The IMOS Bio-Acoustic Ship Of Opportunity (BASOOP) sub-facility is part of a major international effort that aims to develop a global ocean Mid-trophic Automatic Acoustic Sampler (MAAS) being proposed as part of the CLimate Impacts on Oceanic TOp Predators (CLIOTOP) program. This SOOP dataset covers the Indian Ocean and waters south and east of Australia and across to New Zealand. BASOOP commenced on the 1st of July 2010 to collect underway acoustic data while vessels are transiting ocean basins. At present, nine vessels are participating in the BASOOP program. Six are commercial fishing vessels that have agreed to record data during transits to and from fishing grounds. The remaining three are scientific research vessels collecting underway acoustic data during transits and science operations. Bio acoustic signals allow understanding how mid-water prey species (known collectively as micronekton) such as small fish, squid, krill and jellyfish are distributed. Micronekton form the core of the ocean food web, transferring energy from primary producers at the ocean surface to top predators such as tunas, billfish, sharks, seals and seabirds. The mass and distribution of micronekton reflects broad-scale patterns in the structure and function of the ocean, as well as the dynamics of marine ecosystems. The mapping complements established observing systems such as physical sampling of ocean currents, surveys of ocean chemistry and biology (plankton and zooplankton), and electronic tagging and tracking of large marine fish and mammals. The combined information greatly enhances the capacity of marine scientists to monitor shifts in food availability over time, assisting in the monitoring and modelling of oceanography, ecosystems, fisheries and climate change, and in understanding the behaviour of top predators. Data Collection: All BASOOP vessels collect 38 kHz acoustic data from either Simrad EK60, ES60 (split beam) or ES70 echosounders. In all cases the 38 kHz echosounders are connected to Simrad ES38B transducers. This is a narrow-beam (7 o) ceramic transducer with good long term stability and manufacturer supplied calibration parameters. Research vessel Southern Surveyor also collects concurrent acoustic data at 12 and 120 kHz. The research vessel Aurora Australis collects concurrent acoustic data at 12, 120 and 200 kHz. The primary data-type recorded from the vessel-mounted echosounder systems is georeferenced calibrated water column volume backscatter, Sv [dB re 1 m-1], (Maclennan et al. 2002) . The raw acoustic data is post processed to (i) identify on-transit data and prioritise processing, (ii) apply calibration offsets, (iii) apply semi-automated filters to identify and reject bad data and (iv) create output stored in netCDF format, mean echointegrated Sv for cells of 1000 m distance and 10 m height. A full metadata record is also stored in each netCDF file. Reference: *Maclennan, D.N., Fernandes, P.G., and Dalen, J. 2002. A consistent approach to definitions and symbols in fisheries acoustics. ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 59(2): 365.

The Marine Hard Substrate dataset maps areas of rock or hard substrate outcropping or within 0.5m of the sea-bed. The interpretation was based on a variety of data sourced from within the British Geological Survey and externally. Data consulted includes archive sample and seismic records, side scan sonar, multibeam bathymetry and Olex datasets. The distribution of hard substrate at the seabed, or within 0.5 m is important in dictating the benthic assemblages found in certain areas. Therefore, an understanding of the distribution of these substrates is of primary importance in marine planning and designation of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) under the Marine and Coastal Access Act, 2009. In addition, a number of other users will value these data, including marine renewable companies, aggregate companies, the fishing and oil and gas industries. In order to address this issue it was necessary to update British Geological Survey sea-bed mapping to delineate areas where rock, boulders or cobbles are present at, or within 0.5m of the sea-bed surface. A polygon shape file showing areas of rock or hard substrate at, or within 0.5m of the sea-bed has been developed. The dataset has been created as vector polygons and are available in a range of GIS formats, including ArcGIS (.shp), ArcInfo Coverages and MapInfo (.tab). More specialised formats may be available but may incur additional processing costs.

On 31 January 2011, Part 6 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 came into force. Part 6 seeks to balance seal conservation with sustainable fisheries and aquaculture and its introduction means: It is an offence to kill or injure a seal except under licence or for welfare reasons, outlawing unregulated seal shooting that was permitted under previous legislation A number of seal conservation areas around Scotland will begin to be introduced, designed to protect vulnerable, declining common seal populations A new seal licensing system, providing a well regulated and monitored context for seal management in Scotland has been introduced. Seal Management Areas are: East Coast, Moray Firth, Orkney and North Coast, Shetland, South West Scotland, West Scotland, Western Isles.

Gravel and Hard Rock Aggregate Database at NGU contains information on most sand, gravel and hard rock aggregate deposits and extraction places in Norway where the raw material are used for building and construction activities. In addition, the WMS/database gives an overview of stone tips. The database also provides information on land use, volume, operating conditions, manufacturers, quality and how important resources are as raw material to building engineering purposes

The ambition of the XYLOSYLVE platform is twofold, to constitute a visible forest research facility for setting up innovative forestry practices and to build a scientific infrastructure of national and international interest for terrestrial ecology. XYLOSYLVE is an ensemble of three long-term complementary field experiments and laboratory facilities associated with. Each experiment is spatially distinct from the other but all are co-located in the INRA Hermitage area close from Bordeaux city. The experiments are designed to testing forest management alternatives dedicated to biomass and wood production in Atlantic conditions as follows: 1) Three large plots (8ha) are manipulated according to three management alternatives (Pine-Eucalypt mixture, pure enhanced Pine variety and environment-friendly Pine standard) and equipped with automated instrumentations for monitoring biogeochemistry in the different compartments of ecosystems (soil, soil solution, vegetation, atmosphere). The equipment and protocols implemented are installed in collaboration with the ICOS project according to common quality assurance standards (ICOS site Class 3). These 3 plots are not replicated here. 2) A fully randomised 4-blocks experiment includes the same three treatments than above and 5 additional treatments including various levels of species mixture, fertilisation, soil preparation and legumes introduction. The 32 plots are further split according to no till - deep tillage to a total of 64 subplots each covering 0.12 ha to a total of approximately 40ha. 3) The third experiment includes 2 levels of fertilisation (control - full annual NPK inputs), 2 levels of irrigation (control (rainfall) - daily irrigation at PET) and 2 species (local Pine species - Eucalypt hybrid) replicated in four blocks and covering an area of 8 ha (plot unit ~0.25ha). XYlosylve serve as a long term research and experimental site for temperate planted forest systems in close connection with a regional network of forest experimental sites where feasibility of new forest management alternatives is evaluated. The interest of XYLOSYLVE is double: - Allow the long term monitoring of the functioning of biophysics and biogeochemistry of new forest ecosystems with high production potential. Offer to the scientific community and to the forest-based industry a common platform to gather scientific data and wood samples and test ecosystems to better understand their dynamics and their environmental impacts; - Assess durability and environmental performance of various management options for dendro-biomass production systems (symbiotic nitrogen fixation, phosphorus uptake, long term fertility, water and energy use efficiency, evaluation of vulnerability to biotic risks /insects, pathogens/ and abiotic risks/wind, drought/ …).

UMS BBEES provides the CNRS and the National Museum of Natural History’s research units and researchers with technical and scientific supports to structure, perpetuate or pool their databases. Its interventions result in advices or direct actions during several days to several months in order to relaunch or restructure databases. It benefits the environment in place at the Museum (Service du Patrimoine Naturel, Inventaire national du Patrimoine naturel, collections patrimoniales, Pôle recherche de la DSI, etc). This structure is not designed to administer databases, which remain the responsibility of the teams that produce them, or to provide them with accommodation, which may be the DSI of the Museum or other suitable structure. However, it can provide guidance on these points. To facilitate the integration of databases in national and international frameworks, the UMS BBEES offers recommendations, including: - The constitution of corpus and data processing; - The choice of tools; - Structuring data; - Metadata. These recommendations are in line with the operative standards and norms, such as the European Directive INSPIRE (2007/2 / CE of 14 March 2007) for geographical informations, or the choice of a common taxonomic repository for existing biodiversity databases (INPN, GBIF, collections databases). The issue of identification and accessibility of databases is also at the heart of the concerns of the UMS BBEES, particularly the inactive databases (for example databases developed in the framework of national programs and stored on personal computers) and bases on standby (accessible databases, but are not supplied or operated). Investigations are and will be regularly conducted with the directors of research units in order to identify all the databases produced by the units (inactive standby, developing and active), but also to anticipate and accompany the bases of development applications as part of national and international research programs. UMS BBEES gave a particular attention to the implementation of regulations concerning intellectual property in the particular field of databases. Thus, it does not facilitate the dissemination of databases that do not comply with legislation.  

Dendrological Sample Provenience and Description

The site Haute Beiman is composed of four 3km-transects (20m wide). 5207 trees with dbh>=20cm have been recorded by Office national des forêts (ONF). Fauna inventories have been made by Office national de la chasse et de la faune sauvage (ONCFS) few days after. 833 under-storey plants have been recorded on 44 25m²-plots. Soils have been described using 18 samples (1.20m depth max.). One laboratory analysis available for soils.

Data from the British Geological Survey's GeoIndex Map products theme are made available for viewing here. GeoIndex is a website that allows users to search for information about BGS data collections covering the UK and other areas world wide. Access is free, the interface is easy to use, and it has been developed to enable users to check coverage of different types of data and find out some background information about the data. More detailed information can be obtained by further enquiry via the web site: www.bgs.ac.uk/geoindex.

Local landscape designation, relevant to the area of the Rural West Edinburgh Local Plan. AOLQs are identified as part of the local plan process.