75,624 research outputs found
Understanding the marine environment : seabed habitat investigations of the Dogger Bank offshore draft SAC
This report details work carried out by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and
Aquaculture Science (Cefas), British Geological Surveys (BGS) and Envision Ltd. for the
Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). It has been produced to provide the JNCC
with evidence on the distribution and extent of Annex I habitat (including variations of these
features) on the Dogger Bank in advance of its possible designation as a Special Area of
Conservation (SAC). The report contains information required under Regulation 7 of the
Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 2007 and will enable the JNCC to advise
the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) as to whether the site is
deemed eligible as a SAC. The report provides detailed information about the Dogger Bank
and evaluates its features of interest according to the Habitats Directive selection criteria and
guiding principles. This assessment has been made following a thorough analysis of existing
information combined with newly acquired field survey data collected using âstate of the artâ
equipment.
In support of this process acoustic (sidescan sonar and multibeam echosounder) and groundtruthing
data (Hamon grabs, trawls and underwater video) were collected during a 19-day
cruise on RV Cefas Endeavour, which took place between 2-20 April 2008. Existing
information and newly acquired data were combined to investigate the sub-surface geology,
surface sediments and bedforms, epifaunal and infaunal communities of the Dogger Bank.
Results were integrated into a habitat map employing the EUNIS classification. Key results
are as follows:
⢠The upper Pleistocene Dogger Bank Formation dictates the shape of the Dogger Bank.
⢠The Dogger Bank is morphologically distinguishable from the surrounding seafloor
following the application of a technique, which differentiates the degree of slope.
⢠A sheet of Holocene sediments of variable thickness overlies the Dogger Bank
Formation. At the seabed surface, these Holocene sediments can be broadly delineated
into fine sands and coarse sediments.
⢠Epifaunal and infaunal communities were distinguished based on multivariate analysis
of data derived from video and stills analysis and Hamon grab samples. Sediment
properties and depth were the main factors controlling the distribution of infauna and
epifauna across the Bank.
⢠Epifaunal and infaunal community links were explored. Most stations could be
categorised according to one of four combined infaunal/epifaunal community types (i.e.
sandy sediment bank community, shallow sandy sediment bank community, coarse
sediment bank community or deep community north of the bank).
⢠Biological zones were identified using modelling techniques based on light climate and
wave base data. Three biological zones, namely infralittoral, circalittoral and deep
circalittoral are present in the study site.
⢠EUNIS level 4 habitats were mapped by integrating acoustic, biological, physical and
optical data. Eight different habitats are present on the Dogger Bank.
This report also provides some of the necessary information and data to help the JNCC
ultimately reach a judgement as to whether the Dogger Bank is suitable as an SAC. In
support of this process the encountered habitats and the ecology of the Dogger Bank are
compared with other SACs known to contain sandbank habitats in UK waters. The
functional and ecological importance of the Dogger Bank as well as potential anthropogenic impacts is discussed. A scientific justification underlying the proposed Dogger Bank dSAC
boundary is also given (Appendix 1). This is followed by a discussion of the suitability and
cost-effectiveness of techniques utilised for seabed investigations of the Dogger Bank.
Finally, recommendations for strategies and techniques employed for investigation of Annex
I sandbanks are provided
Diurnal variation in harbour porpoise detection â potential implications for management
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Navigating the muddy waters of the research into single sex classrooms in co-educational middle years settings
Establishing single sex classes within co-educational sites is an option that Australian schools are again exploring. To date Australia has experienced three âwavesâ of interest in establishing single sex classes, the first focused on equitable education opportunities for girls (Alloway & Gilbert, 1997), the second centered on boysâ literacy and engagement (Gilbert & Gilbert, 1998) and this current wave focuses on perceived difference between the sexes in co-educational classrooms (Protheroe, 2009; Gurian, Stevens & Daniels, 2009). With the intersection of middle schooling movement, focusing on learner centered classrooms (Pendergast & Bahr, 2010) and current educational agendas aimed at improving student performance and measurable learning outcomes (Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, 2008), it is understandable that schools are exploring such student grouping options. However, after thirty years of international research into the efficacy of single sex classes in co-educational settings, the results still remain unclear. This paper seeks to navigate the âmuddy watersâ of this body of research and suggests a framework to help guide school communities through the decision-making process associated with considering single sex classes
Tool support for reasoning in display calculi
We present a tool for reasoning in and about propositional sequent calculi.
One aim is to support reasoning in calculi that contain a hundred rules or
more, so that even relatively small pen and paper derivations become tedious
and error prone. As an example, we implement the display calculus D.EAK of
dynamic epistemic logic. Second, we provide embeddings of the calculus in the
theorem prover Isabelle for formalising proofs about D.EAK. As a case study we
show that the solution of the muddy children puzzle is derivable for any number
of muddy children. Third, there is a set of meta-tools, that allows us to adapt
the tool for a wide variety of user defined calculi
Blending single beam RoxAnn and multi-beam swathe QTC hydro-acoustic discrimination techniques for the Stonehaven area, Scotland, UK
Surface properties of the seabed in a 180 km2 area of coastal waters (14-57 m depth) off northeast Scotland were mapped by hydro-acoustic discrimination using single and multi-beam echosounders linked to signal processing systems (RoxAnn for the single beam, and Questor Tangent Corporation (QTC) Multiview for the multibeam). Subsequently, two ground truthing surveys were carried out, using grab and TV sampling. The RoxAnn and QTC-Multiview outputs showed strong similarity in their classifications of seabed types. Classifications generated by QTC-Multiview were used to supervise those based on seabed roughness and hardness indices produced by the RoxAnn system and thereby develop a âblendedâ map based on both systems. The resulting hydro-acoustic classes agreed well with a cluster analysis of data on sediment grain sizes from the grab sampling, and indicated that the area could be described by distinct regions of surface texture and surficial sediments ranging from muddy sand to boulders and rock
Navigating the muddy waters of the research into single sex class-rooms in co-educational middle years settings.
Establishing single sex classes within co-educational sites is an option that schools are again exploring. To date Australia has experienced three waves of interest in establishing single sex classes, the first focused on equitable education opportunities for girls, the second centered on boys' literacy and engagement and this current wave focuses on perceived difference between the sexes in co-educational classrooms. With the intersection of middle schooling movement, focusing on learner centered classrooms and current educational agendas aimed at improving student performance and measurable learning outcomes, it is understandable that schools are exploring such student grouping options. However, after thirty years of international research into the efficacy of single sex classes in co-educational settings, the results still remain unclear. This paper navigates the 'muddy waters' of this body of research and suggests a framework to help guide school communities through the decision-making process associated with considering single sex classes
- âŚ