A hydrographic framework for marine conservation in Scotland

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Section B. Biological Sciences
• Main Author: McManus, John
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1992
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0269727000011040; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0269727000011040

Synopsis Organisms and sea floor sediments respond to a number of physical and physico-chemical factors, the understanding of which permits identification of areas with typical and potentially aberrant habitats and deposits. After a resumé of the bathymetry of Scottish water tides, tidal current and residual currents stemming from the circulation in the North Atlantic are examined. The salinity and temperature interrelationships in many areas are summarised in open shelf waters, sea lochs and estuaries. Sea floor sediments commonly reflect reworking of glacial deposits coupled with varying indigenous populations of organisms which contribute skeletal debris to the particulate assemblages characterising the bed.