Seabed mapping for the 21st century : the Marine Environmental Mapping Programme (MAREMAP): preface

摘要

During the 1970s and 1980s, the British Geological Survey\ud(BGS) carried out systematic surveys of the seabed and subseabed\udaround Britain, as part of a Government-funded programme\udto map the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). Using an\udarray of sampling, coring and seismic profiling equipment, the\udprogramme resulted in a series of geological maps and scientific\udpublications which described the sediments at the seafloor,\udthe sediments deposited during the Quaternary glaciations,\udand the older sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic\udrocks. These systematic surveys of the UKCS were followed\udduring the 1990s by BGS and industry co-funded surveys in the\uddeep-water areas to the west of the UK, such as the Rockall\udTrough and Plateau; although here, the density of sampling,\udshallow boreholes and seismic surveys was significantly reduced.