed.

4.2.4.6 Exposure assessment confidence definitions

 High High level of confidence in the precision and accuracy of the marine installation/activity data as well as the accuracy of the zones of influence that have been defined around the activity.  Medium Reasonable level of confidence in the precision and accuracy of the marine installation/activity data as well as the accuracy of the zones of influence that have been defined around the activity.  Low Low level of confidence in either the precision and accuracy of the marine installation/activity data or the accuracy of the zones of influence that have been defined around the activity.

31 5. Key Findings from the Geomorphological and Geological Feature Importance / Value Assessment

5.1 Findings from the three stages of the conservation assessment are outlined in the following section. Owing to the quantity of features under assessment and the number of assessments carried out on each feature, it was not practical to display all of the assessment outcomes in this document. Instead, the assessment results are contained within the Excel spreadsheet which accompanies this report - see Appendix VII for details).

5.1 Feature Importance Assessment Outcomes

5.2 Scores for rarity, proportional importance and exceptionality were calculated and then combined using the category weightings outlined in Table 1. All of the features were subsequently ranked according to their overall score and the highest ranking features have been listed in Table 6. The Regional Sea in which each of these features is located is also included in this table (see Figure 4 for Regional Sea boundaries). It is clear from Table 6 that many of the listed features are actually groups of (as opposed to individual) features for example the Skears from Morecambe Bay, the Pilot Whale Diapirs, the Braemar Pockmarks. However, it should be noted that the individual features which make up these groups have all been mapped separately in phase one and the conservation assessment was also undertaken on individual features. Accordingly, the scores presented in Table 6 which are assigned to groups of similar features are also the same scores given to the individual features comprising that group.

11 8 10

1 7

Legend Regional sea limit Regional sea limit (beyond UK) 2 Regional sea limit (under debate) 6 UK Continental Shelf limit 1 Northern North Sea 2 Southern North Sea 3 Eastern English Channel 4 Western English Channel & Celtic Sea 5 Atlantic South West Approaches 6 Irish Sea 7 Minches & West Scotland 8 Scottish Continental Shelf 3 9 Faroe-Shetland Channel 10 Rockall Trough & Bank 4 11 Atlantic North West Approaches

¯ 5 0 100 200 300 400 Kilometers

Map copyright JNCC 2007. Acknowledgements: World Vector Shoreline © US Defense Map version & date Mapping Agency. The exact limits of the UK Continental Shelf are set out in orders Version 1 8/06/2007 made under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964 (© Crown Copyright).

Figure 4: UK regional seas (taken from JNCC, 2004)

33 Table 6: Summary table detailing the highest ranking features from the feature importance assessment Feature Process Unit Category Feature Class Regional Sea Description Score (%) ID No. (Figure 5) Sarnau Glacial Process Features Moraines Irish Sea Medial moraines truncated seawards by Irish Sea ice 100 1 moving SSE. Unique features with unusual morphology. Only found in the Irish Sea. Giant‘s Causeway Geological Process Seabed Mounds or Minches and W. Spectacular example of Polygonal columns of layered 100 2 Features Pinnacles Scotland basalt resulting from volcanic eruption 60 million years ago. (UNESCO World Heritage Site). Carbonate Mound Geological Process Carbonate Mounds Rockall Trough and The first reported evidence for coral carbonate mound 86 3 Features Bank development in UK waters (reported in 2008) Felpham Palaeocene Features indicating past Submerged Forests E. English Channel Rare examples of palm tree stumps dating to the 86 4 Submerged Forest change in relative sea level Palaeocene. Esker Field Glacial Process Features Esker Fields Irish Sea Extremely well-preserved bedform fields providing 86 5 Glacial Flute Field Glacial Process Features Flute Fields evidence for a grounded part of the Irish Sea Ice Stream in 6 a phase of deglaciation 20km offshore of Anglesey. Critical region for understanding behaviour and dynamics of British and Irish Ice Sheet Faroe Bank Channel Geological Process Deep Ocean Channel Faroe-Shetland The Faroe-Shetland/ Faroe-Bank Channel is one of the 86 7 Faroe-Shetland Features Channel key regions in the thermohaline circulation of the North 8 Channel Atlantic and is a major gateway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Norwegian Sea West Runton Features indicating past Submerged Forests S. North Sea Rare examples of submerged forest dating to the mid 86 9 Submerged Forest change in relative sea level Quaternary period Anton Dohrn Geological Process Deep Ocean rise Rockall Trough and Former volcano comprising basalts at or near the seabed 79 10 Seamount Features Bank on its crest with Eocene and post-Eocene sediments on lapping its flanks (BGS, 2009). Haig Fras Rock Geological Process Seabed Mounds or Western English Unique example of a drowned granite landscape of 79 11 Complex Features Pinnacles Channel and Celtic Hercynian age (c.380 to 280Ma) (Furze, 2003) Sea North Sea Fan Glacial Process Features Prograding wedge Faroe-Shetland One of the largest trough-mouth fans in the NE Atlantic. 79 12 Channel Important archive of information on the Pleistocene glacial history of the region. English Channel Glacial Process Features Glacial Lake Outburst- E. English Channel Bedrock floored valley containing landforms indicative of 79 13 outburst flood Flood Scour Feature large-scale sub-aerial erosion by high-magnitude water features discharges. Evidence for the catastrophic drainage of a large pro-glacial lake in the North Sea basin at some point between 480-125kyrs ago. Key event in the recent geological history of northwest Europe with important implications for patterns of early human colonisation of Britain Pilot Whale Diapirs Geological Process Mud Diapirs Faroe-Shetland Occur as clusters or groups within a wider field of small 71 14 Features Channel mud diapirs and mud mounds. The Pilot Whale Diapir crests rise to more than 120m above the surrounding seabed (Holmes et al., 2003b). Such features are unique to this sector of the UK continental shelf. Scanner Pockmark Geological Process Fluid Gas and Seep N. North Sea Active features formed by methane seepage from the 66 15 Scotia Pockmark Features Structures seabed. These features have been well studied and the 16

34 Feature Process Unit Category Feature Class Regional Sea Description Score (%) ID No. (Figure 5) Challenger Pockmark volumes of these pockmarks (Scanner: approximately 1 17 million m3) are considerably greater than normal pockmarks in this region. As such, these features have been termed ‗giant‘ pockmarks by Judd and Hovland (2007). Scottish Offshore Glacial Process Features Moraines Minches and W. Series of large end moraine features marking the 66 18, 19 and 20 End Moraines Scotland maximum offshore extent of major Quaternary ice N. North Sea advance episodes. Included in this group are the Hills End Scottish Continental Moraine (Sutherland, 1984), Wee Bankie (Hall and Bent, Shelf 1990) and the Bosies Bank end moraine complex (Graham et al., 2009). These features are of key importance to reconstructions of the British Ice Sheet during the Quaternary period. North Sea Glacial Glacial Process Features Tunnel Valleys N. North Sea/S. Unusually large, deep seabed incisions cut by the 66 21, 22 and 23 Tunnel Valleys North Sea (pressurised) sub-glacial flow of glacial melt-water. Includes Outer Silver Pit, Swallow Hole and Devil‘s Hole. Celtic Sea Relict Marine Process Features Tidal Sand Banks W English Channel Relict linear tidal sand ridges formed at a time when sea 66 24 Sand Banks and Celtic Sea level was lower. These features constitute the largest examples of their bedform type on the Earth (Scourse et al., 2009) Southern Irish Sea Glacial Process Features Tunnel Valleys Irish Sea A series of major incisions within the Quaternary deposits 66 25 Glacial Tunnel of the southern Irish Sea which have subsequently been Valleys (partially) infilled by younger overlying sequences. Critical region for understanding behaviour and dynamics of British and Irish Ice Sheet. Morecambe Bay Glacial Process Features Drumlin Field Irish Sea Extensive scars of large pebbles partly embedded in till. 64 26 Skears Probably indicate the extent of former drumlins which have been eroded by postglacial marine activity, leaving only the coarser material. Features posses unusual morphology and are unique to Morecambe Bay Darwin Mounds Geological Process Fluid Gas and Seep Rockall Trough and Coral topped mounds comprised mostly of sand and 64 27 Features Structures Bank interpreted as 'sand volcanoes'. Individual mounds are up to 75 m wide and 5 m high. Form when fluidised sand 'de- waters' and the fluid bubbles up through the sand, pushing the sediment into a cone shape. Morphologically unique in UK waters. Portland Deep Marine Process Features Tidal Scour Field E. English Channel Excellent example of an enclosed rock basin evidencing 50 28 extensive scour over long time periods by a tidal stream transporting sand. Gulf of Corryvreckan Marine Process Features Tidal Scour Field Minches and W. Excellent example of an enclosed rock basin evidencing 50 29 Scotland extensive scour over long time periods by a tidal stream transporting sand. Glacio-marine Glacial Process Features Glacio-marine Channels Faroe-Shetland Exact origin unknown although likely to have formed from 44 30 Channels Channel cascading currents of dense (cold) glacial melt-water down the continental shelf. Features possess unusual morphology, not found anywhere else in UK waters.

Figure 5: Highest ranking features from the feature importance assessment as identified in Table 6

5.3 It is evident from Table 6 that many of the features which have scored highly in the feature importance assessment belong to either Geomorphological/ Geological process unit category 1 ‗Glacial Process Features’ or Category 5 ‘Geological Process Features‘. All of these features have scored highly in the exceptionality phase of the assessment. Reference to Figures 4 and 5 also reveals that these features are relatively evenly distributed around the UK Continental Shelf and it is only the Atlantic North West Approaches Regional Sea which doesn‘t possess a feature contained within Table 6.

5.4 It should be emphasised that the feature list presented here is the product of a first order assessment and future research and consultation will almost certainly result in both amendments and additions to this list. For example, at the time of writing very few carbonate mounds have been identified in UK waters (See Roberts et al., 2008) yet a number have been identified elsewhere along the North West European Continental Margin. The spatial variation in the known locations of these features probably reflects differences

36 in the intensity of seabed surveying and it is likely that future surveys will lead to further discoveries, as to date only around 15% of UK waters have been surveyed using multibeam survey techniques (Sea Bed Mapping Working Group Draft Report). The discovery of new features may result in scores becoming downgraded as the identification of the features becomes more common in UK waters. Conversely, the use of modern (multibeam) survey techniques has the potential to provide more detailed imagery of existing mapped features and this may reveal the presence of hitherto unknown exceptional attributes. Finally, although the project team contains representatives with knowledge of differing aspects of Earth science, expertise regarding certain fields is lacking. Future discussions with subject specialists would almost certainly result in further additions to Table 6.

5.2 Feature Vulnerability Assessment Outcomes

5.5 The feature vulnerability assessment was carried out on all features identified in phase one with eight development activities considered. In total, over 50,000 individual assessments are available and these can all be viewed in the associated Excel spreadsheet. The largest exposure ‗zones of influence‘ established around marine developments on the seabed was for aggregate extraction and navigational dredging which, in a worst case scenario, have the potential to affect features located several kilometres from dredge/extraction sites for example through the generation of sediment plumes or morphological changes. Most feature categories were (to some degree or other) susceptible to these activities because they all directly remove or disturb the seabed and/or have the potential to cause smothering by generating sediment plumes.

5.6 In general, the highest abundance of vulnerable features are contained within Geomorphological/Geological process unit 2 ‗Marine Process Features‘, largely because these features are commonly formed of unconsolidated (soft) material making them susceptible to the effects of human activities. Furthermore, the majority of the mapped marine process features are located in the Southern North Sea, English Channel and Irish Sea which coincides with areas experiencing a high density of marine activities (Figure 3a and 3b).

5.3 Confidence Assessment Outcomes

5.7 All of the conservation assessment scores have an associated confidence assessment of either ‗high‘, ‗medium‘ or ‗low‘, with scores generally dependent on data availability as well as confidence amongst the project team regarding their knowledge of the feature under consideration.

5.8 In the feature importance phase of the assessment, confidence scores for each of the three assessment criteria were assigned numerical values and then added together to provide an overall percentage confidence score for each feature. Unsurprisingly, the highest levels of confidence are associated with assessments of features that have been relatively well studied and mapped. Many examples of such features are contained within Geomorphological/Geological process unit 2 ‗Marine Process Features‘. Conversely, the lowest confidence scores are commonly associated with those

37 features which had already been identified under previous mapping projects and were part of large datasets which lacked detailed feature-specific information. Examples include the submerged (and partially submerged) caves dataset (JNCC, 2007) and bioherm reefs (NBN, 2009).

5.9 Predictably, the greatest numbers of ‗high‘ vulnerability assessment confidence scores are associated with activities possessing comparatively small footprints on the seabed (e.g. an individual oil rig) and well studied features such as sandbanks. By contrast, the largest quantities of ‗medium‘ and ‗low‘ vulnerability assessment confidence scores are associated with the assessments of feature vulnerability to (i) military activity, (ii) fishing and (iii) renewable energy developments. Military activity encompasses a wide range of activities each of which have the potential to cause varying degrees of impact on the seabed. Since specific details of these different military activities and where they take place were not available, it is not possible to have a high level of confidence in assessments of either feature susceptibility or exposure. Whilst the potential impacts on the seabed from beam trawl and dredge fishing are relatively well known, the exact routes and areas used for fishing are comparatively less well known and this is reflected in the confidence assessment of exposure. Furthermore, the dataset used in this investigation only includes fishing vessels greater than 15m in length and does not include smaller vessels operating in coastal waters (see ABPmer, 2009 for further details). Finally, many of the vulnerability confidence scores associated with renewable energy developments are also either medium or low. This is because relatively little research on the effects of such installations on seabed features has been undertaken (probably because the widespread construction of renewable energy developments in the marine environment is a relatively recent development). Accordingly, assessments of exposure zones of influence around these structures and assessments of feature susceptibility to them are both associated with reasonably high levels of uncertainty.

38 6. Conclusions and Options to Consider for the Way Forward

6.1 Conclusions

6.1 The feature mapping phase of Task 2A identified circa 6,500 features or (fields of features) on the UK seabed. These features were identified from a range of sources including academic journals, BGS publications and UKHO Admiralty Charts.

6.2 All of the identified features were categorised according to similarities in the processes which formed the features. Five principal ‗process units‘ were established:

 Glacial Process Features;  Marine Process Features;  Mass Movement Features;  Features indicating past change in relative sea level; and  Geological Process Features.

6.3 These main process units were sub-divided into ‗process unit sub-categories‘ which in turn, were further categorised into ‗Feature Classes‘. As with the main process units, these sub-divisions were based on similarities in the way in which the features formed. In total, over 70 Feature Classes were established.

6.4 The largest numbers of mapped features were contained within process unit 2 (‗Marine Process features‘) and process unit 4 (‗Features indicating past change in relative sea level‘). Together, these two units account for around two thirds of all identified features.

6.5 A feature importance/ value assessment was carried out on all the identified features and scores were assigned for feature rarity, proportional importance and exceptionality. Many of the features which scored highly in the feature importance assessment belong to either Geomorphological/Geological process unit 1 ‗Glacial Process Features‘ or process unit 5 ‗Geological Process Features‘ and all of the highest ranking features (c. top 25) scored highly in the exceptionality phase of the assessment.

6.6 These highest ranking features are relatively evenly distributed around the UK Continental Shelf with only the Atlantic North West Approaches Regional Sea not represented.

6.7 A feature vulnerability assessment was also carried out on all of the identified features and in total, over 50,000 individual assessments were made. The largest exposure ‗zones of influence‘ established around marine developments on the seabed was for aggregate extraction and navigational dredging which, in a worst case scenario, have the potential to affect features located several kilometres from dredge/extraction sites.

39 6.8 In general, the highest abundance of vulnerable features are contained within Geomorphological/Geological process unit 2 ‗Marine Process Features‘, largely because these features are commonly formed of unconsolidated (soft) material making them susceptible to the effects of human activities. Furthermore, the majority of the mapped marine process features are located in the Southern North Sea, English Channel and Irish Sea which coincides with areas experiencing a high density of marine activities.

6.2 Considerations for the Way Forward

6.1.1 Continued Development of Scientific Understanding

6.9 The feature mapping phase of Task 2A identified over 70 separate feature categories, each containing numerous individual features and/or fields of bedforms. Together, these total circa 6,500 separate data entries within the GIS.

6.10 Whilst this mapping exercise involved the review and digitization of large amounts of data, the literature search was by no means exhaustive of all archives and was not inclusive of all collated records. Much data, whilst in the public domain, has been published in journals and reports with only limited circulation. Moreover large amounts of potentially relevant information is held by hydrocarbon corporations, but considered to be commercially sensitive and as such is unavailable. Future investigations looking to build upon the work undertaken here should look to involve the British Geological Survey (BGS) since they posses a large body of data which could significantly augment the existing data layers.

6.11 It is also the case that our understanding of the morphology, distribution and genesis of seabed features in UK waters is incomplete and this is particularly relevant for the deep-water environments found in the north and northwest of the region. However, recent advances in seabed surveying (particularly the development of multi-beam technology) is enabling larger areas of the seabed to be mapped to unprecedented levels of detail resulting in the discovery of previously unidentified features. Much of this work has only recently been published and the data layers developed here have only captured the early stages of this new phase of deep-sea research. However, over the next decade this body of literature is likely to be significantly augmented and it is important that the data layers are regularly updated to reflect this anticipated increase in knowledge. Similarly, the feature importance assessment in the conservation review reflects both feature rarity and exceptionality and this will potentially be influenced by the discovery of a greater number of seabed features.

6.1.2 Protecting Marine Geological and Geomorphological Features of Interest

6.12 The conservation methodology established here was undertaken on a feature- by-feature basis and may be seen as a first step towards highlighting key geodiversity interests and their geographic distribution in UK waters. A logical progression from the work undertaken here would be a more rigorous scientific

40 assessment of key features and their distributions based on different aspects of Earth science such as palaeontology, Quaternary geology and igneous petrology. This approach would require involvement from leading experts representing a variety of Earth science backgrounds and could follow a similar approach to that taken in the assessment of key terrestrial Earth science interests in the UK which has been explained in Ellis et al. (1996) for Great Britain and Enlander (2001) for Northern Ireland.

6.1.3 Refinement of Feature Classes

6.13 The identification and mapping phase of this task has adhered to a well defined categorisation system based on the geological and geomorphological processes responsible for the formation of the features. At present, three categorisation tiers have been established, namely (i) process unit category; (ii) process unit sub-category and (iii) feature class (see Appendix IV). However, a number of the identified features may be sub-divided yet further into a series of feature ‗sub-classes‘. For instance, a variety of different types of tidal sand banks may be recognized across the continental shelf with differences in morphology reflecting changes in hydrodynamic conditions and sediment type/supply (e.g. Dyer and Huntley, 1999). Similarly, a range of different sand-wave forms have been identified with some far more ubiquitous than others (e.g. Bearman, 1993). The present level of identification and categorisation is adequate for its purpose as a first step to help highlight key marine geodiversity interests and their geographic distribution. However, in order to implement a more detailed conservation assessment framework similar to the GCR, some further sub-categorisation may be desirable.

6.1.4 Integration with Geological Conservation Review Coastal Sites

6.14 Where the interests of existing protected geomorphological sites in the coastal zone continue seaward, below the position of mean low water, there is strong rationale for extending the terrestrial site boundary to encompass the marine component of the site. However, of the 100 established Coastal Geomorphology GCR sites, few have had their submarine extent investigated in detail. Accordingly, before any boundary extension can be made a survey program of bottom (and possibly sub-bottom) profiling must be undertaken at the majority of these sites in order to assess whether boundary extensions are necessary and where they should be placed.

6.1.5 Consideration of Other Potentially Damaging Human Activities and Installations in UK Waters

6.15 The vulnerability assessment stage of the conservation assessment takes into account feature exposure to a wide range of anthropogenic activities and installations in the marine environment. However, it should be noted that this is an assessment of potential vulnerability of a feature to a human activity and does not infer that an adverse impact would necessarily result. Furthermore, the list of activities considered is not exhaustive and future assessments (which are likely to be undertaken at the Regional Sea level) should seek to expand this list in order to take into consideration other activities and

41 developments which have the potential to cause localised impacts on the seabed. An example of this is coastal defences which in the past have typically involved a heavy engineering approach leading to a series of well known effects in the coastal zone, most notably interruption of sediment supply and enhanced downdrift erosion, affecting both landform systems and habitats. These effects will be highly spatially variable and detailed site-scale knowledge of sediment transport and hydrodynamics is required to understand the nature and magnitude of impacts. Accordingly, no attempt was made to include coastal defences in the vulnerability assessment undertaken here however future assessments should pay due attention to their potential effects.

6.16 The vulnerability assessment presented here only considers the possible effects arising from anthropogenic activities and installations located within UK waters. However, because hydrodynamic and sedimentary processes are insensitive to political boundaries, it is possible that activities taking place outside of UK waters may cause far-field effects which impact features on the UK seabed. More detailed assessments undertaken at the Regional Sea level will need to give consideration to this.

42 Abbreviations

ABPmer ABP Marine Environmental Research Ltd ArcGIS ESRI GIS Software BGS British Geological Survey BP Before Present (1950) Cefas Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science Defra Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs ESRI Environmental Systems Research Institute GCR Geological Conservation Review GIS Geographic Information System JNCC Joint Nature Conservation Committee JIBS Joint Irish Bathymetric Survey km kilometre(s) LWST low water, spring tides MarLIN The Marine Life Information Network MCZ Marine Conservation Zone MEDIN Marine Environmental Data Information Network MPA Marine Protected Areas POL Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory SAC Special Area of Conservation SPA Special Area of Protection UKHO United Kingdom Hydrographic Office WGS World Geodetic System Yrs year(s)

43 References

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46 Acknowledgements

Throughout the duration of the project, a number of individuals have greatly assisted the project team by volunteering data, ideas and expertise. Particular thanks are due to Dr Neil Kenyon who was closely involved in the mapping phase of Task 2A. Neil has spent over 40 years researching geological hazards and marine processes on the continental shelf and slope and his knowledge of past and ongoing research has proved invaluable. Furthermore, Neil allowed the project team access to his extensive library of both published and unpublished research reports and this unique resource brought immeasurable benefit to the project.

Thanks are also due to Professor James Scourse and Dr Katrien Van Landeghem who have been of great assistance in providing information on glacial features within the Irish Sea region. The project team are also grateful to Professor Keith Dyer (for providing information of submerged tidal sand banks), Dr Rory Quinn (for supplying literature on seabed features in Northern Irish waters) and Colin Jacobs (for volunteering information on seabed features mapped in Scottish Offshore Waters).

The project team would also like to thank those individuals who attended the geomorphology and geology workshops in December 2008 and August 2009. The discussion and ideas that were put forward have proved extremely useful in guiding the methodology outlined in this report.

47 Appendix I. Project Expert Working Group

Conservation Priority Assessment Workshop

19 August 2009 Defra Innovations Centre, Reading

David Evans Natural England Rod Jones Countryside Council for Wales Neil Kenyon Independent Consultant Colin Jacobs National Oceanography Centre, Southampton John Gordon Scottish Natural Heritage Dave Long British Geological Survey Beth Stoker Joint Nature Conservation Committee Jo Myers Defra

Data Layers Classification and Development Workshop

5 December 2008 ABP Head Office, Holborn, London

David Evans Natural England Rod Jones Countryside Council for Wales Neil Kenyon Independent Consultant Colin Jacobs National Oceanography Centre, Southampton John Gordon Scottish Natural Heritage Hannah Townley Natural England Jen Ashworth Natural England Chris Pater English Heritage Carol Cotterill British Geological Survey Beth Stoker Joint Nature Conservation Committee

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63 Appendix III. Geomorphological and Geological Features on the UK seabed

Features are classified in this report into five process based categories. Not all features sit completely comfortably within these categories. Many could be in several categories. The feature categories listed and described in Appendix IV are underlined where mentioned in the following brief description of processes. Only a representative selection of references are cited.

Geological Processes

The continental margin of the northeast Atlantic sits within a crustal plate whose history began with the breakup of the Pangea supercontinent and the opening of the Atlantic Ocean about 80Myr ago. The brittle continental crust thinned, accompanied by normal faulting, above hot, viscous asthenosphere. New oceanic crust started to form along the boundary and the North American and European continents moved apart at a fairly constant rate. The continental margin was initially uplifted due to the heat source but gradually subsides as it cools. Erosion of the uplifted flanks of the continent is accompanied by deposition of large amounts of sediment into the gradually cooling and deepening oceanic basin. The Atlantic is now a mature basin with the only active margin, with large numbers of earthquakes, at the Mid Atlantic Ridge, a long way from the rifted continental margins. During the early rifting large amounts of lava poured out along deep seated faults. There are a number of shallow blocks lying oceanwards of northern Europe that range in size from isolated volcanic seamounts, such as the Hebrides Terrace Seamount and the Anton Dohrn Seamount up to the Wyville-Thomson Ridge, the Faroe Island Plateau and the Rockall and Hatton Banks all of which are mainly continental. They have a high proportion of igneous rocks with extensive areas of sub-aerial basalts (Edwards, 2002). Small parasitic cones have been recognised on some of these seamounts (Jacobs, pers com.).

The most prominent geomorphological features of northwest Europe, the continental slope and the continental shelf, are both sub-marine. The mountains of northern Scotland and of Scandinavia, consisting of rocks that predate the opening of the Atlantic, though extensive are less so than the continental shelf that largely surrounds them and they are not as high as much of the continental slope. The foot of the continental slope is at depths of about 3500m in the Norwegian Sea and the Bay of Biscay but much shallower west of Scotland due to the effect of the offlying continental blocks. These blocks and especially the Wyville-Thomson Ridge act as a barrier to the flow of water masses and form the edges of deep ocean channels. Norwegian Sea water flows out of the Norwegian Sea into the north Atlantic through the Faroe Shetland Channel and its extension the Faroe Bank Channel.

Rock outcrops are found on the seafloor where currents are strong enough to prevent the deposition of loose sediments. Rocks of all types, including relatively unconsolidated rocks, are commonly present at the seafloor where currents are greater than 150 cm sec. Rocks are at the seafloor in, for instance, the constricted part of the English Channel between the Isle of Wight and the Cotentin Peninsula, in

64 the Bristol Channel (Mackie et al., 2006), in the North Channel and in the Pentland Firth. Rock ledges can be found off headlands formed by resistant rocks such as Christchurch Ledge, Dorset and the Giants Causeway, County Antrim. If rocks are especially resistant they may outcrop at the seafloor even where the currents are weak. This is the case with the extensive Precambrian Rock Outcrops west of the Outer Hebrides, with the Irish Sea Mounds, and with a number of Tertiary volcanic centres such as Blackstones Bank and Stanton Banks (McGonigle et al., 2009) in the Malin Sea and granite intrusions such as the Haig Fras granite in the Celtic Sea.

Bioherms are upstanding features built with a framework of reef forming animal shells or skeletons. They range greatly in relief. The largest are the giant carbonate mounds, well studied on the margins of the Rockall Trough (Roberts et al., 2008, Mienis et al., 2007), which can be over 300m high and have steep sides due to the sticky carbonate mud within a framework of cold water coral skeletons. Their location depends on the relatively strong currents, with a temperature to which the coral Lophelia is tolerant, that sweep the upper part of the slope in this region, providing a food supply and favourable sites for coral settlement. Horse mussels form Modiolus Beds (Holt et al., 1998), sites of high biodiversity, which are moulded by the very strong currents in which they live into very low wavy forms. Sabellaria reefs are mainly found in shallow waters in the southwest of the UK. The cold water coral Lophelia, that is very common on the outer shelf and upper slope of much of the north east Atlantic, typically grows in small clumps or patches that resemble gorse on a heathland in both height and to some extent in their scattered distribution. These have in places been mapped as Lophelia reefs.

Fluid flow at the seabed can be through thick sediments from deep seated sources. Where the flows of water and of gases reach the seabed they can cause pockmarks (Judd and Hovland, 2007), the sediments being eroded or their deposition prevented by the flow. The Braemar Pockmarks and the Scanner Pockmark from the northern North Sea are considered to be still active. Some carbonate cementation is associated with expulsion of hydrocarbon fluids and can cause carbonate cemented reefs, typically found in the centre of pockmarks and along faults. Holden‘s Reefs, with cemented sands, in the Irish Sea are 5m to 10m high (Judd et al., 2007). Well sorted sands that are overlain by less porous sediments are subject to sudden expulsion of the sand water mixture as sand volcanoes. This can result from the shaking by earthquakes or the sudden loading by rapid deposition of sediment resulting from a sediment failure. The Darwin Mounds are believed to be sand volcanoes (Masson et al., 2003). There are pockmarks nearby but the relatively rich associated fauna is probably there because they are above the level of the surrounding seafloor where mobile sediments could bury them rather than because it is in a symbiotic relationship with methane seeps.

Mud diapirs are the result of the upward movement of relatively fluid mud that is deeply buried by less fluid sediments. The mud contains rock clasts torn from the sides of the pipe up which it moves. The seafloor expression can vary from bumpiness due to irregular blocks of stiff mud, as in the case of the diapirs at the north end of the Faroe Shetland Channel, to conical mounds with a central cauldron of small diameter and peripheral flows of fluid mud known as mud volcanoes. Mud volcanoes have not been found in UK waters. The nearest is the Haakon Mosby mud volcano of northern Norway.

Extensive accumulations of muds and silts deposited and moulded by deep sea currents are mapped as sediment drifts. The sediments they contain are called contourites as the currents flow along the contours of the continental slope and of the deep ocean rise, alternatively called continental rise that lies at its foot. The surface of the sediment drifts are in many places moulded into large, mud waves with low slope angles (Hohbein and Cartwright, 2006), characteristically steeper on their up- current side, the opposite of waves in clastic materials such as sand and gravel. The process is a marine current process but it has been classified under geological processes as it occurs over very great time periods. Some drifts of the north east Atlantic have been accumulating for tens of millions of years.

Mass Movement Features

The main area susceptible to sub-marine mass movement is the continental slope. There is a variety of mass movement processes that can for simplicity be considered as a continuum ranging from slumping, in which little disintegration of materials occurs, through sliding and debris flow to turbidity currents, in which there is near complete disintegration into fine grains carried largely in suspension in seawater. Where there has been a movement on a basal failure surface with little internal deformation except along a series of internal fault planes the resultant morphology at the seafloor is usually a relatively steep slide scar or several slide scars at the head and a bulge due to a roll-over fold at the foot. Debris flows can be, crudely, considered as analogous to the movement of wet concrete, the grains being mixed with only a small amount of entrained water. Slide deposits can consist of accumulations of coherent blocks, some of which can be very large, mixed with debris flow deposits, and with turbidites, the deposits from turbidity currents. Turbidity currents contain mud and sand particles in a largely turbulent suspension that is maintained with the help of buoyancy forces driven by gravity. They can reach considerable speeds and are the main cause of the erosion at the axis of continental slope canyons.

The largest slides are just to the north of the UK (Evans et al., 2005). The Storegga Slide off southern Norway, last active at 7.3ka BP, being the largest and causing a tidal wave that swept northeast Scotland. The Rockall Bank Slide is medium sized and occurred about 15ka BP. The Palaeo-Afen Slide in the Faroe-Shetland Channel is tiny and probably dates from mid Pleistocene though it still has detailed surface relief. Failure is mainly during periods of rapid sea level rise (Leynaud et al., 2008) and the larger slides lie along major tectonic lineaments.

The continental slope canyons of northwest Europe (Kenyon, 1987) are deep and spectacular features in the northern Bay of Biscay with heads that start in depths of about 250m. They are also prominent northwest of Ireland almost as far north as the Hebrides Terrace Seamount. Here they have cauliform heads that start in deeper water, about 1000m (O‘Reilly et al., 2007). They are absent from the ice fed margin that runs from the Donegal fan to off the Lofoten Islands, northern Norway. Within canyons there is extensive gullying.

66 Turbidite accumulations are deposits found mainly beyond the foot of the continental slope and especially at the mouth of slope canyons. Together with contourites they form most of the land derived sediment that make up the continental rises. The most extensive turbidite accumulations in the area are on the floor of the Rockall Trough west of the Malin Sea and west of Hatton Bank where they are sourced in southern Iceland (Elliott and Parson, 2008). Typically a turbidite accumulation consists of small channels with levees that get smaller down the direction of flow. Much of the sandier portion of the deposit passes through these channels and is found in the more distant fringes of the accumulation. The turbidite systems were for the most part active at times of low sea level when large quantities of sediment was transported near to the shelf edge by rivers. The turbidite fans on the floor of the Bay of Biscay are unusual in remaining active during the Holocene when sea level was rising. In part this is due to sand transport to the canyon heads by the unusually strong tidal currents in this vicinity.

Features Indicating Past Change In Relative Sea Level

The continental shelf is formed primarily by erosion of the flanks of the continental crustal blocks as sea level rose and fell repeatedly in the period since the initial rifting of the continent took place. For the most part this rise and fall has been over a very restricted range as the average volume of seawater has been fairly constant over tens of millions of years, the main difference being with the water locked into the ice caps during global cold periods and unlocked during global warm periods. There is less than 200m of height difference between the inner boundary of the shelf, at or near to the present coast, and often marked by cliffs, and the outer boundary which is usually marked by a gentle break in slope.

Former sites of stands of sea level are seen as submerged clifflines and beaches. Clifflines are mapped around parts of the southwest of the British Isles (Kellaway et al., 1975) but have so far been little recognised elsewhere. They are more likely to be found where the rocks are fairly resistant to erosion. There is a much better understood history for the land. For instance there is a staircase of clifflines and raised beaches up to about 30m above the present coast of the English Channel (Bates et al., 2007), extending from Brighton to Portsmouth. An extensive notch in profiles across the shelf break has been noted northwest of Ireland and extending as far as the southern limits of UK waters west of Scotland. This may also be a former shoreline. Where there are submerged cliffs there will be submerged sea caves.

Most of the clastic sediments on the shelf were initially deposited at times of lower sea level. Much will have been deposited by rivers whose palaeo-channels and submerged river terraces have been mapped in a few places, especially in the English Channel (Antoine et al., 2003) and the outer Thames (Evans and Slater, 2000). Submerged peat and the tree stumps of former forests can only have been formed sub-aerially. For instance peat is found at 30m depth off Northern Ireland (Cooper et al., 2002) and at 11m in the Solent (Momber, 2000). Off the coast of Northumberland there are asymmetrical tidal sand waves buried at about 10ka BP as sea level rose, the local embayment widened and the peak current speed fell (the buried dune field of Brew, 1996).

67 Glacial Process Features

During the glacial episodes of the Quaternary period (past 2million years), thick ice sheets covered much of the Britain and Ireland. The maximum extent of ice during the Last Glacial Period was about 25 to 20ka BP and extended to the shelf edge around most of Scotland (Bradwell et al., 2008). It had retreated to near the present coast of Scotland and the northern Irish Sea by about 15ka BP. Fast flowing ice streams within the ice sheets moved out towards the edge of the sheets cutting channels across the shelf (glaciated channel/trough), the deepest is the Norwegian Channel which drains much of the Scandinavian ice and reaches the shelf edge where it deposits the very large prograding wedge known as the North Sea fan (Dahlgren et al., 2005). Southwest of Scotland the troughs join together and cross the Malin Sea shelf almost to the edge. This ice stream deposits the medium sized Barra and Donegal fans. Other cross shelf troughs lead to the Sula Sgeir, Rona and Foula wedges. The material of these prograding wedges (also called slope aprons or glacial trough mouth fans) is mainly sticky mud that is transported down slope as narrow, slow moving glacial debris flows. Great numbers of them are stacked on top of each other. The deep in St Georges Channel is also thought to have carried fast flowing ice southwards into the Celtic Sea at the last glacial maximum, but it does not seem to extend to the shelf edge and there is no glacial wedge on the slope of the Bay of Biscay.

Most types of glacial features found on land should also be present beneath the sea but much mapping needs to be done. Fields of roches moutonees due to abrasion beneath ice extend, for instance, over the large area of PreCambrian outcrop west of the Outer Hebrides (Kenyon and Pelton, 1979). Nunataks, the summits of hills/ mountains that stand above the ice sheet have been recognised, (though their use as a measure of ice thickness has been questioned). Some of the many streamlined forms that are due to the power of moving ice to deform the sediment bed beneath it have been recognised, especially from recent swath mapping. They include drumlin fields and flute fields which have been identified in the Irish Sea (van Landeghem et al., 2009).

Many of the groups of deeps aligned alongside each other in the North Sea have been called tunnel valleys (Praeg, 2003) cut by pressurised water flowing beneath ice. Erosional meltwater channels are usually cut near or beyond the edge of the melting ice. The meltwater may construct long, sinuous ridges (esker fields) where deposition occurs within an ice confined channel. Large amounts of coarse outwash are distributed beyond melting ice sheets as sandurs, typically braided stream deposits that are intersected by sandur plain channel networks. A number of these features have been recognised from the Irish Sea. Spectacular channels (glacier lake outburst–flood scour features) are found in the central English Channel, associated with the catastrophic breaching of the Strait of Dover, that have eroded rocks into streamlined rock forms (Gupta et al., 2007). Rapid downcutting of the axial channel has left the tributary fluvial channel of the Palaeo Solent hanging.

Moraines, generally form at the edges of glaciers and often mark sites of ice advance punctuating an overall history of retreat. They are readily preserved beneath the sea as they usually consist of coarse materials or of sticky clays that are less easily reworked by the marine processes of the rising seas. The long, narrow sarns of

68 Cardigan Bay are thought to be medial moraines, where lines of boulders mark the boundaries of different Welsh ice streams (Garrard and Dobson, 1974). On the middle and outer shelf around Scotland moraines, that are mostly less than 10m high, form arcuate, sub-concentric groups, convex outwards (Bradwell et al., 2008).

The sub-aerial environment beyond the ice and possibly within the zone of permafrost has a number of features characteristic of the cold conditions. Periglacial patterned ground is a low relief feature whereas pingos can be 10s of metres high. Both require there to have been ice within the surface sediments.

At the Last Glacial Maximum the ice sheet extended into the seas of northwest Europe especially where there were fast flowing ice streams running across the shelf along the glaciated channel/troughs and especially during times when the rising sea level had overtaken the contracting ice sheets. Beyond a certain point the ice floats and some breaks off into icebergs. The icebergs have ground shallow furrows (iceberg ploughmark fields) into the seafloor sediments, especially on the outer shelf and upper slope down to about 500m depths (Belderson et al., 1973). The furrows have a criss-crossing pattern except on slopes where they tend to run along the contours. The most southerly are from west of Ireland, none are known in the Celtic Sea or further south. The last armada of icebergs to plough into the European shelf probably deposited the youngest of the several layers of ice rafted debris found in deep sea cores in the north Atlantic (Heinrich layers). The dating is not certain and varies from about 17ka to 12ka BP (Heinrich layer 1), at the time when the ice front had retreated to near the coasts of Scotland and Northern Ireland (Bradwell et al., 2008). Where sea ice, formed by freezing of the surface water, has ground into the seafloor it leaves parallel grooves (grounded sea ice marks). A specific type of moraine formed where an ice sheet is calving, De Geer moraines, are observed in the Irish Sea (van Landeghem et al., 2009) and east of the Shetlands (Bradwell et al., 2008).

A group of shallow, straight glacio-marine channels running down the slope into the Faroe-Shetland Channel have been attributed to erosion by cold meltwater from an icesheet that was once located near to the shelf edge (Kenyon, 1987). Such cascading currents have transported a small amount of sediment as tiny sedimentary fans are located at their feet.

Marine Process Features

Modern marine currents are partly reworking the complex seafloor morphology constructed by all of the processes outlined above. In effect nearly all of the features described above are relict from earlier times. Exceptions are some of the bioherm formations and fluid and gas seep structures, which are to a great extent independent of sea level. The currents have been eroding some of these relict features and burying others as they form a new basal bed on much of the continental shelf and on parts of the deeper sea where the currents are strong. Some marine process features are themselves relict from times of lower sea level, such as the tidal banks in the deeper waters of the Celtic Sea (Scourse et al., 2009) and the southern North Sea (Kenyon et al., 1981), but the majority of marine process features are formed by present day currents and are related to the peak speed of the current or to the peak

69 speed of a combination of the currents (Belderson et al., 1982). The most significant types of current sweeping the seafloor are tidal currents, storm surge currents, oceanic contour following currents and storm wave induced currents.

It is probable that density currents cascading down the slope are more important in transporting sediment than has been recognised hitherto and that they are active today. Cascading currents with a peak speed sufficient to move sand have been measured west of Scotland (Hill et al., 1998) and coring from the nearby slope shows sand present at the surface of the seabed on the upper and middle slope (Cronin et al., 2005), well below the 500m or so depth swept by the upper slope current.

The seafloor can be divided into zones where each of these types of current are dominant. The seafloor can be further divided into zones where there are characteristic bedforms controlled by peak current speed. The classic zonal sequence down the velocity gradient (Belderson et al., 1982) is from scoured rock floors where the peak current is greater than about 150cm sec, to gravel wave fields and gravel furrow fields, to sand ribbon fields and, where sand is plentiful and tidal currents dominant, groups of open shelf tidal sand banks, to large sand wave fields, to fields of small sand waves, to fields of rippled sand to thin patches of sand where the current speed is less than about 40cm sec. There are a few bedforms that are considered characteristic of certain current types. Tidal sand banks and symmetrical sand waves are only found in areas of tidal dominance. Sharp edged sand patches are only found in areas of storm wave dominance as are small symmetrical gravel waves.

The new basal bed reaches its greatest thickness as tidal sand banks, typically 25m thick, and in the zone of large and small sand waves where it forms sand sheets that are typically 10m thick (Stride et al., 1982). Tidal sand banks, found where peak tidal currents exceed about 100 cm per sec, can be in groups on the open shelf, tied to headlands, or confined in estuaries (Dyer and Huntley, 1999). Where confined they can grow up to near sea level and broaden out with continuing sand supply (Stride et al., 1982).

Storm surge currents dominate much of the middle shelf west and north of Scotland and cause eastward transport of sand through the straight around Fair Isle. They also help to move sand on top of Dogger Bank.

Oceanic contour following currents dominate the sedimentation at certain depths. The Gulf Stream flows north along the upper slope west and north of Scotland in depths shallower than about 500m and occasionally spills onto the shelf. The Norwegian Sea water flows south through the Faroe Shetland and Faroe Bank Channels. Some spills across the Wyville-Thomson Ridge and then flows clockwise around Bill Bailey Bank. Both of these currents are strong enough to form sand waves in places. Scour moats and erosional scour fields are also seen where flows are relatively higher due to restriction by geologically determined topography. The moats around igneous cones north of Hatton Bank are 50m to 200m deep (MacLachlan et al., 2008). It is thought that the currents causing moats are up to 50cm per sec. There are deep sea furrows near Lousy Bank that are up to 150m deep.

70 Storm waves dominate areas where the directional currents (tidal, surge and oceanic) are too weak to move sand on their own but where there is some limited movement of sand. The to and fro motion especially within the long period storm waves enhances the weak directional currents but bed load is transported for only short distances. The two bedforms characteristic of storm waves are small symmetrical gravel waves and sharp edged sand patches (the starved sand waves of some authors). Both of these bedforms are known from depths of up to 120m. They are found for instance south of the Scilly Isles, in the northern Celtic Sea (Kenyon, 1970), north of Ireland (McDowell et al., 2007), west of Scotland, in the Moray Firth, on Dogger Bank and near the coasts of Dorset, the Isle of Man and Cumbria (Kenyon and Cooper, 2005). In shallower water depths, say less than about 20m, which includes the tops of sand banks, tidal flats and the ramp offshore of exposed coasts, storm waves have a higher effectiveness as agents of sediment transport especially when they are combined with directional currents (McCave, 1971).

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74 Appendix IV. Feature Categories and Description

Geomorphological/ Process Unit Sub- Feature Class Feature Class Description Geological Process Category Unit Category 1: Glacial Process Features 1(a) Erosional Glacigenic Features Glaciated Channel/Trough Feature formed by channelled ice flow causing bedrock erosion. Commonly steep-sided and may be several hundred metres deep and several ten‘s of kilometres long (Summerfield, 1991). Grounded Sea Ice Marks Features formed when sea ice (ice formed by freezing of the sea-surface) makes contact with the seabed. Iceberg Ploughmark Field Feature formed when the keel of an iceberg makes contact with the seabed. In UK offshore waters, ploughmarks are commonly found at 140-500m water depth with a width of c.20m, depth of c.2m and length of up to 5.5km. Associated with Quaternary (c.2myr - 20kyr ago) glacial episodes (Belderson et al., 1973). Nunatak Exposed summit of a mountain which stands above a surrounding ice sheet. Evidenced by ‗trimlines‘ which mark the boundary between frost shattered and glacial scoured rock (Allaby, 2008). Roche Moutonnée Field Asymmetric streamlined glacial feature formed of bedrock. Comprised of a smooth end facing the direction of ice flow and a craggy steeper lee side. May be several hundred metres in length (Summerfield, 1991). 1 (b) Depositional Glacigenic Features Drumlin Field Streamlined bedform feature comprised of glacial debris and formed beneath moving ice. Commonly blunted on its up-glacial margin and pointed on its lee side. May be up to 2km in length, 50m in height and 500m in width (Summerfield, 1991). Flute Field Long narrow ridge feature comprised of glacial debris and formed sub-glacially. Aligned parallel to the direction of ice flow. Flutes are commonly up to 10m in height and 1km in length (Summerfield, 1991). Ice Rafted Sediment Mounds Feature comprised of glacial debris which has been transported seaward then deposited by melting icebergs. Moraine Generic term given to feature comprised of unconsolidated glacial debris. May be orientated parallel or transverse to the direction of ice flow. Moraines may form beneath or on-top of moving ice or may form at the ice margin (Summerfield, 1991). Prograding Wedge Stacked glacigenic debris flow deposits lain down in front of large glacial troughs. Located along the continental shelf margin and associated with large-scale sub-marine landslides (Dahlgren et al., 2005). 1 (c) Erosional Fluvio Glacial Features Glacial Lake Outburst-Flood Erosional feature formed when water dammed by a glacier or a moraine is rapidly released. Scour Feature Catastrophic failure of the containing ice or glacial sediment can release this water over a time-span of minutes to months and flow rates may be extremely high. Meltwater Channel Channel feature cut by glacial meltwater flowing along, under or in front of an ice margin. Tunnel Valley Channel feature cut by glacial meltwater flowing beneath an ice sheet/glacier. May be several hundred metres deep and several kilometres long (Summerfield, 1991). Sandur Plain Channel Networks Channel feature cut into a glacial outwash plain (which forms along the margins of an ice sheet). Channel networks commonly form braided patterns (Allaby, 2008). Glacio-marine Channel Open channel feature 10-15m deep, up to 200m wide and over 15km in length. Found on the continental slope and are thought to have formed from cascading currents of dense glacial melt-water flowing down the continental shelf (Kenyon, 1987).

75 Geomorphological/ Process Unit Sub- Feature Class Feature Class Description Geological Process Category Unit Category 1 (d) Depositional Fluvio Glacial Features Esker Field Sinuous ridge feature formed of sand, gravel or boulders. Formed by glacial meltwater flowing either beneath or on top of a glacier or in ice-marginal locations. Feature may be up to 200m high, 3km in width and up to 100km in length (Summerfield, 1991). Sandur Glacial outwash plain formed of sediments deposited by meltwater at the terminus of a glacier. Material is generally very coarse close to the ice but diminishes in size further away (Allaby, 2008). 1 (e) Periglacial Features Features formed in areas adjacent to (former) ice sheets. Often associated with the presence of permafrost. Periglacial Patterned Ground Symmetrical arrangement of stones on the surface of soil in periglacial environments. Patterns may be circular, polygonal or striped and these develop as a result of the growth and expansion of ice lenses within soil. Pattern dimensions vary although may measure several 10‘s of metres (Summerfield, 1991). Pingo Large ice-cored earth mounds which form in permafrost regions as a result of frozen ground being forced upwards by the growth of a sub-surface ice mass. As the ice melts, this mound collapses leaving behind a depression or crater, with a wall of displaced sediment around the rim. This depression may be up to 600m in diameter and the surrounding rim up to 70m high (Summerfield, 1991). 2: Marine Process Features 2 (a) Tidal Bank Sand Significant feature encountered on the continental shelf and in coastal regions. Active banks are found where current velocity exceeds 0.9ms-1 and where there is abundant sand. Usually formed from medium or coarse sand and may extend to 80km in length, 3km in width and tens of metres in height (Belderson, 1986; Bearman, 1993; Dyer and Huntley, 1999) Gravel Similar morphology to sand banks although composed of coarser (gravel) material. Presence depends on high current speed and the availability of gravel (Dyer and Huntley, 1999). Mud Bank comprised of silt/clay. Presence depends on low current speed and the availability of sediment. Bank (unknown substrate) (Seabed sediment data lacking) 2 (b) Transverse Bedform Features Sand Wave Field Submerged transverse ridges of sand with wave-lengths of c.30-1000m and heights of c.3-18m. Occur where sand is abundant and where current velocities are between c. 0.55ms-1 to c.0.9ms-1. May be symmetric or asymmetric depending on the direction of the net-tidal sand transport (Bearman, 1993). Gravel Wave Field Small-scale mounds or ridges of gravel which are usually asymmetrical and produced by current action on the bed. Sediment Wave Field Generic term given to regular sediment waves identified by seabed surveys in north and northwest UK offshore waters. 2 (c) Longitudinal Bedform Features Sand Ribbon Field Low relief, elongate sand strips which may be up to 15km long, 200m wide and 1m high. Indicative of sediment starved environments with strong tidal flows (Kenyon, 1970a). Sand Stringers Linear to slightly curved seabed features measuring up to 130m in width but with no discernable vertical relief (BGS, 1988). Gravel Furrow Field Current-parallel, linear features spaced 25–100m apart, but with an amplitude of less than 0.5m. Individual furrows may measure several kilometres and be more than 10m wide. (Evans et al., 1998). Located where peak current speeds are c.1.5ms-1 (Bearman, 1993). Longitudinal Bedform Field Generic term given to areas containing sand streaks, sand ribbons and/or longitudinal sand patches.

76 Geomorphological/ Process Unit Sub- Feature Class Feature Class Description Geological Process Category Unit Category 2 (d) Bedform Field (Other) Sharp Edged Sand Patches Neither transverse nor longitudinal features. 0.75-3m high; flat topped, found in low current areas (c. <0.5ms-1). Sometimes crescentic in plan view (Kenyon, 1970b; Kenyon, pers. comm..). Current Bedform Field Large-scale sediment wave facies identified in north-west UK offshore waters by Due et al. (2006) in (unclassified) water depths exceeding 1500m. Better known as contourite mud waves. Initiation of these sediment waves occurs when near-bottom current speed episodically reaches a maximum range of 0.3–0.5 ms-1. Gravel Reefs Gravel bedform features formed from the winnowing of glacial deposits Gravel Patches Gravel bedform features formed from the winnowing of finer material by strong tidal currents 2 (e) Erosional Scour Features Scour Channel Large-scale erosional feature formed by the scouring action of deep-water oceanic currents. Scour Moat Feature created by accelerated persistent currents directed around changes of sea-bed slope in deep- water, offshore environments. Usually several kilometres across and over 100m deep and are indicators of energetic and stable long-term environments (Holmes et al., 2006). Erosional Scour Field Small-scale erosional features formed by strong oceanic currents flowing in deep offshore environments. Tidal Scour Field Group of small-scale shallow seabed depressions on the continental shelf. Formed by the action of tidal currents. 2 (f) Ebb Tidal Deltas Protuberance extending out from shoreline. Formed where rivers enter the sea and supply sediment more rapidly than it can be redistributed by coastal processes (Summerfield, 1991). 3: Mass Movement Features 3 (a) Slide Deposit Large-scale accumulation of sediment in response to gravitational instability along particular shear planes. Many of the slides in UK offshore waters are associated with glacial depocentres and range in age from >2Ma to <10ka. The common association of slides and tectonic features suggests that seismic activity has had a major influence on slide location and distribution (Evans et al., 2005). 3 (b) Slide Scar Feature which is left on the seabed slope after a sub-marine slide has taken place

3 (c) Roll-over Fold Feature formed largely by slumping. Fold is up-dip facing and usually <25m high. Commonly located on prograding wedges (BGS, 1990). 3 (d) Turbidity Flow Features formed by density-driven flows that carry sediments suspended by the flow turbulence. Features Turbidite Accumulation Build-up of turbidite deposits. Usually form over a period of hundreds of thousands of years and may extend for several thousand kilometres. Continental Slope Canyon Deep, steep-sided valley feature whose axis slopes seaward at up to 80m/km. Development relates to erosion by turbidity currents (Allaby, 2008). Turbidite Channel System Network of deep-water channels transporting turbidity currents. 4: Features indicating past change in relative sea level 4 (a) Palaeochannel River channel formed at a time when sea-level was lower than present day and the seabed was sub- aerially exposed. 4 (b) Submerged Peat/ Holocene Peat deposits/forests which formed above the former position of high water. Formed during the Forest Beds Holocene period (last 10 000 years) when sea level was lower than present day. Pre-Holocene Peat beds/ forests which formed prior to the Holocene period 4 (c) Submerged River River terraces formed at a time when sea-level was lower than present day and the seabed was sub- Terrace aerially exposed.

77 Geomorphological/ Process Unit Sub- Feature Class Feature Class Description Geological Process Category Unit Category 4 (d) Buried Dune Field Wind blown sand dunes formed at a time when sea-level was lower than present day and the seabed was sub-aerially exposed. 4 (e) Submerged Cliffline Cliffline representing a former position of the coastline. 4 (f) Palaeo Lagoon Lagoon feature which was formed at sea level but has subsequently been submerged. 4(g) Submerged/partially Submerged and partially submerged caves which are exposed to the sea at high tide. May vary in size, submerged sea Caves from only a few metres to more extensive systems, which may extend hundreds of metres into the rock (JNCC, 2007). 5: Geological Process Features 5 (a) Topographic features and rock outcrops Continental slope Relatively steeply sloping surface extending from the outer edge of the shelf to the continental rise. Slope angle commonly ranges from 1 to 150 (average 40) (Allaby, 2008). Deep ocean rise Large-scale undersea topographic feature rising relatively steeply at least several hundred meters from the surrounding deep-ocean floor. Ranges in size from a few kilometres (e.g. seamounts) to many hundreds of kilometres wide. Irish Sea Mounds Group of bedrock outcrops located in the North Channel (which separates Northern Ireland and Scotland). In between the outcropping bedrock areas are large expanses of soft sediments, which are bioturbated by megafauna (Mellor et al., 2008) Precambrian Rock Outcrop Rock outcrop of Precambrian age. The Precambrian period spans approximately 4000 Ma, from the time at which the Earth initially formed (c.4540 Ma) to the start of the Cambrian period (542 Ma) (Allaby, 2008). Seabed mound or pinnacle Small-scale undersea topographic feature located on the continental shelf. May be up to several kilometres long and several tens of metres high. Deep Ocean Channel Large geologically controlled channel in which deep-oceanic currents flow. May be several hundreds of kilometres long. Ledge Significant sea-bed protrusions of the coast. Commonly located at headlands and may stretch several kilometres seaward. 5 (b) Rock Structures Parasitic Cone Volcanic cone which may rise several ten‘s of metres above the surrounding seafloor. Rock Concretions Hard masses of sedimentary (and, more rarely, volcanic rock) that form from the preferential precipitation of minerals (cementation) in parts of the rock. Commonly sub-spherical (Allaby, 2008). 5 (c) Bioherms Organic reefs comprised of both living and dead marine invertebrates. Carbonate Mound Seabed structure formed from the skeletal remains of cold water coral. Features are commonly located in deep offshore environments, form over many millennia and may be up to 300m high. Development strongly influenced by biological, hydrographical and geological processes and also by climate changes (Roberts et al., 2008). Lophelia Reef (Biogenic reef forming species). Biogenic reefs are solid, massive structures which are created by Maerl Bed accumulations of organisms and have a geomorphic expression. The reef structure may be composed Modiolus Bed almost entirely of the reef building organism (along with its tubes or shells) or it may to some degree be Sabellaria Reef composed of sediments, stones and shells bound together by the organisms (Holt et al., 1998). 5 (d) Fluid and Gas Seep Structures Carbonate Cemented Reef Reef formed by methane-derived carbonate cementing sediments together to form a hard rock. The carbonate cement forms just beneath the seabed as a by-product of the anaerobic oxidation of methane and is closely associated with seabed gas seeps (Judd et al., 2007).

78 Geomorphological/ Process Unit Sub- Feature Class Feature Class Description Geological Process Category Unit Category Pockmarks Shallow seabed depressions, typically several tens of metres across and a few metres deep. Commonly formed in soft, fine-grained seabed sediments by the escape of fluids (gas or water) into the water column (Judd, 2001). Cold Seep Structures An area of the seabed where hydrogen sulphide, methane and other hydrocarbon-rich fluid seepage occurs. (The seeping fluids are the same temperature as the surrounding seawater, but are termed ―cold seeps‖ to distinguish them from hydrothermal vents, where extremely hot water is vented from the seafloor) (Allaby, 2008). Darwin Mounds Coral topped mounds comprised mostly of sand and interpreted as 'sand volcanoes'. Formed when fluidised sand 'de-waters' and the fluid bubbles up through the sand, pushing the sediment up into a cone shape. Individual mounds are up to 75 m in diameter and 5 m high and occur at 1000 m water depth in the northern Rockall Trough, northwest of the UK (Masson et al., 2003). 5 (e) Mud Diapirs A muddy sediment structure that has intruded into a denser overlying rock causing doming of the seabed (Judd and Hovland, 2007). 5 (f) Sediment Drift Large-scale accumulation of sediment formed by deep oceanic bottom-current activity. Commonly covers an area of many thousand square kilometres and forms over a period of several million years. Geological Sites of national and international geological/ geomorphological importance which have been selected Conservation Review at a Great Britain level through the systematic process of the Geological Conservation Review (GCR) sites (Ellis et al., 1996). This layer contains all GCR sites located at the coast and is predominantly (but not exclusively) comprised of sites from the ‗Coastal Geomorphology block‘.

References

Allaby M. 2008. Oxford Dictionary of Earth Sciences. Oxford University Press. 654pp.

Bearman G. 1993. Waves, tides and shallow-water processes. Pergamon Press 187pp.

Belderson RH. 1986. Offshore tidal and non-tidal sand ridges and sheets: differences in morphology and hydrodynamic setting. In: Knight RJ., McLean JR. (eds) Shelf Sands and Sandstones. Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists. Memoir II, pp. 293-301.

Belderson RH., Kenyon NH., Wilson JB. 1973. Iceberg plough marks in the northeast Atlantic. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 13, 215 224.

British Geological Survey 1990. Peach 56N 10W sea bed sediments, 1:250,000 geological map.

British Geological Survey 1988. Sula Sgeir 59N 08W sea bed sediments, 1:250,000 geological map.

Due L., van Aken HM., Boldreel LO., Kuijpers A. 2006. Seismic and oceanographic evidence of present-day bottom-water dynamics in the Lousy Bank—Hatton Bank area, NE Atlantic. Deep-Sea Research I 53: 1729–1741

Dyer KR., Huntley DA. 1999. The origin, classification and modelling of sand banks and ridges. Continental Shelf Research 19: 1285-1330.

80 Holmes R., Hitchen K, Ottemoller L. 2006. Strategic Environmental Assessment Area 7: hydrocarbon prospectively, earthquakes, continental shelves and Rockall Trough surficial and sea-bed geology and sea-bed processes. British Geological Survey Commissioned Report CR/ 06/ 063.

Judd AG. 2001. Pockmarks in the UK Sector of the North Sea. Report to the Department of Trade and Industry. University of Sunderland, UK, 70pp.

Judd A., Croker P., Tizzard L., Voisey C. 2007. Extensive methane-derived authigenic carbonates in the Irish Sea. Geo-Marine Letters 27: 259-267.

Judd A., Hovland M. 2007. Seabed Fluid Flow: The Impact on Geology, Biology and the Marine Environment. Cambridge University Press, 492 pp.

Kenyon H. 1987. Mass-wasting Features on the Continental Slope off Northwest Europe. Marine Geology 74: 57-77.

Kenyon NH. 1970a. Sand ribbons of the European tidal seas. Marine Geology 9: 25– 39.

Kenyon NH. 1970b. The origin of some transverse sand patches in the Celtic sea. Geological Magazine 107: 389-394.

Mellor A., Mitchell A., Strong J., Rooney L., Service M. 2008. North West Irish Sea Mounds: Hard and soft substrata habitats. Joint Nature Conservation Committee Report No. 410. ISSN 0963 8901.

Summerfield MA. 1991. Global geomorphology. Prentice Hall, Harlow. 537pp.

81 Appendix V. Geological Conservation Review Site Details

GCR No. GCR Name Lat. Long. GCR Date Agency GCR Statement 223 Machir Bay 55.78 -6.45 01/01/1980 SNH A high-energy beach complex of dune and machair forms contained between rocky headlands and overlying a series of high-level marine terraces and screes. A number of streams enter the bay; the great variety of dune and machair surfaces and forms present have been strongly influenced by hydrological processes. The result is a complex mixture of old and recent forms where the effects of the water-table and drainage controls on machair and dune morphology can be examined. 224 West Coast of Jura 56.14 -5.72 01/01/1980 SNH The prime geomorphological interest of the coastline of Jura is the magnificent series of raised shingle beaches and terraces, wave-cut rock platforms and cliff features including some of the most extensive areas of raised shoreline shingle bars and terraces to be found anywhere in western Europe. However, there are several small pockets of beach, dune and machair which, whilst not of the highest geomorphological importance viewed in isolation, form essential integral parts of the coastline as a whole and, despite their small scale, show remarkably diverse and dynamic forms. Of these, Corpach is the area of greatest intrinsic physiographic value and is an example of the comparatively rare confined cliff-foot type of machair. The close morphological relationship between these comparatively young coastal elements and the fossil coastline features gives exceptional potential for studying the chronology of coastal evolution in Scotland over a relatively long period of time. One of Britain's most important geomorphological localities. 225 Central Sanday 59.26 -2.5 01/01/1980 SNH The Central Sanday coast illustrates an outstanding range of depositional features including an assemblage of tombolas, spits, sand flats, dunes and machair of unusual complexity. The blown sand landforms are interesting in their own right, and the site has potential for elucidating some basic problems of dune morphology and machair evolution in the Highlands and Islands. Such an extensive area of machair is unusual outside the Outer Hebrides while the effects of severe deflation are particularly well-demonstrated at the site. The most outstanding features of the site, however, are the tombolas, bars and spits. These features are of interest individually, but collectively they make up a set of related features which is unique in the Highlands and Islands and perhaps in Britain as a whole. Central Sanday must be regarded as a key area for the study of constructive coastal processes in an area of relative land subsidence, the mechanics of which are still imperfectly understood. 226 Balta Island 60.75 -0.79 01/01/1980 SNH A complex comprising a continuous machair veneer extending across this small island from the north-west- facing bay through a low col to the eastern sea-cliffs. Aeolianite is present and provides a base- level for deflation in places. Dunes are absent, the complex thus representing an example of a beach-machair continuum. The combination of rill dissection, severe wind deflation and a high rabbit population is reducing the machair to a highly dissected state and the rate of these changes is particularly rapid. The geomorphological importance of Balta, as a small uninhabited island, is that it makes an ideal research area for studying the processes of machair deflation.

227 Dunnet Bay 58.62 -3.35 01/01/1980 SNH The importance of Dunnet Bay as a physiographic site lies in the spectacular scale of its dune and machair landforms. The size and range of activity in the various forms of dune blowouts, and the relatively frequent occurrence of direct wave attack on the main dune ridge, make this a key site for studies of current processes. The general morphology of this massive, sharp-crested dune ridge with gently sloping, extensive dune pasture, dune moorland and machair on its landward side is unique. 228 Morrich More 57.83 -4.02 01/01/1980 SNH The physiographic interest of the Morrich More is outstanding both for the variety and scale of its coastal landforms, including machair, free-moving yellow parabolic dunes, stabilised grey dunes and developing foredune succession, saltmarshes, and sandflat, and especially for the complete morphological and stratigraphic record it contains of the shoreline changes of the last 7,000 years. It has a potential, perhaps greater than any other part of the Highland coastline, for research into rates of contemporary change and comparison with those deduced from sub-surface stratigraphy. 229 Sandwood Bay 58.54 -5.08 01/01/1980 SNH The beach complex at Sandwood consists of a highly dynamic, shingle- cored sand dune and machair bar impounding a freshwater loch at the mouth of Strath Shinary. Its geomorphological interest rests in the very

82 GCR No. GCR Name Lat. Long. GCR Date Agency GCR Statement high current activity of the beach, dune and machair landforms, in a situation where human interference is limited. This offers the rare opportunity of quantifying the natural rates of change operational in these landforms. In addition, a variety of other landforms, including classic cliff features cut in Torridonian sandstone and Lewisian gneiss are juxtaposed with the beach complex, and, as the source of sediment, are intimately related to its current and past evolution. 230 Ardivachar to 57.4 -7.4 01/01/1980 SNH A shingle beach complex extending for more than 20km from Ardivachar to Stoneybridge. To the north, Stoneybridge, Gualann Island represents the remains of the much larger submerged and fragmented dune and machair South Uist system, dissected portions of which are seen scattered throughout the site. The coastal dunes display a wide variety of erosional forms whilst inland, on the low flat machair plain, are extensive areas of redepostional dune hummocks and an especially well-developed and prominent escarpment edge. Here, the landform assemblage conforms with the classic beach-dune-machair sequence in its type location, the Uists. From the beach to blackland the sequence includes coastal dune ridge, low, flat, seasonally flooded machair plain, retreating escarpment, hilly machair backslope and machair loch. The low machair plain represents the ultimate stage in machair development formed as a result of deflation by scarp retreat. This site includes the area in the Hebrides where most research into machair development has been undertaken. The extensive, continuously developed system and the range and variety of erosional and depositional forms found make this site of outstanding geomorphological importance as a beach complex. 231 Luskentyre to 57.87 -6.96 01/01/1980 SNH This large area is outstanding for the concentration of a wide variety of coastal landforms, both typical and Corran Seilebost unusual, which together make up a geomorphological unit of the highest importance. A complex range of landforms including very large conical sandhills, dune ridges, deep active blowouts and foredunes, mature machair surfaces and aeolianite deposits combine to make the Luskentyre promontory one of the most dynamic and scientifically interesting areas in the Outer Hebrides. Corran Seilebost, by contrast, is significant as a dynamic spit and for the low-lying saltmarsh and extensive sandflats of Tr…igh Luskentyre it encloses and which may be developed upon old machiar. It is suggested that the present complex represents a drowned inlet, the machairs of Lyskentyre and Corran Seilebost being the reshaped remnants of a larger machair area fragmented by post- glacial submergence. There is high potential for study into the stratigraphy of the site, especially of the pre-Flandrian sub- saltmarsh deposits. 232 Machairs Robach 57.69 -7.21 01/01/1980 SNH The area comprises two extensive machairs, with most kinds of Uist machair surface represented, and includes and Newton tidal strands and inlets and some of the largest areas of sandy mature saltmarsh in the Uists. Machair Robach is unparalleled in demonstrating the result of extreme dissection of the mature high machair plateau by wind erosion, with deep blowout penetration and ridge retreat. Remnants of the old machair plateau and escarpments are separated by low, marshy deflation plains, in places superimposed with redepositional forms. The clear and distinctive landforms allow reconstruction of former machair surfaces and the processes which have eroded them. North of Hornish Point, Newton Machair represents the best example of a truncated machair sequence, direct evidence for considerable coastline retreat since the formation of the machair.

233 Mangersta Sands, 58.17 -7.09 01/01/1980 SNH Occupying a highly exposed position in the floor of a seaward-facing depression, Mangersta is probably the Lewis best example of a stripped machair in the Highlands and Islands. The machair surface is severely deflated and, over much of the area, the bare sand deflation floor is coincident with the water table. Such extreme deflation may represent an advanced stage of machair development, but the complex relationship of stripped machair to factors such as land subsidence, high energy conditions and land use practices has not yet been fully researched; Mangersta offers an excellent example for further study of these interactions. 234 Pabbay 57.76 -7.25 01/01/1980 SNH The small island of Pabbay contains examples of most types of machair and dune surfaces represented in the Outer Hebrides as well as unique, large-scale, conical sand dunes. It provides an important site for comparative studies of dune and machair geomorphology since there is no evidence that rabbit grazing ever affected natural machair development. In addition, there are several areas on the south-east coast of Pabbay where intertidal and submerged peat beds are found in association with freshwater deposits and interstratified blown sand layers. These and other submerged peat sites are currently being studied and it is hoped that they may provide a guide to understanding the initiation of dune and machair formation and of coastline evolution in the Uists and

83 GCR No. GCR Name Lat. Long. GCR Date Agency GCR Statement Harris. In such a model, Pabbay would undoubtedly be a key site. 235 Traigh na Berie 58.21 -6.91 01/01/1980 SNH Traigh na Berie comprises a self-contained beach complex surounded by the ice-scoured Lewisian gneiss plateau and containing a comprehensive range of interrelated landforms including beach, dunes and plain and hill machair. In addition, owing to the complexity of processes involved and the activity of the site, several stages of dune development are well-represented. Of particular interest are the primary, accreting, yellow foredunes which are particularly rare in peripheral parts of the highlands and Islands, where most examples which do occur are of a rejuvenated or redeposited type. The complex interaction of contrasting processes, the variety of landform elements this has produced, and the evidence of past erosional episodes all combine to distinguish this beach complex and make it of outstanding importance as a machair site. 306 Torrisdale Bay and 58.53 -4.27 01/01/1980 SNH At the head of Torrisdale Bay the interrelationship of landforms of coastal deposition with the older landscape Invernaver created by glacial and fluvioglacial deposition has produced an area of great geomorphological diversity. A wide variety of dune and machair landforms are finely developed, demonstrating various stages of evolution and stability and ranging from fossil features to highly dynamic forms. Individual features of particular interest include the so-called climbing dunes which are developed to a height of over 120m OD on slopes of up to 20 degrees, the dune and machair forms found in association with outwash terraces in the Borgie and Naver valleys and the high level ridge top machair of Druim Chiubhe. It is, however, the complex juxtaposition of impressive landforms of coastal, glacial and post-glacial origin which gives the area its considerable geomorphological importance. The site possesses considerable potential for research work, further enhanced by the concentration of archaeological sites in and under the blown sand areas. 1066 Culbin 57.63 -3.71 01/06/1982 SNH Culbin is a key site of exceptional interest for the scale, complexity and diversity of its coastal geomorphology. Of major significance are the complex history of post-glacial physiographic evolution, the long history of sand movements and the range of dune and sandhill landforms that rest on a composite shingle platform. These ancient dunes, now stabilised by afforestation, form one of the largest areas of blown sand in Britain. Furthermore, the spectacular erosional features and rapid retreat of the coastal foreland, together with highly dynamic spit and bar environments whose changes are well- documented, provide excellent examples of a whole range of sand and shingle coastal landforms which can be clearly linked to coastal processes. 1067 Forvie 57.33 -1.97 01/06/1982 SNH The Sands of Forvie are of outstanding interest for their remarkable assemblage of coastal landforms, some of which are unique, while others are type examples of much of the dune coastline of north-east Scotland. The blown sand morphology of north Forvie is unique in Britain and comprises a complex series of diverse surfaces, including massive sand ridges and dunes which have spread from the south onto a high rocky plateau fronted by a rock and till cliff coast. In contrast, south Forvie is a type example of what may be described as a normal sand dune system with a dynamic interchange of material between the frontal dunes and the extensive sand beach and spit complex at the mouth of the River Ythan. The latter is an integral part of the beach and sand dune system, and recent geomorphological research has emphasised the importance of the position of the river outlet channel in controlling the development of the sand bars and spits which form the source of beach nourishment. The site is of exceptional importance for the study of a wide variety of coastal landforms and processes and its value is enhanced by the availability of extensive research results in other disciplines which provide much additional and complementary evidence relevant to solving a broad range of geomorphological problems. 1068 Luce Sands 54.86 -4.88 01/06/1982 SNH The key site of Luce Sands is the largest and most complex system of beach and dunes in the south of Scotland. A rich variety of contrasting dune morphology lends to the site much of its interest and distinctiveness - low parallel foredunes, high transverse dunes displaying signs of recent severe erosion, and a complex area of older dunes resting on raised beach ridges and showing signs of severe erosion in the past. The degree of development of dune slacks is also worthy of note in a Scottish context. The dynamic relationships between these individual components are as yet imperfectly understood, but are likely to be of considerable significance. The beach is also unusual in being well-nourished by an apparently continuing supply of sand from offshore, transported through the North Channel and then into Luce Bay. 1069 Strathbeg 57.63 -1.87 01/06/1982 SNH Strathbeg is a key geomorphological site for its extensive and varied dune topography. It provides one of the best active examples in Scotland of progradational processes that produce parallel lines of dunes separated by

84 GCR No. GCR Name Lat. Long. GCR Date Agency GCR Statement linear depressions and contains some of the most impressive instances of erosional processes in large-scale coastal dune ridges to be found anywhere in the country. The massive high dunes contain spectacular blowouts cut down to a basement of raised beach shingle and in places extensive deflation surfaces have been produced by the coalescence of major blowouts. As a relatively undisturbed area, Strathbeg presents valuable opportunities to study these and other processes of landform evolution in a comparatively natural setting. Additional interest in the site is provided by a variety of raised shoreline features. 1070 Tentsmuir 56.44 -2.81 01/06/1982 SNH Tentsmuir is a key site for the study of active beach and coastal processes, in particular those associated with coastal progradation. It is exceptional in Scotland for the rate and amount of coastal accretion since the time of the post-glacial sea-level high. This accretion is actively continuing and relates to the massive sediment load associated with the Tay and its extensive sand bar and spit systems. The interest of the site is significantly enhanced by the juxtaposition of three distinctive coastal environments - that of the north coast dominated by the dynamic processes of the Tay estuary; that of the Abertay sand bars and shoal banks which play a fundamental role in the coastal accretion, and that of the coast to the south where open coast processes become progressively more dominant. Considerable potential exists for studies of the processes and development of coastal progradation and the dynamic interaction of vegetation with accretionary landforms and processes. 1440 Barry Links 56.48 -2.73 01/01/1984 SNH The extensive sand-covered foreland of Barry Links provides a representative assemblage of many beach, dune and links landforms that offer valuable opportunities for studies of coastal evolution. The site is particularly noted for its parabolic dune system, one of the finest of this type in Britain, comprising unique, elongated hairpin landforms with an exceptionally regular and repeated pattern. These unique characteristics may reflect the unusually open exposure of the foreland and the lack of topographic interference with formative winds. Barry Links is, therefore, a key site for coastal geomorphology.

1441 Spey Bay 57.7 -3.24 01/01/1984 SNH ,"," Spey Bay is a site of the highest importance for coastal geomorphology. It is outstanding on several accounts. Firstly, it includes the finest active shingle ridges in Scotland. These are developed on a massive scale over a distance of 8km and provide almost unique evidence for short- and medium-term dynamic coastal processes. Secondly, there is the delta and related forms at the mouth of the Spey, a complex and shifting area with a documented history of dramatic changes. Thirdly, the active coastal margin is backed by a magnificent strandplain of post-glacial shingle ridges, recording the progressive history of coastal development. The scale of development, juxtaposition and interrelationships of these key elements makes Spey Bay one of the most important coastal physiographic sites in Britain. 1442 Whiteness Head 57.6 -4 01/01/1984 SNH Whiteness Head is an important geomorphological site for the study of active coastal processes associated with a classic prograding shingle spit complex. The rapid and well-documented evolution of the shingle landforms provides a key to understanding longer term changes in the development and sediment budget of shingle features in areas of active longshore drifting. Whiteness Head is, therefore, a key site for coastal geomorphology. 1443 Eoligarry 57.03 -7.44 01/01/1984 SNH The prime interest of Eoligarry is dune and machair morphology. It is an outstanding site for the study of wind erosional features: almost all the typical erosion forms of Hebridean dune and machair landforms are found at Eoligarry, and the range of active erosional features is unrivalled by any dune sytem of comparable size in the Hebrides. The site is also valuable for the study of relationships between different stages and forms of wind erosion. In addition, most other non-erosional machair and dune landforms are represented, while Tr…igh Eais and Tr…igh Mhr further enhance the interest of the area. 1538 The Ayres of 60.43 -1.19 01/02/1984 SNH The Ayres of Swinster is a key site for coastal geomorphology. In particular, it is a classic example of a Swinister submerged coastline and includes a remarkable assemblage of shingle landforms - tombolo, bay-head bar and mid-bay bar. This unique combination together with saltmarsh remnants and drowned peat provides clear evidence for a rising sea-level that has been responsible for shaping the character of the inner Shetland coast. The Ayres of Swinster is, therefore, a key locality not only for a classic landform assemblage but also for its research potential for elucidating details of Flandrian sea-level change.

85 GCR No. GCR Name Lat. Long. GCR Date Agency GCR Statement 1758 Orfordness and 52.01 1.44 01/07/1985 NE Orfordness and Shingle Street is a site of outstanding importance for coastal geomorphology. Orfordness Shingle Street comprises three main elements: an eroding storm beach, a shingle cuspate foreland and a shingle spit. Across the estuary of the River Ore, Shingle Street is a complementary ridge and lagoon complex. Orfordness has provided evidence for former oscillations in sea-level, while the studies of the spit and estuary have elucidated processes of shingle spit formation. Former shoreline changes are well-documented, especially in the 19th century, and provide a baseline for studies of present-day processes. The shingle cuspate foreland and shingle spit are outstanding examples of their types. 1800 Chesil Beach 50.71 -2.76 01/08/1985 NE Chesil Beach is a site of international importance for coastal geomorphology. Together with Dungeness and Orford Ness it is one of three major shingle structures on the coast of Britain, but differs from the others in being essentially a linear storm beach rather than a cuspate foreland. Chesil Beach is of exceptional importance, firstly for its size, secondly for the systematic size-grading of the pebbles and cobbles alongshore and their lithological composition, and thirdly for the available historical records of beach changes. Chesil Beach is of the highest geomorphological value both as a classic landform and as a full-scale, natural laboratory for the study of beach processes. Chesil Beach is cited in numerous scientific papers and textbooks and has been described as unique. 1836 Hallsands 50.23 -3.66 01/10/1985 NE Hallsands is an important site for coastal geomorphology. Its importance arises first from its location at a point where wave energy is focused at the shoreline by offshore banks, and secondly from the buried cliff forms which were excavated from beneath a gravel and shingle beach during storms in 1917, a process to which earlier dredging of intertidal shingle also contributed. The site is widely regarded as a classic locality, as much for its vivid exemplification of the dangers of beach sediment extraction as for its intrinsic geomorphological interest. However, detailed studies have shown that it was both the legacy of shingle extraction and the concentration of wave energy on this part of the coastline by the offshore Skerries Bank during north-easterly gales that were responsible for bringing about the rapid localised erosion at Hallsands. 1837 Budleigh Salterton 50.61 -3.36 01/10/1985 NE Budleigh Salterton is an important site for coastal geomorphology. The beach is formed primarily of shingle- Beach and cobble-sized material, derived from erosion of cliffs cut into Triassic sandstones that include pebble beds from which much of the beach sediment is derived. The plan form of the beach is controlled largely by the wave energy distribution between Littleham Cove and Otterton Point, where the beach diverts the River Otter eastwards. A shore platform known as Otterton Ledge also affects the beach alignment. Budleigh Salterton is unusual among south coast beaches in being close to equilibrium between sediment input, wave climate and beach form. This appears to result both from the relative stability of the beach and the lack of development of the estuary-mouth beach as part of the resort. Such a cliff-beach-estuary system was once a very common feature of the coastline of southern and south-eastern England, but in many places has been destroyed or modified by coast protection works. 1838 Dawlish Warren 50.61 -3.43 01/10/1985 NE Dawlish Warren is an important site for coastal geomorphology. It is a classic landform, now partly modified, and comprises a complex sand spit dominated by two parallel ridge systems at the mouth of the Exe estuary. Extensive sandbanks to seawards affect the low and intertidal wave energy distribution, but the beach form is related largely to wave patterns at high tide levels and the discharge of the estuary, where currents control the sediment distribution more than waves. In recent years erosion has become acute at the proximal end of the spit, following protection of the cliffs to the south-west which formed at least part of the sediment supply in the past. The spit is unusual in the English Channel in being formed of sand rather than shingle. Although there are some similarities with the dune system at South Haven, significant differences between the sites occur in their alignments, relationships to estuaries and contemporary dynamics. While South Haven continues to prograde, at least in part, Dawlish Warren is largely in decline. 1839 Ladram Bay 50.66 -3.27 01/10/1985 NE Ladram Bay is an important site for coastal geomorphology. A series of well-developed cliffs, stacks and shore platforms cut in the red sandstone of the Keuper represent one of very few assemblages of such forms in southern Britain. Moreover, they are unique in Britain in being formed in the relatively easily eroded sandstone, and owe their preservation largely to the relatively low energy regime in which they occur. The shore platforms are structurally controlled to the extent that some surfaces coincide with joint planes, while erosion along near- vertical joints has played a major role in isolating stacks from the mainland.

86 GCR No. GCR Name Lat. Long. GCR Date Agency GCR Statement 1840 Slapton Sands 50.26 -3.65 01/10/1985 NE Slapton is an important site for coastal geomorphology. It is a classic shingle bar enclosing a lagoon, Slapton Ley. To the north, the bar is backed by an infilled former arm of the lagoon and by cliffs of lower Devonian slates and grits. Very little local material occurs in the beach, which consists mostly of flint and chert shingle. There are few such features on the coast of Britain and along the English Channel, Slapton provides an unusual combination of shingle material and an easterly aspect. Slapton has been the focus of considerable research interest and is a major site for educational studies. It forms part of a larger coastal system including Bee Sands and Hallsands. 1842 Foreness Point 51.39 1.43 01/10/1985 NE Foreness Point is a key site for coastal geomorphology. It is a classic cliff-shore platform system and contains (Joss Bay) the most extensive intertidal shore platform in chalk in Britain. It has been studied in greater detail than most other cliff-platform sites and demonstrates particularly well the links between cliff and platform erosion and beach development. Cliff recession, historically at a rate of 0.3m per year, contributes flint and chalk pebbles to the beaches, which also contain locally important accumulations of sand, much of it organic in origin. The cliffs and platform also show interesting relationships with bedrock structure. Foreness Point is an essential member of the suite of chalk coastal sites. 1843 Ballard Down 50.64 -1.94 01/10/1985 NE Ballard Down is a key site for coastal geomorphology. It includes a series of predominantly chalk cliffs, platforms and associated beaches, best known for the classic assemblage of stacks, arches and caves at Handfast Point. The site is also important for revealing not only the relationships between local bedrock structures and coastal form, but also different wave dynamics on the north and south sides of the peninsula respectively. Ballard Down is the most sheltered of the major chalk cliff systems and so forms a key element of the suite of chalk cliff sites. 1844 South Haven 50.66 -1.95 01/10/1985 NE South Haven Peninsula is a key site for coastal geomorphology. It provides an excellent example of Peninsula progradation of a sand beach which has been very well-documented in historical records and by more recent field surveys. Three main ridges occur, each with dunes fronted by a seaward slope extending beneath alluvial deposits. There are few prograding sand beaches in southern Britain and South Haven Peninsula is a key member of the national network of soft coastal sites. It is extensively used as an educational site, especially as the links between geomorphological processes and ecological succession are well-exemplified. 1846 Tintagel 50.69 -1.93 01/10/1985 NE Tintagel provides a classic assemblage of rock-coast features, including cliffs, caves, geos, arches and stacks. It is particularly important for the strong relationships displayed between coastal forms and bedrock structures and is one of few locations where such relationships have been studied in detail. Cliffs and platforms are cut in lower Carboniferous and upper Devonian rocks. The coastal edge displays slope-over-wall forms, some bevelled and some forming hog's-backs. Normal faults have had considerable influence on cliff forms. South of Tintagel Island, some short stretches of cliffline are true fault-line cliffs. Elsewhere, erosion has cut cliffs back from their original fault-controlled position. North of Tintagel Island, the coastline is more complex, with many inlets and headlands. Erosion along normal faults, less resistant beds and joint-planes has produced an intricate set of bays, headlands, stacks, blowholes and caves. Here, local variations of structure and rock strength are the major control on landforms. 1847 Loe Bar 50.08 -5.32 01/10/1985 NE Loe Bar encloses a lagoon occupying part of a former ria and forms an integral part of a beach system extending from Porthleven to Gunwalloe. The site is important for coastal geomorphology on two accounts. First Loe Bar is a classic coastal landform; secondly, the beach system is an essential member of a suite of major beaches formed and maintained by predominantly south-west wave regimes. The beach is formed mainly of flint shingle and coarse sand. Current inputs from adjacent cliffs are small, and overall the beach is in deficit. The bar itself is washed-over during periods of high wave energy as demonstrated by a series of washover fans. 1848 Hurst Castle Spit 50.71 -1.56 01/10/1985 NE Hurst Castle Spit is a key site for coastal geomorphology. It is the classic shingle spit upon which W V Lewis based his seminal paper outlining the relationship of beach alignment to the direction of approach of dominant waves. Although much weakened at its proximal end by the steady retreat of cliffs at Milford and their protection by walls and groynes, Hurst Castle Spit still retains its characteristic form. The present interest of the beach lies in its classic form.

87 GCR No. GCR Name Lat. Long. GCR Date Agency GCR Statement 1849 East Head 50.78 -0.92 01/10/1985 NE East Head is an important site for coastal geomorphology for the juxtaposition of shingle beach, spit (Chichester morphology, dunes and intertidal marsh. Although the area has undergone considerable interference as a result Harbour) of dune management, the shingle beach processes have operated independently of the management activities. East Head is an excellent example of beach dynamics in circumstances where equilibrium forms are developing despite interference with longshore tranpsort. It emphasises the links between a spit and an intertidal zone when the latter is a mobile sediment store. 1850 Beachy Head to 50.76 0.11 01/10/1985 NE Beachy Head-Seaford is a key site for coastal geomorphology, comprising a cliff-beach-shore platform system Seaford Head developed on chalk. It includes the classic coastal cliffs of Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters. In contrast with Foreness Point and Kingsdown- Dover, where structural controls prevail, the Beachy Head-Seaford coastline planform is controlled primarily by dominant and prevailing wave energy from the south-west. The beach is one of six major south- west-facing beaches in southern England, all of which differ significantly in geological characteristics. The beach is also the most rapidly and consistently fed by flint from cliff falls. 1851 Pagham Harbour 50.76 -0.75 01/10/1985 NE Pagham Harbour is a key site for coastal geomorphology. It is significant both as a classic shingle spit landform and for the links that have been demonstrated between the coastal nearshore and offshore forms and sediments. The shingle spit system comprises a series of sub-parallel ridges and recurves, marking different phases of extension and frontal accretion. Shingle reaches the beach via the intertidal zone, and the so-called Pagham delta and the behaviour of the spits and delta are intimately linked with water and sediment circulation around the Selsey peninsula. The area also provides an excellent example of the role of weed rafting of shingle in coastal sediment budgets. 1859 South-West Isle of 50.67 -1.57 01/12/1985 NE South West Isle of Wight is an important site for coastal geomorphology. It spans exposures of Wealden, Wight Greensand and Chalk rocks, exposed by erosion of the Brighstone anticline. The general plan of the coastline is controlled by the relative resistance of the Chalk in the west and the Upper Greensand in the east, and by the effectiveness of south-westerly wave systems in maintaining its alignment. Many small irregularities are associated with locally resistant exposures and the beaches include both local materials and some residual flints. The site is important as one of the major south-west facing beaches in southern England. It provides good examples of the effects of differential erosion on coastal forms and the differential supply of sediment to a beach system from cliffs of varying resistance. It also provides a good illustration of headland development in less resistant rocks while more resistant rocks form intertidal shore platforms. Finally, the site includes a range of classic landforms, including The Needles and the chines between Compton and Blackgang. 1863 Furzy Cliff - Peveril 50.63 -2.43 01/01/1986 NE Furzy Cliff to Peveril Point is a key site for coastal geomorphology. It is one of the most important coastlines in Point Britain for demonstrating relationships between rock structure, rock strength and coastal landforms, and incorporates several classic coastal localities, such as Lulworth Cove. A series of small bays, containing beaches distinguished by local grading of sediment fed from distinct, identifiable sources, provide unequalled opportunities for the study of beach development. Overall, the range of features developed on a variety of rock types makes Furzy Cliff to Peveril Point a coastline of paramount importance for understanding coastal form- process-material relationships. It is a coastline heavily used for educational purposes and one attracting increasing research interest. 1867 Hartland Quay 51 -4.53 01/01/1986 NE Hartland Quay is an important site for geomorphology, in particular for relationships between coastal and fluvial features. It contains fine examples for hog's back cliffs and shore platforms, and demonstrates clear relationships between cliff forms, platform development and lithological variations. Further, it is also noted for a remarkable set of former river valleys which have been truncated by retreat of the cliff-line, so that their floors now lie well above present sea-level. Unlike similarly truncated streams in the South West Isle of Wight, those in the Hartland Quay area have been unable to erode valleys to sea-level and so reach the shore via waterfalls. In some cases the streams have also cut gorges with waterfalls. 1877 Solfach 51.87 -5.19 15/12/1988 CCW Solfach is an important site for coastal geomorphology, providing an excellent small-scale example of a ria. The site includes not only the present ria but also an adjacent feature known as Gribin, the floor of which has been almost entirely infilled with alluvial sediments. The proximity of the two features provides an interesting contrast. Slope-over-wall forms surround both the present and former rias, which are cut into a near-horizontal surface at an altitude of about 60 metres above sea-level.

88 GCR No. GCR Name Lat. Long. GCR Date Agency GCR Statement 1878 Newborough 53.14 -4.38 01/05/1986 CCW Newborough Warren is an important site for coastal geomorphology, notably for studying the effects of waves Warren and currents on beach development. It comprises a major coastal dune system whose form is controlled by the Menai Straits to the east, Afon Cefni to the west and Llanddwyn Island, which divides the shoreline between Malltraeth Bay and Llanddwyn Bay. There are large expanses of both active and fixed dunes, although many of the latter have been afforested. East of Llanddwyn Island, parts of the dunes are cliffed and experience net sediment deficit, while sand is transported eastwards towards a spit which extends (in association with an artificial breakwater) to Abermenai Point. In Malltraeth Bay, the dunes attain altitudes in excess of 30 metres above sea-level, resting upon, and masking, the rock outcrop of Llanddwyn Island. North-westwards, the beach extends into extensive intertidal sand flats in the Malltraeth estuary. The dune forms at Newborough Warren are varied in character and provide an excellent range of features of many different ages. 1880 Tywyn Aberffraw 53.19 -4.45 31/10/1988 CCW Tywyn Aberffraw is an important site for coastal geomorphology. It comprises an area of blown sand and dunes occupying a confined valley site. Because of the physical constraints, there is little possibility of sand entering the bay from alongshore and the bounding cliffs supply little material to the beach. Tywyn Aberffraw offers an excellent opportunity for the study of beach and dune relationships in an area of restricted sediment supply, both from the beach and within the site. A further important feature is the relative isolation of individual grey parabolic dunes upon a sand plain, a landform assemblage that has few comparable equivalents in England and Wales. 1885 Morfa Dyffryn 52.82 -4.14 14/11/1988 CCW Morfa Dyffryn is an important site for coastal geomorphology studies. The feature developed as a spit extending across the mouth of the Afon Artro, but today it links the morainic hill of Mochras to the mainland, following diversion of the river to its present course in the early nineteenth century. Near its southern end, Morfa Dyffryn comprises a narrow fringing beach of shingle, cobbles and sand upon which there are low dunes. Northwards, the dunes are wider and higher, enclosing large slacks. At Mochras, the shoreline is formed of low till cliffs and a beach dominated by cobbles and boulders. This provides protection to the distal part of the beach against wave attack from the north-west. The dunes contain fine examples of dune migration and much of the change within the beach- dune system involves internal adjustments. There is no evidence of any significant supply of sand from either the north or south. Although superficially similar to Morfa Harlech, Morfa Dyffryn shows many differences in detail and forms an important member of a suite of west coast sandy beaches aligned towards south-west swell from the Atlantic. 1886 Morfa Harlech 52.88 -4.13 01/10/1986 CCW Morfa Harlech is an important site for coastal geomorphology studies. It comprises a major cuspate foreland, in which the alignment of a sand beach and dunes at an acute angle to former cliffs has encouraged extensive sedimentation. The beach and dunes form a narrow fringing system in the south but widen northwards into several sub-parallel ridges. Morfa Harlech is a classic landform. It is also significant for the relationship of the ridges to wave energy inputs from local rivers and the seabed. While progradation has bee prevalent, there is also some localised erosion, both at the proximal end near Harlech and at the distal end of the spit. Although movements of sand along the spit towards its distal end have contributed in part to its extension across the Afon Glaslyn, changes in the position of the river channel have contributed both to the growth and erosion of the spit. Morfa Harlech is largely unaffected by interference with littoral sediment transport, and is part of a suite of beaches largely aligned to Atlantic swell within the Celtic Sea. 1887 Ynyslas 52.51 -4.06 01/04/1986 CCW Ynyslas is an important site for coastal geomorphology studies. It is a good example of a sand spit built upon a partly gravel base. The southern part comprises a shingle ridge with some sand accumulation on top. The central part is dominated by vegetated dunes, while the northern (distal) end forms a low sand flat with small, isolated vegetated dunes. The behaviour of the spit relates not only to sediment transport northwards but also to patterns of water movement within the Dyfi estuary. In total, the site is significant for geomorphological studies of estuarine sedimentation and the links between this and estuary mouth processes of spit development. 1889 Flamborough Head 54.12 -0.08 01/03/1986 NE Flamborough Head is important for studies of coastal geomorphology, forming part of the suite of chalk coastlines. It lies within the zone of North Sea wave climate, unlike the majority of other sites which are partly or wholly affected by Atlantic swell and English Channel wave climates. It is also the only chalk site which is extensively overlain by glacial deposits. The northern cliffs are relatively simple, both in plan and profile, and

89 GCR No. GCR Name Lat. Long. GCR Date Agency GCR Statement feed small quantities of flint to their fringing beaches. The cliffs around Flamborough display some excellent examples of caves, arches and stacks, associated with faulting and jointing. A number of blowholes have developed where overlying till has collapsed into caves that intersected the chalk-till junction. Shore platforms are well- developed both in this area and along the southern shoreline, where the beach is mainly sandy and few flints are fed from the cliffs. Marine processes vary from north to south and the southern cliffs are less active than those to the north. 1890 Gibraltar Point 53.08 0.34 01/04/1986 NE Gibraltar Point is a key site for studies of coastal geomorphology. It covers a wide range of types of coastal accretion on a low, macrotidal coast in a relatively sheltered environment. It has been studied in detail over several decades and illustrates very clearly the interaction of tidal and other coastal processes in a complex and actively developing environment. Key features include tidal sandbanks offshore, a well-developed ridge and runnel foreshore, a spit, sand dunes and saltmarshes in various stages of evolution. Gibraltar Point is particularly important for the dynamism of the coastal environment and also the relationships that can be studied over different timescales between landforms and the processes responsible for their evolution. 1913 South Pembroke 51.61 -4.99 01/03/1986 CCW The site at South Pembroke Cliffs contains some of the best examples of coastal rock cliff forms in Britain. Cliffs Formed mainly in massive Carboniferous limestones, the cliffs include exceptional examples of the development of geo, stack, cave and arch features. Faults and other weaknesses have been exploited to produce such well-known features as the Green Bridge of Wales, Elegug Stacks and the Huntsman's Leap. The importance of this site is enhanced by the retreat of the coastline into an area of karstic landforms. Thus, the combined effects of solution, collapse and marine erosion have produced an intricate and geomorphologically important assemblage of landforms. 1915 Goswick - Holy 55.73 -1.94 06/05/1987 NE Goswick-Holy Island-Budle Bay is a key site for coastal geomorphology. It comprises three main units: (i) the Island - Budle Bay dunes and barrier beaches of Cheswick and Goswick Sands; (ii) the dunes of The Snook and the clifftop dunes and cliff-beach system on the north coast of Holy Island; (iii) the dunes and sandy beaches of Ross Links and Budle Bay. The significance of the site lies, first, in the extensive progradation of sandy beaches; secondly, in illustrating the role of different wave-energy distributions north and south of Holy Island on beach forms and processes and, thirdly, in the total assemblage and variety of contemporary and older coastal features. It is one of only four locations in England and Wales where barrier-type beaches occur. Moreover, it is the sole example in the North Sea wave climate which coincides with conditions of coastal emergence rather than submergence. The site is also broadly comparable, but at a different stage of development, with sites on the east coast of Scotland. 1930 St Ninian`s 59.97 -1.34 01/06/1986 SNH St Ninian's Tombolo is a classic site for coastal geomorphology. It is the largest sandy tombolo currently active Tombolo in Britain. It is exceptional firstly in its composition which is mainly sand overlying shingle, and secondly in being an active feature that is part of a nearshore sediment circulation system. The total assemblage of landforms also includes some hill machair and dunes. 1943 Robin Hood's Bay 54.41 -0.51 01/07/1986 NE Robin Hood's Bay is an important site for coastal geomorphology for a series of well-developed shore platforms cut mainly across outcrops of Lias shales. The surface morphology of the platforms reflects the arrangement of bedding within a broadly anticlinal structure which has been planed off. The cliffs from South Creek to the southern end of the site are dominated by the Middle Lias sandstones, relatively more resistant than the Lias shales, whilst those within the Bay predominantly occur in till and are locally affected by considerable mass movements. Robin Hood's Bay provides important contrasts with other platform sites, firstly through its location within the area affected by North Sea wave climates, and secondly in having been subject to glaciation and post-glacial processes prior to sea-level reaching its present position. 1944 Marsden Bay 54.98 -1.37 01/06/1986 NE Marsden Bay is an important site for coastal geomorphology, including both beach and rock and cliff features. It is a classic locality for beach process studies, deriving from the work of C A M King during the 1950s. It is also notable for a suite of coastal cliff and shore platforms cut into Magnesian Limestone. Unlike many other sites, there is a lack of major fault and joint controls so that an intricate assemblage of coastal forms has developed as local individual weaknesses have been exploited by marine erosion processes. Although Marsden beach itself is dominated by sand and shingle, there are also cobble and boulder accumulations associated with both the cliff-foot and former stacks.

90 GCR No. GCR Name Lat. Long. GCR Date Agency GCR Statement 1961 Ainsdale 53.59 -3.08 01/06/1986 NE Ainsdale is an important site for coastal geomorphology, in particular for the large sand dunes and the multiple sand bars that occur on the foreshore. Although much of the shoreline is undergoing erosion, there are relatively stable bar features in the intertidal zone where sediment transport is probably alongshore. Many different bedforms are represented on the foreshore and have been studied in much greater detail than similar features elsewhere. 1988 Oxwich Bay 51.56 -4.15 21/11/1988 CCW Oxwich Bay is important for coastal geomorphology. It illustrates classic coastal forms within a restricted area and shows important relationships between dunes, beach and cliff. The sand dunes are associated with bounding cliffs which restrict the transport of sediment into and out from the bay and modify the behaviour of waves within the bay. Oxwich is a very good example of a beach system in which there is close equilibrium between beach plan form and wave approach patterns. The direction of waves entering the bay and approaching the beach is largely controlled by the promontory at Oxwich Point, and there is only limited longshore transport of sediment. Sediment transfer is largely between dunes and beach, and dune development is constrained both vertically and laterally. 1989 Duncansby to 58.62 -3.04 13/11/1987 SNH Duncansby to Skirza Head is important for rock coast geomorphology. It provides excellent demonstration of Skirza Head relationships between coastal forms and structure, particularly associated with the distinctive flagstone strata. There are three main lithological and geomorphological units along the coast, comprising a central area of sandstones, with flagstones to the north and south. Strike directions, dip angle, faults and joint patterns, hardness and resistance to erosion and susceptibility to processes of terrestrial and marine weakening all control the detail of coastal form. In particular there are contrasts in form between the massive flagstones and the more friable and variable sandstones. The flagstones are dominated by high cliffs and steep geos. Although the sandstone cliffs are higher, slopes are less steep and alternate between rock buttresses and vegetated screes, and lag shingle beaches occur. The famous pyramidical stacks of Duncansby show that surface weathering, controlled by the geology, has been less effective than marine undercutting. 1997 Villians of 60.52 -1.56 01/09/1986 SNH Villains of Hamnavoe is important for rock coast geomorphology, showing some of the best examples of the Hamnavoe power of storm waves in Britain. The cliffs comprise Old Red Sandstone extrusive rocks, mainly andesitic tuffs overlain by andesite lavas, producing step-like cliff profiles. Further variations in coastal form are produced by the irregular form of the landward plateau. The coast is fully exposed to the north and north-west and is of particular importance in showing the effects of high energy storm wave conditions. The high- altitude scour features and associated wave-moved slabs and boulders together with the step-like cliff profiles are of outstanding importance. Further interest is provided by a system of arches, caves, overhung ledges, a staircase waterfall and a blowhole. 2030 Loch Maddy - 57.64 -7.13 01/10/1986 SNH Loch Maddy-Sound of Harris is important for coastal geomorphology. It is essentially the product of the post- Sound of Harris glacial submergence of a low, glaciated platform of ancient metamorphic rock and provides a wide diversity of Coastline related features. These include excellent examples of fiord inlets, pseudo cliffs and sheltered sea loch environments ranging from intertidal sand flats to rocky islands. The Sound of Harris contains a range of islands, reefs, skerries and isolated rock outcrops set in a shallow sea area with complex tidal flows between the Atlantic and the Minch. Overall the totality of the area is of particular significance in demonstrating the response of different types of surface, shaped largely by terrestrial processes, to the effects of post-glacial submergence. 2038 North Norfolk 53.18 0.11 25/04/1989 NE North Norfolk Coast extending from Hunstanton to Sheringham is a site of considerable importance for coastal Coast geomorphology. It includes not only such internationally renowned locations as Blakeney Point and Scolt Head Island, but also many smaller, no less significant beaches which are essential to longshore transport of sediment. Much of the site is characterised by low former clifflines separated from sand and shingle beaches by extensive saltmarshes and intertidal flats although, at both the east and west end of the site, the beaches rest against chalk and till cliffs which are currently being eroded. Together with the intertidal flats and saltmarshes, the beaches of North Norfolk form one of the outstanding assemblages of coastal forms in Britain. They have been extensively researched and are internationally famous. Each of the major features is important in its own right; together, they are of the highest importance.

91 GCR No. GCR Name Lat. Long. GCR Date Agency GCR Statement 2042 Walney Island 54.15 -3.27 01/10/1986 NE The two sites at Walney Island represent the distal features of a barrier island. There are few examples of this type of feature in Britain and Walney Island is exceptional in being the product of erosion and reworking of glacial sediments, rather than coastal deposition. The spits at Walney Island are important in several respects: 1) They represent the distal features of the offshore bar and occur in a macrotidal location; 2) They differ in both form and sediments - North End Haws is fed by sandy sediments in the intertidal zone and has small dunes on its surface, whereas South End Haws comprises mainly shingle with limited dune development; 3) They are associated with scars (boulder- and cobble-dominated areas of the intertidal zone) which are a characteristic form of this coast. The sites at Walney are important both in their own right and for comparative studies with other barrier island-type features. 2102 Carmarthen Bay 51.73 -4.58 21/11/1988 CCW Carmarthen Bay is an important site for coastal geomorphology. It comprises three major inter-connected units, each significant in its own right, and together forming an excellent and unusual assemblage of coastal landforms that have been little disturbed by human activity in the past. The three units are 1) Pendine Beach and Laugharne Sands; 2) Cefn Sidan, Tywyn Burrows and Pembrey Beach; 3) Whiteford Sands and Rhosili Bay. The site also includes the estuaries between these units. Both Pendine-Laugharne and Whiteford Beaches form spits trending away from a predominantly rocky, cliffed coastline. The former is dominated by a narrow line of dunes which reach more than 15m in height. As the beach extended eastwards from Ragwen Point former rock cliffs were protected from marine erosion. Whitford Burrows has shown general progradation apart from its proximal end and is linked at low water to Broughton Bay where dunes rest on rock cliffs and reach altitudes in excess of 50m above sea-level. Some of the sand reaching these dunes at present is probably blown from Rhosili Bay which is influenced by the rocky headlands of Burry Holmes and Worms Head The beach is backed over much of its length by till cliffs and locally by dunes. Both of the latter are affected by erosion and Rhosili beach appears to be in deficit, lacking a significant sediment supply from either offshore or alongshore. Tywyn-Pembrey is a barrier beach linked to the mainland by former dunes and reclaimed marshland and is one of only four large barrier systems in England and Wales. It is strongly related to Atlantic wave systems and has been little modified by engineering structures. Seaward of the main zone of grey dunes in Tywyn Burrows there is a zone of low sandy hummocks fringed by a narrow ridge of younger, active dunes extending into both Gwendraeth and Burry estuaries. This is a fine example of a progradational beach to which the supply of sediment is sufficient not only to allow growth of the beach in general but also to maintain sufficient longshore drift to continue the lateral growth of two spits. At Pendine-Laugharne and Whiteford the general trend has been one of erosion at the proximal end of the spits and accretion and extension of their distal ends into adjacent estuaries. 2104 Winterton Ness 52.73 1.69 01/10/1986 NE Winterton Ness is one of a number of ness features which are characteristic of the East Anglian coast. It is significant both for the well-formed dunes, which are its most characteristic landform, and the processes which affect its continuing development. At Winterton there appears to be a slight sediment budget surplus and some growth in the volume of sediment retained within the ness. There is both erosion and deposition within the site and an important aspect of the interest is the dynamism of the features present. 2105 Upton and 50.22 -5.4 01/12/1986 NE This site is important in illustrating successive erosional and depositional phases in coastal development. It Gwithian Towans contains an assemblage of dunes in the south which are progressively replaced northwards by rock cliffs, caves, stacks and arches overlain by blown sands and dunes. These erosional features have been exposed as formerly much larger dunes have eroded. Remnants of former dunes are also preserved on stacks. The site clearly demonstrates the relict nature of the cliffed coastline and allows examination of the interface between the dunes and the sub-dune surface. 2106 Nash Point 51.4 -3.55 01/02/1987 CCW Nash Point is important for coastal geomorphology. It demonstrates an assemblage of shore platforms and near-vertical cliffs that have developed within both a macrotidal environment and a high wave energy environment. The micro-relief of the platforms is largely controlled by the relative strengths of the limestones and argillaceous beds across which they are cut. However, variations in cliff form do not always accord with variations in rock type, nor coastal planform with terrestrial landforms.

92 GCR No. GCR Name Lat. Long. GCR Date Agency GCR Statement 2108 Benacre Ness 52.39 1.73 31/10/1986 NE Benacre Ness is an important example of a ness formed in shingle and associated with rapid coastal retreat both in part of the beach and in nearby cliffs. The site comprises three landform units: 1) cliffs cut mainly in till and with a fringing beach of sand and shingle; 2) a beach ridge fronting Benacre Broad and The Denes; 3) Benacre Ness itself, formed of sand and shingle ridges. The ness form has moved northwards although the evidence from longshore sediment transport is that material moves southwards. Therefore, as well as being a classic landform, Benacre Ness is of considerable importance for studies of coastal form-process dynamics. 2109 Goldencap - Lyme 50.73 -2.88 01/10/1986 NE The assemblage of cliffs and adjacent beaches at Golden Cap- Lyme Regis is important on several accounts. Regis Firstly, the cliff changes are well-documented, especially the landslides at Black Ven. Secondly, there are excellent examples of beach ramparts formed by the boulder content of the landslides. Thirdly, the beaches are fed in part by chert and flint from the cliffs so that it is possible to monitor effectively landslides, cliff erosion and beach sediment budgets. Fourthly, some components of the beaches are thought to be relict elements of a larger Lyme Bay beach which may have linked with the western end of Chesil Beach. Golden Cap-Lyme Regis is important not only for classic landforms, but also for the processes that link cliffs and beaches. 2110 Westward Ho! 51.06 -4.23 01/05/1987 NE Westward Ho! Cobble Ridge is a classic coastal feature noted in particular for the large size of the sediments Cobble Ridge present. Few spits in Britain are formed of large cobbles at the back of an extensive sandy intertidal zone. Some of the cobble material derives from sources to the south, and sand, gravel and cobbles have moved to the distal end of the spit forming a spatulate feature in the Taw-Torridge Estuary. 2111 Spurn Head 53.59 0.15 13/02/1987 NE Spurn Head is an outstanding example of a dynamic spit system, very unusual if not unique in Europe, in that the massive supply of sediment supplied by erosion of the Holderness coast has enabled it to extend across the mouth of a macrotidal estuary. There exists a quite exceptionally long historical map record and written accounts extending back to the 7th century A.D. This record indicates that the spit continuously shifts its location in response to the ongoing erosion of the Holderness coast. 2112 Pwll Du 51.56 -4.06 01/10/1986 CCW Pwll-du contains a wide variety of coastal forms within a very small area - shore platforms, slope-over-wall cliffs, other cliff forms and sand and shingle beaches. In addition to this important assemblage of features, the site includes a series of small shingle and sand ridges on the west side of Pwll-du Bay that have diverted a small stream to the east. There are few sites where beach ridges have not been modified by dune development and remain so clearly visible, but at Pwll-du the limited supply of sand to the beach has restricted dune growth. The small scale of the site makes it especially valuable for studies of the relationships between the shingle ridges and the associated sedimentation which has both preceded and followed the growth of each beach ridge. Furthermore, it is sufficiently sheltered that there is very little variation in wave direction, and so longshore sediment transport is minimised. 2185 Isles of Scilly 49.97 -6.31 01/11/1986 NE This site includes an excellent suite of tied islands, exemplifying very well many of the stages of tied island development. The islands of Great and Little Ganinick represent an early stage in the process with a beach ridge extending from Little Ganinick towards Great Ganinick. On Great Arthur, the processes of beach development have linked two former islands and a third is gradually being joined to them. On Tean, three small islands show various stages of the linking process and there is also evidence of older beaches joining these islands and other together. There are no other sites in England and Wales where these forms are common, let alone as well-developed. The site is therefore of considerable significance for studies in coastal geomorphology, both of classic landforms and of coastal process- response systems. 2301 Dunbar 56.01 -2.53 01/02/1987 SNH Dunbar is an important site for geomorphology providing an excellent range of rock coast features in a relatively small area. It is noted particularly for a series of shore platforms across which the juxtaposition of different rock types produces numerous small-scale variations in platform morphology. The cliffs also display interesting variations in plan and profile form related to geological controls. Raised beaches and small-scale weathering, solution and abrasional features provide a further wealth of scientific interest. 2302 Tarbat Ness 57.87 -3.77 03/04/1987 SNH Tarbat Ness is important for rock coast geomorphology providing some of the best examples in Scotland of differential erosion processes on tilted sandstone strata. The Old Red Sandstone contains a variety of sandstone, conglomerate, gritstone and shale beds with variable strike and dip directions. Four sets of processes are dominant - cliff undercutting, rock abrasion by mechanical attrition, chemical and biological weathering. These have produced excellent examples of serrated rock platforms cut across different strata, with

93 GCR No. GCR Name Lat. Long. GCR Date Agency GCR Statement important contrasts in detailed morphology between the higher energy south-east coast and the lower energy north-west coast. The shoreline also contains some of the best examples of pitting, saltspray and honeycomb weathering, karst-type features and possibly tidally zoned processes in Scotland. 2304 West Coast of 59.05 -3.34 15/12/1988 SNH This site is important for coastal geomorphology, providing the best examples of the distinctive sandstone and Orkney flagstone cliffs and associated features of Orkney. The coast is exposed to high-energy Atlantic swell waves and experiences some of the highest levels of incident storm wave energy in Britain. Under these conditions an excellent range of rock coast features has developed, including various types of cliff form, caves, arches, geos, stacks, shore platforms and cliff-top spray scouring. 2325 Bullers of Buchan 57.43 -1.82 01/04/1987 SNH Bullers of Buchan is an important site for rock coast geomorphology, demonstrating an impressive range of forms developed in a relatively uniform, massive granite. Rectilinear joining patterns in the granite, together with dykes, provide basic controls on the coastal forms. Several distinctive landforms occur within a relatively small area - a variety of geos, complex inlets, caves, arches, stacks, skerries and linear reefs - and a range of cliff types is present. 2519 Foula 60.09 -2.07 01/05/1988 SNH Foula is important for rock coast geomorphology. The coastline is developed almost entirely in cliffs which comprise mainly Devonian sandstone with a small section of igneous and metamorphic rocks in the north-east. The entire coastline is exposed to extremes of wind and wave energy and as it shelves steeply, the base of the cliffs is exposed to powerful Atlantic swell waves. The forms of the cliffs, which in height are second only to those of St Kilda, demonstrate clear relationship to joint control, surface topography, the effects of bedding dips in the sandstone. Caves, geos, stacks and arches are all well-developed and locally, glacial deposits diversify the interest together with a related boulder beach. 2571 St Kilda 57.82 -8.57 01/06/1988 SNH The St Kilda Archipelago is important for rock coast geomorphology through its unique location in relation to Archipelago sub-marine topography and available energy, its relatively uniform geology, the variations in coastal aspect, and in the case of Hirta, the deeply embayed coastline. The islands have a coastline developed almost entirely of cliffs. These are of particular interest for submergent, high- energy, exposed forms rising to considerable heights in an area which has been relatively little affected by isostatic depression or icesheet glaciation. The entire coastline is subject to great extremes of wave and wind energy with only the frequency varying between coasts of different aspect. To the south-west of Soay, Hirta and Dun, the sea-bed slopes rapidly down, allowing high-energy Atlantic swell waves unimpeded access to exposed coastlines. At several locations the coastline at sea-level displays a range of stacks, caves, arches and blowholes. Overall, the combination of marine and sub- aerial erosional processes and mass movement processes provides an excellent diversity of landforms in close proximity. 2589 St Abb's Head 55.91 -2.16 07/12/1988 SNH St Abb's Head provides a good example of rock coast geomorphology on the east coast of Scotland developed in a North Sea wave energy environment. The form of the coastline and cliffs demonstrates close relationships both to rock structural controls and the form of the adjacent topography inland. Important contrasts in coastal detail are also provided between the Lower Old Red Sandstone felsite of the headland and the greywacke and shaley siltstones of Silurian age to the north-west. 2590 Papa Stour 60.35 -1.7 13/07/1988 SNH Papa Stour is important for rock coast geomorphology. The coast comprises Middle Old Red Sandstone igneous rocks, mainly rhyolites and ignimbrites. It is particularly noted for its varied assemblage of landforms including cliffs, caves, geos, stacks, blowholes, storm beaches and wave-stripped bedrock. It demonstrates a variety of cliff types and some of the best sub-terranean caves in Britain. Papa Stour is also significant for studying the effects of differential exposure between the relatively sheltered north coast, the very exposed north-west coast and the moderately exposed south-west coast. In total, the assemblage of rock coast landforms on Papa Stour is one of the best of its kind in Britain.

2604 Braunton Burrows 51.09 -4.23 05/07/1988 NE Braunton Burrows is a key site for coastal geomorphology. It is one of the three largest sand dune systems on the west coast of Britain and the one least affected by underlying geology and afforestation. It is also important for its diversity of form and has the largest available relief of any west coast dune system. In the central part of the Burrows where the highest dunes occur (up to 30m OD) there are three main parallel ridges separated by

94 GCR No. GCR Name Lat. Long. GCR Date Agency GCR Statement slacks and fronted by a line of foredunes. To the north and south the structure of the dunes is influenced by Saunton Down and the Taw-Torridge estuary, respectively, while to the west there is an extensive area of low dunes and slacks. The legacy of major blowouts is also apparent. There is good documentation of post-war changes in dune form, and cartographic records extend back to the beginning of the 19th century. 2737 Dengie 51.69 0.96 05/12/1988 NE The Dengie peninsula is fronted by an extensive area of saltmarsh which is narrow at its northern and southern extremes and up to 600m wide at Bridgewick. On the landward side the marsh is bounded by a 19th century sea wall, the latest in a series of reclamations which started in the 16th century. The saltmarsh morphology at Dengie is particularly interesting. The marsh surface stands mainly at 2.5m OD and is essentially planar with, unusually, no differentiation into upper and lower marsh. The marsh is dissected by numerous creeks and saltpan systems. Dengie also possesses many sub- surface pipes, a feature which has only been reported and examined at the saltmarshes in Nigg Bay, Scotland. Saltmarsh erosion is dominant along the Dengie Peninsula, and the outer edge of the marsh is eroded into a zone of mud mounds. The seaward rim of the marsh surface is intermittently overridden by transgressive shell ridges. The saltmarshes are an important area for an examination of saltmarsh sedimentation and erosion and the linkage between sediment transport and tidal dynamics from extensive intertidal mudflats. 2771 Dungeness 50.92 0.92 25/11/1988 NE Dungeness is a site of international importance for coastal geomorphology, both as the largest shingle, cuspate foreland in Britain and as an integral part of a system of barrier beaches extending 40km from Fairlight to Hythe. These beaches reflect some 5,000 years of coastal development and provide an exceptional record of Holocene coastal changes and progradational features. The major phases in the evolution of the area are represented in a series of morphological and sedimentary zones, each providing distinctive and critical evidence. The important features are the exposed shingle ridges, the large number of buried ridges and the associated sediments, including fringing marsh and peat deposits. The sediments and their relationships to the shingle ridges are of prime research significance and may hold the key to elaborating and dating the detailed pattern of shoreline and environmental changes. 2772 Rye Harbour 50.93 0.75 05/12/1988 NE Rye Harbour forms part of the internationally important shingle beach system extending from Winchelsea to Dungeness. These beaches reflect some 5,000 years of coastal development and provide an exceptional record of Holocene coastal changes. The major phases in the evolution of the beach system are represented in a series of morphological and sedimentary zones each providing distinctive and critical evidence. At Rye Harbour the shingle ridges mostly post- date the 16th century. Together with the fringing marsh deposits they contribute significantly to the interpretation of the detailed pattern of shoreline and environmental changes associated with the development of the Dungeness coastal foreland. 2888 Upper Solway 54.9 -3.34 22/06/1990 NE The Upper Solway saltmarshes are classic estuarine marshes, which exhibit outstanding geomorphological features. Creek systems in various stages of development are found on the saltmarshes and exhibit a widely spaced dendritic system on Burgh, Rockcliffe. Saltpans are found on the marshes and take several forms. The saltmarsh erosion edge is well-developed on the Upper Solway marshes and the saltmarshes also exhibit the finest examples in the British Isles of marsh terraces believed to be formed by the processes of creek migration and isostatic uplift. 2889 St Osyth Marsh, 51.79 1.03 17/05/1989 NE St Osyth Marsh is an important site for saltmarsh morphology, and is one of a few marsh areas in Britain to Colne Point have been dated, the maximum age being 4,280ñ45yrs BP, by analysis of a peat seam preserved in grey-black clay at the site. The assemblage of features - creeks, pans and saltmarsh cliff are all present at St Osyth, and reflect the maturity of the marsh system. The saltpans have been intensively researched by geomorphologists, and provide much information relating to the formation and development of this unique coastal landform. One of the main interests in the Colne Point structure is the process of breaching and secondary spit genesis brought about by landwards over-roll across the marsh surface. This process is well-displayed in the upper levels of the system. 2890 Keyhaven Marsh, 50.72 -1.56 23/03/1989 NE The Keyhaven saltmarshes are important for the range of geomorphological features they display, particularly Hurst Castle the intricate pattern of saltmarsh creeks. The site is an important research area for an examination of the relationship between creek dynamics, tidal processes and sedimentation. The saltmarshes form an integral part of the Hurst Castle Spit system, a classic site for an understanding of coastal geomorphology.

95 GCR No. GCR Name Lat. Long. GCR Date Agency GCR Statement 2961 Loch Gruinart, Islay 55.82 -6.33 12/03/1990 SNH The saltmarshes within Loch Gruinart demonstrate particularly well the geomorphological attributes, loch-head and fringing saltmarsh type (a type confined to Scotland and Scandinavia). Developing in response to constricted tidal dynamics, the marshes display distinct, zoned drainage patterns. Saltpans are largely confined to the upper marsh; the creeks are linear and narrow. The saltmarhes not only form an integral part of the assemblage of coastal landforms on Islay, but are nationally important for studies of saltmarsh geomorphology. 2962 Culbin 57.64 -3.69 16/11/1989 SNH The assemblage of coastal landforms along the western south shore of the Moray Firth is comparable to the barrier beach landform system of the North Norfolk coast. The saltmarshes which have developed behind the bar at Culbin represent the most recent features in the sequence of landform development. The area is therefore important for studying the evolution and development of saltmarshes in a national context. The marshes at Culbin are also distinctive in demonstrating a well-developed network of saltpans, but unusually few creeks. 2983 Cree 54.86 -4.39 15/02/1990 SNH The marshes of the Cree Estuary demonstrate particularly well the geomorphological features of the estuarine- type of saltmarsh. The creek system is dendritic, and saltpans are distributed over all marsh levels. The saltmarsh has developed recently, and independently of the Solway Firth complex. 2990 Solway Firth (North 54.99 -3.56 12/07/1990 SNH The saltmarsh morphology and evolutionary development of the Solway marshes have been extensively Shore) researched. The marshes are important geomorphologically for the development of creeks, saltpans and distinct terraces on the saltmarsh surface which may be a response to isostatic uplift and changing sea-levels. Old creek patterns can be traced on the raised beaches along the Solway Firth; this gives evidence for the existence of extensive saltmarshes in the estuary in the past. Nationally, the Solway marshes are a key site for the study of saltmarsh morphology and evolution. 3213 Porlock Gravel 51.22 -3.64 02/12/2002 NE The site comprises a shingle ridge and associated saltmarsh hinterland,extending for a distance of Barrier approximately 5 km along the wst Somerset coast, immediately north of Porlock village. Porlock shingle ridge was dormed as sea level rose duriNg the middle part of the Holocene Epoch, from shingle eroded from head deposits that masked the sea cliffs to the west after the last glacial period. This major source of coarse sediment has long since disappeared, leaving only a relatively small input of sediment from occasional cliff falls. The inputs of sediment to the beach ridge from this modern source are too small to sustain the earlier beach profile and the increase in the length of the ridge as it continues to roll back, in a lengthening curve, into Porlock Bay. This means that the ridge had been growing steadily thinner ever since it was formed. The modern ridge was therefore unable to withstand extreme storm events and a breach opened up during the storm of October 1996 that flooded the low-lying marsh hinterland. Rapid evolution of the ridge followng the breach is providing a unique opportunity to study the development of a coarse sediment barrier system in an open coast location. 3259 Balnakeil 58.58 -4.80 19/08/2004 SNH

96 Appendix VI. GIS Feature Attribute Table Description

Attribute Table Full Heading Explanation Field Format (Abbreviated) Heading (inc. field length) Geometry Type of GIS file. May be Shape (Geometry) either polygon, polyline or point Geomorphological/Geological Category Text (50) process unit ‗sub-group‘ Feat Name Feature Name (If applicable) Text (50) Source reference for mapped feature. Source Full bibliographic details are given in Text (50) Appendix II Figure reference/page number of georeferenced source image. Secondary information sources (e.g. Source Inf Source Information UKHO Admiralty Charts/ digital Text (254) bathymetric data) employed during the mapping process are also listed here. Is the feature ‗active‘ under the current prevailing environmental Act_Rel Active or Relict? Text (50) conditions? (Required for ‗Regenerativeability‘ assessment) A brief comment may be made in those instances where a mapped Feat Com Feature Comment Text (254) feature is rare or perhaps has a contested/unknown origin Mapped features may be ‗incomplete‘ if the georeferenced image does not Complete Text (50) capture the full geographical extent of the feature. When a mapped feature is incomplete, a comment regarding the Ext Com Extent Comment ‗missing‘ component is made here Text (50) (e.g. ‗Feature extends further to north‘ etc) Scale of the georeferenced image used to map feature. NB This should be considered as a conservative estimate since many of the digitised Scale Text (50) features have had their positions cross-checked against UKHO Admiralty Charts and/or digital bathymetry. Following recommendations made in the Irish Sea Pilot, a system of ‗Regional Seas‘ has been identified and these form the basis for Proj Area Project Area environmental management action, Text (50) including marine strategic and spatial planning. Information regarding the location of each feature with regards to these Regional Seas is given here.

97 Appendix VII. Users Guide for the Conservation Assessment Excel Spreadsheet

The Excel spreadsheet is comprised of 31 worksheets. Twenty-eight of these worksheets contain details of the c.7000 mapped geomorphological and geological features with a separate worksheet given to each process unit sub-category (1a – 5f).

1. Feature Importance Assessment

The scores given for feature ‗Exceptionality‘ (column L), ‗Rarity‘ (Column N), and ‗Proportional Importance‘ (Column P) are presented in each of the process unit sub- category worksheets and a total score for each mapped feature is presented in Column CF.

2. Feature Vulnerability Assessment

Distances between the mapped features and activities/installations in the marine environment have been calculated in ArcGIS. The distances have subsequently been categorised as either ‗high‘, ‗medium‘, ‗low‘ or ‗non‘ according to the table presented in the ‗EXPOSURE ZONES‘ worksheet. These exposure ratings have then been manually added into each of the process unit sub-category worksheets.

Details of the susceptibility ratings assigned for each process unit sub-category to each of the eight identified activities/installations are presented in the ‗SUSCEPTABILITY‘ worksheet.

The ‗Regenerative Ability‘ of each feature has been defined as either ‗high‘, ‗medium‘, ‗low‘ or ‗none‘ on a feature-by-feature basis and this rating is presented in Column R of the process unit sub-category worksheets.

The feature vulnerability assessment has then been undertaken through the use of a macro code which combines scores for exposure, susceptibility and regenerative ability to ultimately derive a score for vulnerability. This script refers to the ‗sensitivity‘ and ‗vulnerability‘ tables presented in the ‗LOOK-UP TABLES‘ worksheet and can be run via a ‗click‘ button in this worksheet. Vulnerability scores are presented in Columns BP to CE in each of the process unit sub-category worksheets.

3. Confidence Assessment

Feature Importance: numerical confidence assessments have been given for each of the ‗exceptionality‘, ‗rarity‘ and ‘proportional importance‘ scores and these are provided in columns M, O and Q. These have been summed (and weighted) and final percentage scores given in Column CG.

Feature Vulnerability: Confidence scores have been given to both the feature exposure and susceptibility ratings and these can be found in the ‗EXPOSURE ZONES‘ and ‗SUSCEPTABILITY‘ worksheets. Confidence scores for the ‗regenerative ability‘ ratings have been manually assigned on a feature-by-feature basis and are presented in Column S in each of the process unit sub-category worksheets. These confidence scores have then been automatically combined through the use of a macro code which makes reference to the ‗sensitivity confidence‘ and ‗vulnerability confidence‘ tables in the ‗LOOK-UP TABLES‘ worksheet. Vulnerability confidence scores are presented in Columns BP to CE in each of the process unit sub-category worksheets.

99 Appendix VIII. Susceptibility of Identified Feature Classes to Marine Activities and Infrastructure

Fishing (Dredge Aggregate Hydrocarbons Renewable Cables and Navigational Dredge Waste Military Activity and Trawling) Extraction (Oil and Gas Energy Pipelines Dredging Disposal

Installations) Installations

nfidence

Sensitivity Confidence Sensitivity Confidence Sensitivity Confidence Sensitivity Confidence Sensitivity Co Sensitivity Confidence Sensitivity Confidence Sensitivity Confidence 1 (a) Erosional Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low Low Glacigenic Features 1 (b) Depositional Medium Medium Medium Medium Low High Medium Medium Medium High Medium High Low High Low Low Glacigenic Features 1 (c) Erosional Low High Low High None High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low Low Fluvio Glacial Features 1 (d) Depositional Medium High High High Medium High Medium High Medium High High High Low High Low Low Fluvio Glacial Features 1 (e) Periglacial Medium High High Medium Medium High Medium High Medium High Medium High Low High Low Low Features

2 (a) Medium Medium High High Low High Medium Medium Low Medium High High Low Medium Medium Low Tidal Bank

2 (b) Transverse Medium Medium High High Low High Medium Medium Low Medium High High Low Medium Medium Low Bedform Features 2 (c) Longitudinal Medium Medium High High Low High Medium Medium Low Medium High High Low Medium Medium Low Bedform Features 2 (d) Bedform Field Medium Medium High High Medium High Medium Medium Low Medium High High Low Medium Medium Low (Other)

100 Fishing (Dredge Aggregate Hydrocarbons Renewable Cables and Navigational Dredge Waste Military Activity and Trawling) Extraction (Oil and Gas Energy Pipelines Dredging Disposal

Installations) Installations

nfidence

3 (a) Low High High High Low High Low High Low Medium High High Low High Low Low Slide Deposit

3 (b) Low Medium Medium Medium Low High Low Medium Low Medium Medium High Medium High Low Low Slide Scar

3 (c) None High Low High None High Low High None High Low High Low High Low Low Roll-over Fold

3 (d) Turbidity Flow Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High None Low Features

4 (a) Palaeo- Low Medium Medium Medium Low Medium Low Medium None High Medium High Low High Low Low channel

4 (b) Submerged High High High High High High High Medium High High High High Medium High Medium Low Forest

4 (c) Submerged Low Medium High High Low High Low Medium Low High High High Low High Low Low River Terrace

101 Fishing (Dredge Aggregate Hydrocarbons Renewable Cables and Navigational Dredge Waste Military Activity and Trawling) Extraction (Oil and Gas Energy Pipelines Dredging Disposal

Installations) Installations

nfidence

Sensitivity Confidence Sensitivity Confidence Sensitivity Confidence Sensitivity Confidence Sensitivity Co Sensitivity Confidence Sensitivity Confidence Sensitivity Confidence

4 (d) Buried Dune None High Low High Low High Low High None High Low High None High None Low Field

4 (e) Submerged None High None High None High None High None High None High None High None Low Cliffline

4 (f) None High None High None High Low High None High None High Low High Low Low Palaeo Lagoon

5 (a) Topographic Low High Medium High Low High Low High Low High Medium High Low High Low Low features

5 (b) Rock Low High High High Low High Low High Low High High High Low High Low Low Structures

5 (c) High High High High High Medium High High High Medium High High Medium High Low Low Bioherms

5 (d) Seeping Gas High High High High High Medium Medium High Medium Medium High High Low High Low Low Structures

5 (e) Low High Low Medium Low High Low High Low Low Low High Low High Low Low Mud Diapirs

5 (f) None High Low High Low High Low High None High Low High Low High Low Low Sediment Drift

102 Appendix IX. Assessment: Zones of Influence Around Identified Features

Exposure Score High Medium Low None

Zone of Influence (Km) <0.1 <0.5 <1 >1 Fishing (Dredge and Trawling) Confidence Low

Zone of Influence (Km) <0.5 <2 <10 >10 Aggregate Extraction Confidence Medium

Zone of Influence (Km) <0.1 <0.5 <1 >1 Hydrocarbons (Oil and Gas Installations) Confidence High

Zone of Influence (Km) <1 <2 <5 >5 Renewable Energy Installations (R1, R2 and R3 wind farms) Confidence Medium

Zone of Influence (Km) <0.1 <0.5 1 >1 Cables and Pipelines Confidence High

Zone of Influence (Km) <0.5 <2 <10 >10 Navigational Dredging Confidence Medium

Zone of Influence (Km) <0.5 <1 <2 >2 Dredge Waste Disposal Confidence High

Zone of Influence (Km) <0.1 <0.5 1 >1 Military Activity Confidence Low

103