Berwickshire and North Northumberland European Marine Site Survey of the Intertidal Sand and Mud Flats Characterisation of the Large Shallow Inlets and Bays, Envision Mapping Ltd. Jan 2011
Four sites on the Berwickshire and North Northumberland European Marine Site were surveyed in order to assess the condition of intertidal sand and mud flats and establish a baseline for characterisation and future monitoring of the large shallow inlets and bays feature of the site. These sites are: Fenham Flats; Budle Bay; Beadnell Bay; and Embleton Bay.
dataset
unknown
eng
urn:ogc:def:crs:EPSG::4326
The site, biotope and species data from the survey have been entered into Marine Recorder. The SurveyName is "Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast EMS Survey of the Intertidal sand and mud flats" and the SurveyKey is "MRNE0112". Each transect site has been entered as a separate Location and the 2010 survey at each site as a separate SurveyEvent.
environment
revision
2008-01-06
creation
2003-01-01
revision
2009-11-16
-2.0499
-1.5116
55.7812
55.5333
2011-01-01
2011-01-01
publication
2011-01-01
creation
2011-01-01
revision
2011-01-01
continual
Heights on the shore were measured relative to low tide wherever possible and the heights were adjusted to Chart Datum using the Admiralty tide data for the nearest port, Amble and Berwick, using Belfield Ltd. Tide Plotter software. Transects were surveyed on (a) rocky shores and on (b) soft sediment shores (sandy open shores and mud flats). The following survey methods were employed: Rocky Shores- A 100m tape was laid out so that it was loosely draped over the rocks, held down where necessary using small strips of lead flashing bent around the tape, key waypoints were marked with a dGPS and photographs taken to aid future relocation. The composition of the biotopes present within the previously delineated boundaries were then recorded.The abundance of algae and sessile animals attached to the open rock were recorded using an estimate of percentage cover within the 3m wide band within the main body of the biotope. Sandy Shores-It was considered, given the lack of distinguishing features on the sandy shores as compared to the rocky shores, that the accuracy of the dGPS was sufficient for measuring distances on the transects of the soft sediment habitats. A Leica Jogger 24 Optical Level (of a type often referred to as a 'Dumpy Level') was used for profiling in place of a level and cross-staff to give increased accuracy. Three 50cm quadrats were laid at random close to the profile reading positions and photographed. Counts of key conspicuous species were also made.There was provision for some PSA within the scope of the project and a number of samples were taken on each transect.There was also some provision for collecting infauna with 10 samples allocated to Budle Bay and 10 to Fenham Flats. All transects in these areas had at least 2 infaunal samples collected. The subtidal areas were surveyed using a small drop-down video system with a digital tape top-side recording unit. The system was deployed from small, shallow draft boats in order to navigate over shallow rocks close inshore. The positions of waypoints were recorded using a handheld dGPS unit and the vessels were also fitted with an echosounder. All GPS positions and waypoints were imported into a MapInfo GIS project. The biotopes within each survey site are available as individual shapefiles (these are the following- Mytilus; Arenicola; Sand; Mobile Sand; Zostera; Zostera noltii; Are/Cerastoderma; Are/Hydrobia; Salt marsh/ Spartina; Are/Enteromorpha). The transect profile data were imported into MS Excel (available at the end of the report) and presented as an annotated chart image. The site, biotope and species data from the surveys were also entered into excel spreadsheets. Video clips were recorded onto CD. If any sensitive species or biotope records are present within this dataset, they will have been removed. If you wish to request access to sensitive species records, please contact the metadata contact. The UK Sensitive Species list has been agreed by UK statutory bodies and relevant experts. It can be viewed here https://docs.nbnatlas.org/sensitive-species-list/. Please note sensitive species lists can vary across the UK.
Please contact Natural England for details on data access and usage
Please contact Natural England for details on data access
Data Manager
Natural England
Foss House, Kings Pool, 1-2 Peasholme Green
York
YO1 7PX
+44 (0)300 060 3900
+44 (0)300 060 2356
enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk
originator
Marine Data Manager
Natural England
Foss House, Kings Pool, 1-2 Peasholme Green
York
YO1 7PX
+44 (0)300 060 3900
+44 (0)300 060 2356
enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk
custodian
Natural England
Foss House, Kings Pool, 1-2 Peasholme Green
York
YO1 7PX
+44 (0)300 060 3900
+44 (0)300 060 2356
enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk
pointOfContact
2021-05-10