Protecting Wildlife for the Future DORset Integrated Seabed survey Identifying Dorset’s Marine Conservation Features DORIS Part of a nationwide network of Wildlife Trusts Peter Tinsley (DWT), Rob Spillard (MCA), Travis Mason (CCO) & RN Jenny Gales, Justin Dix & Tim Le Bas (University of Southampton) SeaStar Survey Limited

Protecting Wildlife for the Future Why map seabed habitats? Increasing pressure on marine environment, including new activities Marine and Coastal Access Act Ecosystem-based management – needs ecological information Understanding of geological and archaeological environments

Protecting Wildlife for the Future What is DORIS? 100% cover multibeam survey of 800km 2 (bathymetry & backscatter) ~150 x 500m seabed video/still photo transects (SeaStar Survey Ltd) Coastal strip LIDAR and aerial photography (CCO) Intertidal habitat ground-truthing survey Seasearch volunteer seabed habitat/species survey

Protecting Wildlife for the Future Habitat map Tidal stream data Bedform orientation Substrate map Aspect of bedrock Geological map Backscatter Bathymetry Data processing: 778 GB of raw bathymetry and backscatter data covering 800 km 2 Backscatter and bathymetry maps created Data analysis ArcGIS used to interpret geology, bedrock aspect, substrate, bedform orientation Multiple datasets used to interpret Habitats present

Protecting Wildlife for the Future Bathymetry Unprocessed bathymetry of Dorset seabed between Chesil Beach and Swanage Bay. -1m -120m 9000m Chesil Beach St Alban’s Head Portland Bill Swanage Bay Shambles Bank Adamant Shoal Portland Bank Portland Deep West Shoal Lulworth Bank St Alban’s Ledge N

Protecting Wildlife for the Future Bathymetry 3600m 270m 160m

Protecting Wildlife for the Future Fullers Earth Forest Marble Cornbrash Oxford Clay Corallian Kimmeridge Clay Portland Purbeck Wealden Gault, Greensand Chalk Quaternary 9000m N

Protecting Wildlife for the Future 9000m N High Low Backscatter of Dorset seabed between Chesil Beach and Swanage Bay. Bin size 0.25m. Backscatter 16m 80m 400m

Protecting Wildlife for the Future Ship wrecks Small bedform Medium bedform Longitudinal (2) Longitudinal (1) Flow parallel (1) Flow parallel (2) Flow parallel (3) Banks/ shoals Fine sand Mixed substrate* Medium grain Coarse grain Mottled 9000m N *Mixed Substrate: transparency corresponds to level of sediment cover. (50% transparency = patchy sediment cover).

Protecting Wildlife for the Future 9000m N Arrows indicate orientation of bedform long axis Blue arrows indicate general sediment transport pathways

Protecting Wildlife for the Future Low energy Infralittoral rock Moderate energy Infralittoral rock Moderate energy circalittoral rock High energy circalittoral rock Vertical bedrock walls (with sponges/anemones) Features of circalittoral rock Circalittoral coarse sediment Zostera marina beds on lower shore Infralittoral fine mud Circalittoral sandy mud Circalittoral muddy sand Circalittoral fine sand Circalittoral mixed sediment Thin veneer of circalittoral mixed sediment 9000m N Level of habitat classification mainly level 2 and 3 of JNCC Marine habitat classification hierarchy (version 04.05)

Protecting Wildlife for the Future 1000m Low energy infralittoral rock Circalittoral mixed sediment Circalittoral fine sand Circalittoral coarse sediment Moderate energy circalittoral rock 6B

Protecting Wildlife for the Future How will maps be used? Draft SAC proposal Finding Sanctuary/MCZs C-SCOPE Research into Geology and Sediment Dynamics Public interest

Protecting Wildlife for the Future dSAC proposal 9000mN Boundary of draft Special area of Conservation overlayed over habitat map

Protecting Wildlife for the Future Finding Sanctuary

Protecting Wildlife for the Future Policy development Assessment of potential for offshore renewables off Dorset coast Seabed habitat mapping Collection of sectoral spatial information and relevant data Land and Seascape assessment Marine Spatial Plan Dorset C-SCOPE

Protecting Wildlife for the Future