1. UKSeaMap The mapping of seabed and water column features of UK seas
David Connor
MESH UK stakeholders workshop
London, 19 October 2006

2. Outline Origins of UKSeaMap Data and methods used Outcomes
Applications
Focus on seabed mapping

3. Origins of the project Roff and Taylor (2000)
Review of Marine Nature Conservation
Irish Sea Pilot
UKSeaMap began November 2004
Completed 2006

4. Funding partners & project team
JNCC project team:
David Connor
Neil Golding
Kirsteen McKenzie
Paul Robinson
Dylan Todd
Emma Verling
A contribution to:

5. UKSeaMap - aims
To provide broadscale maps of all UK seas via modelling
To use existing physical and hydrographic data
To produce maps of ecological relevance for regional and national management and planning

6. Doesn’t MESH have it all mapped?

7. General approach Collate data sets Process & categorise data
Classification analysis
Generate draft maps
Validate & characterise maps
Assess confidence
General approach
Produce final maps

8. Seabed features Topographic features Modelled seabed types Coastal
The elements of the marine landscape map
Seabed features
Topographic
features
Modelled
seabed
types
Coastal
physiographic
features

9. Data types Used: Also considered: Slope Substratum Light penetration
Depth
Bottom temperature
Wave-base
Near-bed stress
Also considered:
Tidal range
Oxygen
Nutrients pH
Salinity
Wave exposure

11. Extract from topographic feature rules table
Slope
Substrata
Bathymetric Zone
Subtidal sediment bank
>2%
Sediment (typically coarse)
Shelf feature -raised
Shelf mound and pinnacle
Variable (rock and/or sediment)
Shelf feature - raised
Continental shelf
Variable
Shelf break to continental rise
Canyon
>8%
Variable (includes rock)
Continental slope feature
Deep ocean rise
Rock with sediment veneer
Deep water feature - raised

12. Iceberg plough-mark zone Subtidal sediment bank
Deep ocean rise
Shelf trough
Canyon
Subtidal sediment bank

13. Identification of coastal features
Type
Character
Salinity regime
Open/ enclosed
Bay
Sheltered from along-shore winds
Marine
Open
Sound
Channel, open at both ends
Barrier beach
Long-shore drift, sheltered
Embayment
Sheltered from on-shore winds
Enclosed
Sealoch
Glacially-derived
Marine, some variable
Ria
Drowned river valley
Estuary
River mouth
Variable
Lagoon
Isolated from open sea
Reduced

14. Coastal features Estuary - Severn Estuary Lagoon - The Fleet
Embayment -
Langstone Harbour
Bay -
Poole Bay

15. Modelling seabed types
Seabed substrata (British Geological Survey)
Light attenuation (Proudman Oceanographic Lab.)
Depth (Gebco & SeaZone)
Wave base (Proudman Oceanographic Lab.)
Bottom temperature (ICES)
Tidal bed-stress (Proudman Oceanographic Lab.)

16. Modelling seabed types
Substratum
Rock
Sand
Mud
Depth Zone
Coarse
Sediment
Mixed
Sediment
Warm
Photic
Deep water
Cold
Aphotic
Shallow
Shelf
Bed Stress
Weak
Moderate
Strong

18. Depth zonation Photic zone Shallow zone Shelf zone Deep water zone
from coastline to photic depth (rocky substrata only)
Shallow zone
from coastline to wave base
Shelf zone
from wave base to shelf break (200m depth)
Deep water zone
>200m depth
Warm water > 4ºC
Cold water <4ºC

21. ºC

22. www.jncc.gov.uk/UKSeaMap www.searchMESH.net
Source Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory

24. 0.02 decimal degrees 0.1 decimal degrees
No. of cells
Coarse – 5,908
Fine – 1,292,276

25. Supervised classification Classification tree example
Sediment:
coarse
Depth:
shallow
Bed stress:
strong
Shallow coarse
sediment plain –
strong bed stress

27. Seabed features Topographic features Coastal physiographic features
The elements of the marine landscape map
Seabed features
Topographic
features
Coastal
physiographic
features
Modelled
seabed
types

31. Seabed classification
Enclosed coast 5
Open coast & continental shelf
Semi-enclosed coastal features 3
Shallow coastal plain features 10
Shelf plain features 8
Coastal & shelf bed-form features 4
Continental slope & deep sea
Topographic & bed-form features 6
Plain features
Total 44

32. Most common Landscape type % of UKCS km2 Shelf sand plain 24.7 215,215
Uncategorised
13.6
118,808
Deep ocean rise
10.1
87,907
Shelf coarse sediment plain
8.8
76,492
Deep-sea warm-water mud plain
6.5
56,327
Shallow sand plain
5.5
48,218
Shelf mud plain
5.1
44,605

33. Least common Landscape type km2 Lagoons 24 Barrier beach 29
Deep water mounds (Darwin Mounds) 52
Sound 91
Ria
104
Shelf mixed sediment plain – strong tide stress
285
Deep-sea cold-water coarse sediment plain
386
Embayment
596
Shallow mixed sediment plain - strong bed stress
952
Shelf mounds or pinnacles
1124

34. Biological validation Predicted relationship to EUNIS
Habitat
types
Landscape types

35. Sample data used 32,000 samples www.jncc.gov.uk/UKSeaMap

37. Biological validation by cell

38. Confidence Assessment
Provide good metadata
Can resolution of the datasets be represented on a map?
Express the amount of ground-truth validation data available
Degree of consistency in habitat type

39. Biological validation by landscape type

40. Seasonal Water Column Salinity Surface to seabed temperature
Shelf
Surface to
seabed temperature
difference
Estuarine
Oceanic
ROFI
Well mixed
Stratified
Frontal
Front Probability
No Front
Front

42. Applications Protection through better informed end users
Strategic planning advice to industry
Essential environmental data for marine spatial planning
Marine protected areas – representative network
Monitoring and surveillance programmes
European Directive implementation – Water Framework Directive & Marine Strategy Directive
Regional seas – confirm boundaries

43. Limitations Coarse grid unsuitable for fine-scale planning
Quality of underlying data
Coarse DEMs
Lack of coastal rock
Poor sample data coverage in offshore & deep-water areas

45. The future? Fill gaps in data coverage Harmonise the data (maps)
Short term – mobilise existing data and modelling
Longer term - new survey
Harmonise the data (maps)
Interoperability
Common classifications
Extend mapping to other countries
Develop applications for mapping
Relationship to human activities
Sensitivity mapping
Spatial planning mechanisms, including MPAs
Strategic planning

46. Conclusions
Successful use of available physical & hydrographic data to produce first ecological map for UK seas
Recognise limitations in data coverage & resolution
Number of applications at regional & national level
Work towards improving data and models to refine map