Dundee from Dundee Law

Saturday 7th December. Dundee from Dundee Law, a cold and dismal day as can be seen from the lack of colour.

Prominent is an oil drilling platform, in for maintenance and obviates the depth of the North Sea of which the average water depths vary, but are generally between 50 and 200 m for the shelf seas, the waters being shallower around the south west of Scotland, and typically between 100 and 150 m to the west of the Hebrides and off the north coast. Scotland’s offshore environment also includes waters of depths greater than 2,000 m. Little is known about the deep seas around Scotland compared with the shallow shelf seas. In general, less is known about Scotland’s seas compared with our knowledge of landward Scotland. What is known however is that Scotland’s seas are some of the most diverse on the planet. They are at the confluence of northerly-flowing surface currents and southerly-flowing polar currents and the complex bathymetry to the west causes these to become mixed, bringing nutrients to the surface. These are fed on by plankton communities which form the basis for what could be one of the richest fishing regions anywhere on the globe.

 

Oil extraction from such an important resource has its dangers both to oil workers and  biodiversity.

Looking to the South reveals the famous Tay rail bridge which is about 2 miles long.

I just had Arbroath  Smokies to eat, a wonderful naturally smoked haddock delight caught in the North Sea.

Ummmm