Marine Directorate Communications

Written 357 posts

Detecting Weekly Changes in our Oceans using Seagliders

28th February 2020

Marine Scotland Scientists have been involved in a series of three ocean glider data set peer-reviewed articles. The latest, titled ‘Weekly variability of hydrography and transport of northwestern inflows into the northern North Sea’ has recently been published in the Journal of Marine Science. Collaborating with researchers from the University of East Anglia, colleagues from…

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New Blue Carbon Resource for Marine Scientists

24th February 2020

Two new science reports have been published today by Marine Scotland Science (MSS) that will be used to improve our understanding and management of Blue Carbon; carbon found stored beneath the sea in sediment, shells and living plants. One is a collaborative project with University of St Andrews ‘Re-Evaluating Scotland’s Sedimentary Carbon Stocks’ and the…

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International Day of Women and Girls in Science

11th February 2020

International Day of Women and Girls in Science is an opportunity for us to put the spotlight on some of the great work that’s going on in Marine Scotland Science. This year’s big day also marks the first since we were awarded the Bronze Award by the Athena SWAN Charter as part of our work…

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Assessing Plankton in the UK

3rd February 2020

Two scientists from Marine Scotland Science (MSS), Dr Eileen Bresnan and Dr Margarita Machairopoulou, have been involved in the first ever assessment of the status of the plankton community in UK waters. Led by the University of Plymouth, scientists from all around the UK joined together to share their datasets and knowledge to fill in…

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Recent Decrease in Ocean Salinity in the North Atlantic Waters off Scotland

31st January 2020

Research published in Nature Communications this week has investigated the recent, large reduction in salinity measurements in the North Atlantic Ocean. Evidence of this surface salinity change includes the time series collected by Marine Scotland Science in the Faroe-Shetland Channel. Scientists observed the freshening event over a large region of the North Atlantic, extending from…

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Marine Scotland Science Discover New Coral Species on Rockall

9th January 2020

  Scientists from Marine Scotland Science (MSS) have discovered a new species of coral on Rockall Bank in the North East Atlantic. The discovery is of an animal known as a sea pen, which as it lacks a hard outer skeleton is often described as a soft coral. The species is described fully in a…

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Deep Sea Communities Explored at Rosemary Bank

19th December 2019

A team of scientists, with the lead author from Marine Scotland Science (MSS), have had a paper published in the Deep Sea Research Part I journal describing the deep sea communities of the Rosemary Bank Seamount Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the North East Atlantic. The paper provides essential baseline information on the composition of…

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Scotia gear trials survey – development of new international bottom trawl

9th December 2019

A team of scientists and gear technologists from Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands are undertaking trials aboard MRV Scotia to develop a replacement demersal survey trawl for internationally coordinated (ICES) bottom trawl surveys. The new trawl is being developed to replace the existing gear (GOV trawl) which has been used for the International Bottom Trawl…

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Marine Scotland Science Shortlisted in Nature of Scotland Awards

2nd December 2019

We are proud to announce that Marine Scotland Science (MSS) has been shortlisted for two out of the nine awards categories for the Nature of Scotland Awards. Hosted by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and co-sponsored by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), the Nature of Scotland Awards celebrate and recognise the best…

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Sampling with Sir John

12th November 2019

MRV Sir John Murray Programme Survey: 0119SJM Duration: 11-19 November 2019 Sampling Gear: 2 m beam trawl with 50 mm cod-end – Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) Demersal trawl with 50 mm cod-end – SEPA Day grab and table – SEPA Catamaran and neuston net – Marine Scotland Science (MSS) Nisken water bottle – MSS…

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