Work has started to create a first 3D map of part of the seabed along the west coast of Scotland.
Marine ecologists and oceanographers from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) are carrying out a four-week survey to check the condition of the water and improve scientific understanding of the environment.
Data and samples will be collected from locations along the west coast by the scientists on board the Sir John Murray survey vessel.
The boat is fitted with underwater HD cameras and a scanner which will allow the team to create maps of the various habitats and physical features found on the seabed.
The work will allow delicate environments to be better preserved while still letting people use coastal areas, Sepa said.
The first two weeks of the survey will see the Sir John Murray operating in Loch Linnhe and Loch Tuath, in Argyll, with the second half of the survey carrying out mapping and sampling work in Skye and the Western Isles.
Senior scientist David Ross said: "The survey is an exciting opportunity to really broaden our scientific knowledge of these coastal environments.
"We take what we can see in the world around us for granted, however until now getting maps and broad-scale knowledge of what lies beneath the waves has always been difficult.
"Using this data, we can better balance people's desire to use Scotland's coastal resources, with protection of these delicate ecosystems."
WWF Scotland director Lang Banks welcomed the surveys.
He said: "Scotland's seas and coasts are home to an amazing range of wildlife, but we need to see action to halt and then reverse the declining health of our marine environment."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article