Figure 2: Screen grab of the GIS showing the southern part of the study Area 1 (see Figure 1) with seabed surface morphology as imaged by multibeam. Boomer seismic tracks (black dotted line), underwater video transect, and showing location of the grab and vibrocore sediment samples are overlain. Upper right outset shows screen grab from CODA GeoSurvey software suite showing fragment of the Boomer line together with vibrocore location sited between adjacent sandwave crests.

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California Coastal and Marine Habitat Initiative – an approach to large-scale habitat mapping and some considerations, specifications and recommendations for implementation

Bill Gilmour and Jerry Wilson

Fugro Pelagos Inc., San Diego, California, USA

The paper will primarily present a summary of the recent Marine Mapping Planning Workshop held in Monterey Bay in December 2005. The goal of the project was to create a strategic plan for completing the mapping for all seafloor habitats within California State Waters. The objectives were to co-ordinate efforts by all organizations involved in habitat mapping, create a summary of existing holdings, prioritize new areas and recommend minimum standards for survey specifications, level of data interpretation and map product creation. A three-tier process for map product generation as recommended by USGS will also be presented.

The debate about where to focus financial resources will be discussed and the consensus on minimum levels of data acquisition, level of interpretation, metadata and dissemination furnished.

The format of the first Request For Proposals under the Marine Habitat Initiative will be described and the preliminary concept behind the formation of a Consortium for Integrated Marine Geologic and Benthic Habitat mapping will be presented.

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Highlights from the first year of the HERMES project

Phil P. E. Weaver

National Oceanography Centre, Southampton

The HERMES project aims to gain new insights into the biodiversity, structure, function and dynamics of ecosystems along Europe’s deep-ocean margin. It represents the first major attempt to understand European deep-water ecosystems and their environment in an integrated way by bringing together expertise in biodiversity, geology, sedimentology, physical oceanography, microbiology and biogeochemistry, so that the generic relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning can be understood. Study sites will extend from the Arctic to the Black Sea and include open slopes, where landslides and deep-ocean circulation affect ecosystem development, and biodiversity hotspots, such as cold seeps, cold-water coral mounds, canyons and anoxic environments, where the geosphere and hydrosphere influence the biosphere through escape of fluids, presence of gas hydrates and deep-water currents.

HERMES is now one year into its four-year programme. In this first 12 months, almost 30 major research cruises have taken place, including an IODP drilling expedition to the Porcupine coral province. The HERMES consortium has collected a huge volume of data from all study areas, and this will continue as the second year’s cruise programme gets under way.

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Geomorphic classification of marine benthic bioregions: application to a national marine bioregionalisation of Australia

Andrew D. Heap, Peter T. Harris, Alan Hinde and Murray Woods

Geoscience Australia

For the first time, the distribution of seabed geomorphic features has been systematically mapped over a large part of the Australian continental margin. The outlines of a total of 21 different types of geomorphic features were mapped over >9.0 million km² using a 250 m spatial resolution bathymetry grid generated by Geoscience Australia. The continental shelf is >1.9 million km² (21.91%), the slope >4.0 million km² (45.02%), and the abyssal plain/deep ocean floor >2.8 million km² (31.99%). The continental rise covers 97,100 km² or 1.08% of the margin. Plateaus are the most abundant geomorphic feature on the margin and cover 1.49 million km² or 16.51%, followed by basins (714,000 km²; 7.92%), and terraces (577,700 km²; 6.41%), with the remaining 14 types each making up <5%. Reefs, which total 4,923 individual features (47,900 km²; 0.53%), are the most numerous type of geomorphic feature, due to the large number of individual coral reefs of the Great Barrier Reef. The 21 geomorphic features were clustered into 14 geomorphic unit types for application to environmental management. The geomorphic units represent regions of similar geomorphology and are inferred to capture broad patterns in benthic marine habitat distributions. These data form the basis of the National Benthic Marine Bioregionalisation of Australia, a federal government project to describe the biodiversity of Australia’s seabed, and are being used to identify and define Australia’s suite of marine protected areas.

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Habitat Mapping for Conservation and Management of the Southern Irish Sea

Ramsay, K.¹, Robinson, K.A.¹, Lindenbaum, C.¹, Wilson, J.², McBreen, F.², Wheeler, A.³, van Landeghem, K.³, Mackie, A.⁴, Derbyshire, T.⁴, Mitchell, N.⁵ and O’Beirn, F.⁶

1) Council for Wales, Maes y Ffynnon, Ffordd Penrhos, Bangor, Gwynedd, tel: 01248 385517

2) Zoology Department, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2

3) University College Cork

4) National Museums and Galleries for Wales, Cathays Park, Cardiff

5) Cardiff University

6) Marine Institute, Galway

HABMAP is a three-year INTERREG IIIA funded seabed-mapping project covering the Southern part of the Irish Sea. It involves partners in both Wales and the Republic of Ireland. The project aims to produce a predictive biotope model for the Southern Irish Seabed, based on existing physical and biological information. The model will be validated using survey data collected during the project in order to produce GIS-based habitat maps.

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Multibeam Acquisition in the Irish Sea: Applications for Habitats Research

Van Landeghem, K.^1,2, Wheeler, A.¹ and Mitchell, N.2

1) Dept. of Geology & Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork

2) School of Earth, Ocean & Planetary Sciences, Cardiff University

HabMap is a three-year seabed mapping project covering the southern part of the Irish Sea. The project is funded by the INTERREG IIIA programme. In the summer of 2005 data was collected during two survey cruises.

During the first cruise (June 14^th-27^th) Single Beam EchoSounder (SBES), MultiBeam EchoSounder (MBES) and sub-bottom profiler data was collected (Figure 1). During the second cruise (July 25^th-August 8^th) benthic + sediment samples, SPI footage and towed video footage was collected.

The backscatter values and bathymetry from the MBES data can be groundtruthed with SPI footage, sediment samples, video footage, and other data collected during previous projects. This allows interpretation of the dataset in terms of bedforms of which the classification scheme intends to capture the features relevant to both sediment transport and habitat mapping. The bedform layer created will serve as a component in the modelling exercise in which relationships between physical data and biological data will be examined. Eventually a predictive habitat map will be developed.

Figure 1: MBES coverage during HabMap survey

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UKSeaMap: The mapping of the marine seabed and water column features of UK seas

David Connor¹, Paul Gilliland², Neil Golding¹, Paul Robinson¹ and Dylan Todd¹

1) Joint Nature Conservation Committee

2) English Nature

There have been a number of recent studies demonstrating the value of using geological, physical and hydrographic data to produce broad-scale ecologically-relevant habitat maps for the marine environment in the absence of detailed biological data (e.g. Roff & Taylor, 2000; Roff et al, 2003). The ‘marine landscape’ concept, initially developed in Canada by Roff and Taylor (2000), was later adapted for UK waters in the Irish Sea Pilot project (Golding et al. 2004; Vincent et al, 2004). Having proved the concept in a UK context, the approach is now being extended to the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), under the “UKSeaMap” project.

UKSeaMap is a multi-partner project which aims to produce simple broad-scale maps of the seabed and water column features of the UKCS. The project commenced in May 2005 and is due for completion in June 2006, with results to be disseminated using the project website (http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-2117). This paper will describe how the methodology originally used by Golding et al (2004) has been further developed and refined to allow the marine landscape classification to be extended to the wider UKCS sea area.

Environmental datasets were gathered from a variety of sources which have variously used modelling, remote sensing and direct sampling to provide the initial datasets. The seabed analysis utilised datasets on: surficial seabed substrata, depth and derived slope, bottom temperature, light attenuation, maximum wave base and maximum near-bed stress caused by tide. There has been a careful review of the purpose of each dataset as it is important in defining seabed types and the number of categories within each, to lead to a meaningful and manageable number of seabed types. Coastal physiographic features were also identified and mapped.

A supervised classification method was used to draw together the geological, physical and hydrographic datasets to generate and map, at the time of writing, 35 marine seabed types and 11 coastal physiographic features.

For water column features the aim was to create seasonal maps for the UK seas, based on the following seasons: Winter – December, January and February, Spring – March, April and May, Summer – June, July and August and Autumn – September, October and November. A number of hydrographic datasets were obtained from the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory (POL), of which the following were used in the final analysis to define water column types: Surface salinity, Surface to bed temperature difference (modelled data) and Frontal probability (modelled data). Four maps were produced for the water column features, in order to reflect seasonal variability in the environment.

The final step in the methodology will involve validating the draft maps using biological information, to test the ecological validity of the maps derived from the modelling process.

The broadscale maps will provide an essential layer of spatial information to support more effective management of our marine resources and to help implement national and international commitments to protect the environment. They will also provide a more informed basis on which to design future spatially-based research and survey programmes.

The outputs and methodology are also feeding into a wider project ‘Mapping European Seabed Habitats’.

References:

Roff, J.C., & Taylor, M.E. 2000. Viewpoint; National frameworks for marine conservation a hierarchical geophysical approach. Aquatic Conserv: Mar. freshw. Ecosyst. 10: 209-223.

Roff, J.C., Taylor, M.E & Laughren, J. 2003. Geophysical approaches to the classification, delineation and monitoring of marine habitats and their communities. Aquatic Conserv: Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst. 13: 77-90.

Golding, N., Vincent, M.A., & Connor, D.W. 2004. Irish Sea Pilot - a Marine Landscape Classification for the Irish Sea, JNCC Report 346

Vincent, M.A., Atkins, S.M., Lumb, C.M., Golding, N., Lieberknecht, L.M. and Webster, M. 2004. Marine nature conservation and sustainable development - the Irish Sea Pilot. Report to Defra by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough.

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Surface-mounted multibeam mapping of the deep-water Seamounts and Banks west of the United Kingdom: its use as a tool for process studies and habitat identification and comparisons with deep-towed sonar results

Colin L Jacobs and Peter M Hunter

National Oceanography Centre, Southampton

Detailed mapping of Seamounts and Banks located on the deep-water continental margin to the west of the UK has recently been carried out with a view to selecting sites for high resolution investigation (high resolution sidescan sonar, photography and sampling) as part of a Strategic Environmental Assessment of Area 7. Multibeam sonar was used to construct DTM’s and interpretation of the seafloor geomorphology combined with the multibeam acoustic backscatter mosaics and CHIRP sub-bottom profiles, allowed identification of recent and presently active sedimentary and oceanographic processes. However, the limitations imposed upon the multibeam system resolution by increasing water depths (cf. larger acoustic footprint), precluded detailed seafloor type delineation. We demonstrate the difference between surface-mounted and near-seabed sonar systems in terms of the resolution and briefly discuss the need for a recognised standard for Environmental Assessment and/or Habitat Delineation.

This project was funded as part of the UK Department of Trade and Industry's offshore energy Strategic Environmental Assessment programme, and we would like to thank the DTI for allowing data collected on the Kommandor Jack during 2005 to be used here. The SEA programme is funded and managed by the DTI and coordinated on their behalf by Geotek Ltd and Hartley Anderson Ltd.

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Overview of habitats found on the seamounts and banks to the West of the UK during the SEA 7 survey 2005

Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy¹, Kerry L. Howell², Colin L. Jacobs³, David J. Hughes¹, Jaime S. Davies² and J. Murray Roberts¹

1) Ecology Department, Scottish Association for Marine Science, Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory, Oban, Argyll PA37 1QA

2) School of Biological Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA

3) National Oceanography Centre – Southampton, European Way, Southampton, SO14 3ZH

The seamounts and banks in the NE Atlantic, situated to the West of the UK, were broadly explored for the first time in July – September 2005. This work was carried out under the Strategic Environmental Assessment Area 7 remit funded by the Department of Trade and Industry.

The first cruise was to undertake EM120/1002 multibeam (dependent on water depth), backscatter and high resolution sidescan sonar data of the seamounts and banks along transect lines that had been pre-determined. This was then interpreted for areas of potential interest e.g. iceberg ploughmarks, areas of cold water coral etc, which would then be targeted by photographic/faunal sampling during the biological DTI cruise. A Fisheries Research Services survey in collaboration with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and the University of Plymouth sampled some of the stations that the biological DTI cruise was unable to undertake as well as adding additional stations, leading to a much greater area of the region of interest being sampled.

The results proved to be extremely interesting and the next stage is to now link the results of the physical survey with that of the biological survey and to undertake some identification and mapping of the different habitat types encountered.

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The use of mapping techniques for identifying and evaluating Sabellaria spinulosa ‘reef’ habitats in UK waters

D. Limpenny¹, R. Foster-Smith², K. Vanstaen³, J. Eggleton¹, W. Meadows³, S Boyd¹ and T. Edwards⁴

1) The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Burnham-on-Crouch, UK

2) Envision Mapping, Newcastle, UK

3) The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Lowestoft, UK

4) Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Aberdeen, UK

Biogenic structures formed by the tube-building worm Sabellaria spinulosa provide a habitat that allows many other associated species, including epibenthos and crevice fauna, to become established. Consequently, they are subject to the EU Habitats Directive (Annex 1) and represent a marine habitat which must be considered for protection through the designation of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). This habitat exists in a range of forms from crusts a single individual thick to agglomerations rising several decimetres from the seabed. Human activities, such as aggregate extraction, have the potential to damage these structures and the statutory licensing of such activities seeks to protect these habitats. However, the status of this habitat in U.K. coastal waters is not well understood and the survey methods which might best identify Sabellaria spinulosa ‘reefs’ have not yet been established. This limits our ability to provide effective management and protection of this habitat.

CEFAS, in partnership with JNCC and Envision Mapping, are conducting a review of both the occurrence and the ecology of this habitat and also those survey techniques that have been used to identify it. The project is funded by Defra’s Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund, through English Nature’s grants scheme. We are intending to establish the comparative effectiveness of various survey tools and approaches to identify, map and monitor the presence, extent and ‘quality’ of these habitats. During the first year of the project we have conducted preliminary survey work at a number of sites in the North Sea using acoustic, photographic, grabbing and trawling techniques. Early results suggest that a range of techniques will have a role to play in mapping Sabellaria ‘reef’ habitats. Further survey work is planned for 2006 and we intend to use the results from both the review process and the preliminary surveys to guide and refine our approaches.

The outcomes of the project will inform subsequent ‘Best Practice Guidelines’ to be produced by the JNCC.

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The Outer Bristol Channel Marine Habitat Study: an integrated interdisciplinary project with strong educational outreach

A.S.Y. Mackie¹, J.W.C. James², T. Darbyshire¹, S. Philpott², K. Mortimer¹, A. Morando², G.O. Jenkins², L. Murphy¹ and C. Poulton²

1) Amgueddfa Cymru — National Museum Wales, Cardiff, UK

2) British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, UK

This three-year study (2003-2006) was based around regional habitat mapping of an area with potential for the future extraction of marine aggregates. The project utilised newly collected geological, geophysical and biological data, together with photographic and video imaging, to produce integrated sea bed habitat and biotope maps. This was achieved through the combined use of multibeam, sidescan and boomer technologies, alongside direct sampling with grabs and trawls, supplemented by underwater photography. Apart from providing modern scientific interpretations of the seabed to satisfy resource management and environmental needs, a major part of the study involved the dissemination of the data, results and recommendations to as wide an audience as possible. This has been achieved through a range of outputs including scientific reports, a touring multimedia exhibition, an innovative interactive educational CD-ROM and the development of website access. However, the most important outreach activities were delivered by a project marine education interpreter who developed and ran a workshop programme for schools suitable for use in the National Curriculum (Key stages 2-4; ages 7-16). This reached over 4500 pupils in the 2005-2006 academic year and a further 3500 people were involved through outreach sessions and events in Wales and England.

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Marine habitat mapping – results from the Archipelago Sea, northern Baltic Sea

Aarno T. Kotilainen¹, Anu M. Reijonen¹, Ulla Alanen¹, Anu Hirvonen², Ari Laine², Jouni Leinikki³, Panu Oulasvirta³, Tapio Suominen⁴, Petri Vahteri⁵, Jesper H. Andersen⁶, Jan Ekebom⁷, Jørgen O. Leth⁸, Greger Lindeberg⁹, Samuli Neuvonen^10, Madeleine Nyman¹⁰, Anna-Leena Nöjd¹⁰, Henna Piekäinen¹⁰, Johnny Reker⁶

1) Geological Survey of Finland. P.O. Box 96, FIN-02151 Espoo, Finland

2) The Finnish Institute of Marine Research, P.O. Box 2, FIN-00561 Helsinki, Finland

3)Alleco Ltd, Mekaanikonkatu 3, FIN-00810 Helsinki, Finland

4)Department of Geography, University of Turku, FIN-20014 Turku, Finland

5) The Archipelago Research Institute, University of Turku, FIN-20014 Turku, Finland

6) The National Forest and Nature Agency, Haraldsgade 53, 2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark

7) Metsähallitus, Natural Heritage Services, Central Unit, P.O. Box 94, FIN-01301 Vantaa, Finland

8) The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, 1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark

9) The Swedish Geological Survey, P.O. Box 670, 75128 Uppsala, Sweden

10) Finnish Environment Institute, P.O. Box 140, FIN-00251 Helsinki, Finland

The world oceans and seas, as well as their seafloors, have been explored for decades. However, our knowledge from these is still limited. This is valid also for the Baltic Sea, one of the largest brackish water bodies in the world, where e.g. information on the state and distribution of geo- and biodiversity is scattered and insufficient in many places. Existing data is not adequate in planning and implementing effective management solutions for sustainable use of marine resources and protection of the Baltic Sea’s unique natural heritage. Due to increased activities (like marine traffic) in the marine and coastal areas this lack of information is problematic. This has been acknowledged in several national and international connections (EC Directives, HELCOM recommendations), which emphasise the importance of deepening our knowledge of marine environment.

We show preliminary results of marine habitat mapping project (VALKO) from the Archipelago Sea, northern Baltic Sea. The VALKO -project is part of the Finnish Inventory Programme for the Underwater Marine Environment (VELMU). The main aim of the VALKO project is to develop a collaboration model for the implementation of the field inventories. Marine habitat mapping in the Archipelago Sea is also the focus of the Interreg III B co-funded BALANCE –project, and is one of the pilot study areas in the BALANCE (http://www.balance-eu.org/). BALANCE -project will provide information and tools for trans-national spatial planning in the Baltic Sea region. The environment of the Archipelago Sea pilot area is very diverse. It includes coastal area, an archipelago of more than 22 000 islands and open sea areas. This sea area includes the largest diversity of both biotopes and species along the Finnish coastal zone; therefore it is optimal for testing and developing inventory methods.

Harmonization of survey methodology and data classification is an essential part of the project in national (VALKO) and especially in international level (BALANCE). Methods used to collect information on marine environment include metadata collection, remote sensing methods (e.g. aerial photographs), acoustic-seismic methods (e.g. echo-sounding, side scan sonar) and sediment sampling. Biological observations were made using underwater video and photography, diving observations and sampling. Modelling is used to provide information on both biotic and abiotic elements (e.g. marine landscape). During VALKO project distributed GIS service was tested and proved effective method for data delivery. The multinational BALANCE project is also using similar method for data delivery (http://maps.sgu.se/Portal/).

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High-resolution sea bottom survey of the Oslofjord, Norway – usual suspects and unexpected encounters

Aivo Lepland, Reidulv Bøe, Heidi Olsen, Aave Lepland and Oddbjørn Totland

Geological Survey of Norway, 7491 Trondheim, Norway

One third of Norway's population lives in the Oslo region hence it is not surprising that the Oslofjord has been exposed to various contaminant discharges and environmental hazards. Over the past decades some areas of the fjord bottom have been rendered largely inhabitable. Complicated seabed morphology, great variability of substrates and alteration of erosion and accumulation areas call for detailed information on bathymetry, bottom types and sedimentary processes to establish sensible monitoring and conservation programs.

The Geological Survey of Norway took an initiative for a full-scale seabed-mapping programme of the inner Oslofjord in 2004. Interferometric sonars (GeoSwath by GeoAcoustics) with 125 kHz or 250 kHz transducers have been used for collecting bathymetric and backscatter data. Sediment stratigraphy and sediment thicknesses were mapped (simultaneously with GeoSwath profiling) with either TOPAS parametric sub-bottom profiler or GeoPulse boomer. The GeoSwath registrations have been gridded applying a 1 m cell size. The spatial density of GeoSwath registrations allows to grid the data with even smaller cell size, but because of transitional, fluffy sediment-water interface it is often impossible to exactly define the sea bottom at the cm-scale, and therefore smaller than 1 m grids appear impractical.

The bathymetric dataset reveals numerous large and small, natural and man-made sea bottom features such as bedrock ridges, dyke and fault systems, submarine slides, anchor and dredging tracks, dumping areas, shipwrecks etc. The most astonishing finding is the occurrence of hundreds of well-defined pockmarks (ca. 60 m in diameter and up to 5 m deep) that had not been reported from the Oslofjord before. Pockmarks occur typically in sediments above faults in the underlying Palaeozoic bedrock, but it is yet to be proven whether it is gas or groundwater that seeps out and forms pockmarks.

GeoSwath backscatter data integrated with bathymetry, seismic information and sediment sample characteristics allow compilation of sediment maps and interpretation of sedimentary processes (erosion, by-pass, accumulation) at the seabed. This information is used to define the depocentres in the Oslofjord that are the ultimate recipients of fine-grained sediments and associated contaminants. The environmental state of the fjord, both at present and in the past is most reliably reflected in the bottom sediments in these accumulation basins hence the control upon the depocentres and sediment transport provides an important framework for environmental assessments.

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The Eastern English Channel Marine Habitat Map: supporting the sustainable management of offshore resources

J.W.C. James¹, S. Philpott¹, D.S. Limpenny², A. Morando¹, R.A. Coggan², E. Bee¹, S.N.R. Birchenough², J. Robinson³, S.E. Boyd², C. Johnston⁴, V. Blyth-Skyrme⁴

1) British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, UK

2) Cefas, Burnham on Crouch, Essex, UK

3) Marine Ecological Surveys, Bath, UK

4) Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Peterbrough, UK

This aim of the project is to provide integrated broadscale habitat maps for an extensive area within the central part of the Eastern English Channel in order to support the sustainable management of offshore resources. The maps will be based on an inter-disciplinary approach, integrating geological, geophysical and biological data and interpretations. A geophysical survey of 4000 line km utilising multibeam, high resolution multipulse sidescan and boomer sub-bottom has been completed. From an initial interpretation of the geophysics a ground truthing survey was planned and completed with grabs, trawls and video. The driver is the discovery of substantial aggregate resources in this area and the requirement to manage the sustainable development of this resource and minimise potential impacts. The area of resource needs to be assessed within the broader context of the Eastern English Channel. The UK government wishes to promote effective stewardship of the marine environment through a policy of integrated management, balancing the requirements for development with nature conservation and legislation. The implementation of the EU Habitats directive requires a significant knowledge of the nature of the sea bed and the project will act as a demonstrator for the mapping methodologies which are required for effective implementation.

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Scale issues in ground-truthing the large-scale habitat map of the

eastern English Channel

Roger A. Coggan¹, Silvana N.R. Birchenough¹, Jamie Robinson², David S. Limpenny¹ and Siân E. Boyd¹

1) The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Essex, UK

2) Marine Ecological Surveys Limited, Bath, UK

The eastern English Channel contains a substantial area of potential aggregate resource. An industry consortium has undertaken a Regional Environmental Assessment (REA) covering a patchwork of aggregate prospecting areas (red polygons in Figure 1). Our survey was designed to place this REA in a wider spatial context to help assess the environmental significance of any potential impacts from commercial aggregate extraction over the broader region of the eastern English Channel. A geophysical survey grid provided ‘acoustic corridors’ of multibeam bathymetry data and sidescan sonar coverage over the survey area, and these data were used to target subsequent ground-truth stations. Three ground-truth sampling techniques were employed, namely grabs, trawls and video sledge transects. This paper will present preliminary result of the ground-truth sampling and examine scale issues relating to the value of these techniques when applied to verifying broad scale acoustic surveys. The utility of this survey design for underpinning policy decisions relating to the marine environment and resource development will be discussed.