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

During the 1970s and 1980s, the British Geological Survey (BGS) carried out systematic surveys of the seabed and subseabed around Britain, as part of a Government-funded programme to map the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). Using an array of sampling, coring and seismic profiling equipment, the programme resulted in a series of geological maps and scientific publications which described the sediments at the seafloor, the sediments deposited during the Quaternary glaciations, and the older sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks. These systematic surveys of the UKCS were followed during the 1990s by BGS and industry co-funded surveys in the deep-water areas to the west of the UK, such as the Rockall Trough and Plateau; although here, the density of sampling, shallow boreholes and seismic surveys was significantly reduced.