Tuesday 6 October 1998

Atlantic Seabed Survey Finds Intrigue Scientists

Scientists surveying the sea floor environment of the Atlantic to the north and west of Scotland have discovered a phenomenon not previously recorded in an area 90 miles to the north west of Cape Wrath, it was revealed today (6 October 1998) at the Atlantic Frontier Environmental Conference in Aberdeen.

Data collected in the 1998 Atlantic Margin Environmental Survey on the biology, chemistry and geology of over 18,000sq km of sea floor to the north of Shetland and west of the Western Isles this summer, has revealed an area of some 50 sq km in the northern Rockall Trough characterised by a pattern of mounds, many with associated tails.

Early analysis of side-scan sonar and profile data taken at depths of up to 1,100m show these mounds to be up to 5 m in height and 100 m in diameter.

Sea floor photography shows that the mounds and their tails, which can be between 100 m and 500 m in diameter, appear to be colonised by a variety of marine life, occurring at a higher density than in the surrounding area.

The structural composition of these mounds is yet to be fully understood but species associated with them include fish, clusters of what is thought to be Lophelia Pertusa, sponges and giant protozoans (single-celled creatures measuring up to 10 cm in diameter).

The 1998 survey is part of ongoing research which has surveyed a total of some 32,000 sq km of seafloor in the North Atlantic since 1996. The work is being carried out by scientists at Southampton Oceanography Centre and is managed by the Atlantic Frontier Environmental Network (AFEN*) to provide a regional assessment of the seafloor environment in those deep-water areas now licensed for hydrocarbon exploration in the North Atlantic.

The data collected so far is contributing significantly to the understanding of this little known habitat and is being used to inform the environmental management programmes of the oil companies operating in the area.

Although no evidence of these mounds has been found in previous AFEN studies, which have employed the same survey techniques, separate research in Irish waters this summer and elsewhere in the Atlantic suggests that these features may not be unique to the west of Britain area.

While the results of this years survey are without doubt intriguing, I must stress that they are preliminary, said Olly Whitehead, Chairman of AFEN. Further analysis work must be carried out to establish fully the nature of the mounds geological and biological characteristics and the relationships between them. The information gathered will enable operators to take the appropriate step to protect the environment.

Full findings of the research will be published by the end of the year.

Note to Editors

1. The Atlantic Frontier Environmental Network (AFEN) comprises representatives of oil companies licensed to explore and extract hydrocarbons in the North Atlantic, and regulatory bodies - the Department of Trade and Industry, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and the Scottish Office Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department (SOAEFD). It is funded by oil companies operating in waters west of Britian.

2. Oil companies operating in the Atlantic to the west of Britain are fully committed to the protection of the marine environment. Each stage in the search for oil and gas in the Atlantic Margin is dependent on the outcome of a comprehensive assessment of the impact of such work on marine flora and fauna.

3. Oil companies have routinely incorporated assessments of potential environmental impacts and environmental management programmes in their operations since the early 1980s, initially on an individual basis but with greater collaboration from 1995 onwards.

4. In 1996 the Industry, through AFEN, funded a study which assembled comprehensive data on marine and coastal conditions and wildlife in the Atlantic Margin area. This was a voluntary arrangement, in advance of obligations set out in legislation introduced in April this year requiring companies to undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as part of exploration operations.

5. The Atlantic Margin Environmental Survey (AMES) is just one of several proactive research projects designed to expand knowledge of the marine environment. In 1998 the budget for this work allocated by the Industry through the AFEN mechanism was doubled to £2 million.

See also media briefing 'Exploration and Development Activities on the Atlantic Margin'.

For more information, please call 020 7802 2400.