Marine Directorate Communications
Written 357 posts
The Lives and Afterlives of Plastic: A nearly Carbon-Neutral Conference
26th July 2017
Over the last month New Zealand’s Massey University Political Ecology Research Centre (PERC) has been hosting a conference to address social and environmental issues surrounding: toxicity, waste and plastic. The only difference being that this conference was a nearly carbon-neutral conference being held entirely online. While traditional conferences involve academics flying from all over the…
STEM Students becoming Careerwise
19th July 2017
Always keen to invest in new talent, and promote women in science, Marine Scotland has taken on two students for two twelve-week placements under Equate Scotland’s Careerwise scheme. Careerwise is a partnership between industry and academia to: encourage the participation of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) areas; increase awareness of STEM occupations…
Scallop Dredging and Octopus Spotting
14th July 2017
Last month our Ships Co-ordinator joined the Alba na Mara for a day to observe colleagues during the East Coast Scallop Dredging Survey 0917A. The aim of this visit was to get a better understanding of the scallop dredging process, the equipment and techniques used, and the challenges associated with this sampling method. The feedback…
SCObs Weekly Sampling to Expand at St Abbs
7th April 2017
The Scottish Coastal Observatory (SCObs) monitors the temperature, salinity, nutrients and plankton community at a number of sites around the Scottish coast. The efforts of Marine Scotland scientists are supported by a network of local citizen-scientists who deploy small temperature sensors and collect water samples for analysis. Many of the SCObs sites have been collecting…
MRV Alba na Mara Survey 0517A Programme
6th April 2017
Duration: 06 – 26 April 2017 Fishing Gear: Scallop Dredges Objectives: To carry out a survey of scallop stocks on the West Coast. To age, measure and assess shell damage on all scallops caught. To Identify and sample additional areas of commercial interest to the scallop fishery. To collect information on by-catch of other commercial…
MRV Alba na Mara Survey 0417A Programme
24th March 2017
Duration: 25 March – 03 April 2017 Gear: Surface and subsurface PAM moorings Objective: To deploy a series of moorings comprising dhan buoys (9 surface marked moorings) and acoustic release systems (21 subsurface moorings) with attached acoustic recording devices (30 C-POD and 10 SM2M) as part of the east coast marine mammal monitoring programme (see…
Keeping the Beaches Clean in Aberdeen
17th March 2017
In the next few days some colleagues will be donning their gloves, picking up their biodegradable bags and heading out around the beaches of Aberdeen in an effort to rid the shores of unsightly litter. The first event is organised by the Marine Conservation Society at Nigg Bay, further details are shown below. Then on…
How would you like to be a Scientist-in-Charge?
8th March 2017
I work as a physical oceanographer for Marine Scotland Science and every December I am also the Scientist-in-Charge (SiC) of the MRV Scotia’s research cruise. Before taking over the December cruise I work-shadowed a colleague who taught me the ins-and-outs of Scotia and this type of cruise. Funnily enough not many people are keen on…
Ask a Scientist
31st January 2017
Always keen to make science accessible for everyone, our colleague Dr Francis Neat recently contributed to a series of children’s books on ocean ecology. Dr Neat was approached only last week to answer some questions, posed by children through a school project, in the “Ask a Scientist” section. As a specialist in the habitat and…
Out of Doors with the Dolphins and Porpoises
19th January 2017
Last week, our Marine Mammals Specialist, Dr Kate Brookes was interviewed by Euan McIlwraith from the Out of Doors programme on Radio Scotland about the ECOMMAS project. They had been intrigued after seeing our blog post about one of the acoustic loggers from the ECOMMAS array being found on a beach near Aberdeen harbour. Euan…