McLeod, C.R., Yeo, M., Brown, A.E., Burn, A.J., Hopkins, J.J. and Way, S.F., 2005. The Habitats Directive: selection of special areas of conservation in the UK. Peterborough, Joint Nature Conservation Committee. JNCC official website (www. jncc. gov. uk/SACselection, 23/09/09).

Neal, C., Whitehead, P.G., Jeffery, H. and Neal, M., 2005. The water quality of the River Carnon, west Cornwall, November 1992 to March 1994: the impacts of Wheal Jane discharges. Science of the Total Environment, 338(1), pp.23-39.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are those of the contributors and do not reflect the views and opinions of the University of Southampton

Aims: On Tuesday (04/07/2017) we set out to determine the composition of the sea floor in the Fal estuary and how this effects the habitat type of the area. Only a small location was sampled with the intention of entering it into a much larger data set to give a larger picture. Our sample location was located just west of St Anthony’s head, on the eastern edge of the moth of the Fal estuary.

Background: As mentioned in the introduction the Fal and Helford area has been considered a Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC) since 2005. This is predominantly due to the location of diverse 3D habitats (Mcleod et al, 2005) - Sea Grass beds (Zoestra marina) and Maerl beds (Phymatolithon calcareum and Lithothamnion corallioides) (Neal et, al. 2005). The maerl beds are of particular importance for the areas conservation status since it’s the largest living bed of the species in the south west of Britain. Historical mining disasters – such as the Wheal Jane incident in 1992 and more recent activities of exploiting maerl as a source of carbonate (Banned in 2005) has led to large scale interest in mapping the diverse benthic habitats in the Fal estuary.

Metadata

Tidal Data (Falmouth)

High Tide = 01:22 UTC 14:00 UTC

Low Tide  = 07:47 UTC  20:14 UTC

Weather

Dry                   Winds 18mph (SSE)

Temp: 18°C       Cloud cover: 7/8

Equipment

Sidescan Sonar: GeoAcoustics 159Digital 942

Video Camera: Bowtech Underwater Camera (Attatched to plastic wing to maintain orientation in water)

Whilst the area we sampled didn’t contain either the sea grass or mearl beds it shows how there can be many habitats in one estuary, it also shows how sonar and ground truthing can be used to get an accurate picture of the structural composition of the sea bed and hence the habitat of that area.

Location Data

Poster

Transect 4: Start - Lat 50°08.40'N Long 05°01.30'W

                          Time 13:58:00

                End   - Lat 50°08.90'N Long 05°01.40'W

                          Time 14:04:41

Transect 5: Start - Lat 50°08.90'N Long 05°01.50'W

                          Time 14:07:17

                End   - Lat 50°08.40'N Long 05°01.30'W

                          Time 14:14:17

Aims and Background

Transect 1: Start - Lat 50°08.90'N Long 05°01.20'W

                          Time - 13:37:42

                End   - Lat 50°08.50'N Long 05°01.10'W

                          Time - 13:44:00

Transect 2: Start - Lat 50°08.50'N Long 05°01.20'W

                          Time 13:46:00

                End   - Lat 50°08.70'N Long 05°01.20'W

                          Time 13:50:21

Transect 3: Start - Lat 50°08.70'N Long 05°01.20'W

                          Time 13:50:21

                End   - Lat 50°08.40'N Long 05°00.30'W

                          Time 13:55:56