Throughout its recent history, SRSL has actively engaged with a diverse range of clients and has delivered a broad remit of projects to both time and budget. In addition to the delivery of tailored solutions, SRSL has collaborated on major projects with environmental consultancies and partners aiming to determine the socio-economic effects of anthropogenic impacts on the marine environment.

Amongst the wide variety of customers that have recently consulted the expert advice of SRSL, are:

• Scottish Government
• Fisheries Research Services
• QuinetiQ
• UK Hydrographic Office
• Scottish Power
• Food Standards Agency
• Geotek ltd.
• Scottish Environmental Protection Agency
• Scottish National Heritage
• Meterological Office
• Scottish Water

Example Projects

Dounreay, Offshore Environmental Baseline Survey (UKAEA)
The Dounreay, Offshore Environmental Baseline Survey was an extensive program of field and analytical studies, undertaken by SAMS Research Services Limited on behalf of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authorities (UKAEA) in order to inform an environmental statement for the marine environment proximal to Dounreay. The survey was required to inform the Dounreay Site Wide Environmental Statement (SWES) which is part of decommissioning and the Dounreay Site Restoration Plan (DSRP).

UKAEA developed plans for the preparation of a Site-Wide Environmental Statement (SWES) for decommissioning. The aims were to describe baseline conditions, carry out trend analysis, in relation to the baseline, set the DSRP within the overall national, regional and local policy context, and allow the cumulative effects of the whole of the DSRP to be assessed.

An extensive programme of field and analytical studies were undertaken by SAMS Research Services Limited on behalf of the UKAEA in order to inform an environmental statement for the marine environment proximal to Dounreay. The work included use of SAMS’ Research Vessel, Calanus for sediment and benthic sampling, and side-scan.  The survey provided an environmental baseline which could be incorporated into the Site Wide Environmental Statement instigated by the Dounreay Site Restoration Plan (DSRP).  The study covered both the littoral and sub-littoral environments and investigated the metal and radiochemistry of both sediment and biota within the specified area.  In support of the analytical work, desk top studies were undertaken by SAMS to identify trends in both temporal and spatial concentrations of key elements of interest and comparisons have then been undertaken in order to position the findings of this study in the context of past discharges and natural variations inherent in the marine ecosystem.

An Independent Evaluation of Deep-Sea Mine Tailings Placement (DSTP) in Papua New Guinea
The Independent Evaluation of DSTP in Papua New Guinea (PNG) was funded by the European Union through the 8th European Development Fund. The main objectives were to critically assess all existing information on past and present mining operations using DSTP in Papua New Guinea and provide guidelines for future DSTP marine environmental monitoring in the context of international best practice.

The Mining Sector Support Programme’s (MSSP) overall objectives were to sustain the country’s economic performance through mineral production and exports and to alleviate poverty, increase employment opportunities and mitigate mine-induced environmental impacts.

During the first stage of this project, SAMS scientists compiled existing information on operational and closed mining operations using DSTP in PNG (Lihir and Misima), from Mining Companies, the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC), Research Institutes and scientific publications. In the light of their findings, SAMS staff formulated a programme of further fieldwork and analysis.  As part of this programme, SAMS staff conducted scientific evaluations of Lihir and Misima mines.  We also completed a government commissioned baseline survey of the marine environment of Basamuk, the site of the proposed Ramu Nickel mine processing plant.

During the data collection phase of the project, the first ever images of both Lihir and Misima sea beds were obtained, along with the first undisturbed sediment cores from both sites. The data obtained from these sediment cores provided SAMS with the only  geochemical and biological data from this region.
An integral part of the Independent Evaluation of DSTP in PNG Project was provision of an international conference on DSTP practices and environmental monitoring. This took place on 4th - 7th November 2008 in the Madang Resort, Papua New Guinea. The conference presented and discussed all aspects of the work commissioned by the PNG Department of National Planning and Monitoring, on the disposal of mine tailings in the deep sea.

In the final phase of the project, SAMS scientists developed guidelines for the Papua New Guinea Government, to inform new policy on deep sea mine tailings placement and environmental monitoring.  The guidelines address international best practice for regulatory frameworks and environmental considerations, initial mine development, preliminary site evaluation, environmental baseline surveys, mining operations, future mine closure plans and post-mining monitoring.

EQUIMAR: Equitable Testing and Evaluation of Marine Energy Extraction Devices in terms of Performance,
Cost and Environmental Impact
The EquiMar project is funded by the European Commission as part of its 7th Framework programme under the Energy topic and is a collaborative research and development project. The Scottish Association of Marine Science (SAMS) is one of 23 partners from 11 member states. This project began in May 2008, and will run for 3 years.

The aim of EQUIMAR is to deliver a suite of protocols for the equitable evaluation of Marine energy converters (based on either tidal or wave energy). These protocols will harmonise testing and evaluation procedures across the wide variety of devices presently available with the aim of accelerating adoption through technology matching and improved understanding of the environmental and economic impacts associated with the deployment of arrays of devices.

The role of SAMS within EQUIMAR is to contribute to the Environmental Impact Assessment work package (WP6). The objective of this work package is to develop a common framework regarding Environmental Impact Assessment issues in order to produce best practice protocol.

Relatively little is known about marine biota compared to terrestrial ecosystems. The limited data from practical examples contributes to uncertainty over the potential impacts of marine renewable energy devices and their magnitude, which are also likely to be site specific and would therefore have to be determined for each specific scheme. The risk of collision between marine animals and these devices is of particular concern and depends on both the risk of encounter and the potential for avoidance and evasion behaviour. Encounter models have been used extensively in the field of predator-prey interactions of marine animals to assess risk of predation mortality and these models can be used as a basis for developing models of encounter with renewable energy devices. Similar models have been used to assess the risk of bird collision with wind turbines. SAMS is developing an encounter model to determine underwater collision risks for large fish, mammals and birds with marine renewable devices. The ultimate aim would be to develop a modelling tool that can be used to directly compare environmentally harmful collision risks for different device types and deployment locations. This will also be used to identify factors that are most important in determining collision risk that require further research. An assessment of avoidance and/or attraction behaviour will also be required; field studies, marine turbine noise playback experiments, will be conducted to assess the potential for avoidance by cetaceans.