New interactive Story Map highlights the effect of climate change on Scotland’s deep-sea

A new interactive Story Map is helping to bring the science of climate change and deep-sea ecosystems to life. 

Commissioned by a Marine Alliance for Science and Technology Scotland (MASTS) working group led by Dr Johanne Vad and Dr Kristina Beck (School of GeoSciences), and created by marine ecologist Dr Emily Hague, the Story Map explores the drivers of climate change and showcases diverse case studies from deep-sea sediments, corals, and deep-sea sponges to demersal fish – all with a particular focus on Scotland’s deep-sea marine environments.

The Story Map was developed with input from a multi-institutional working group, including researchers from the University of Edinburgh’s School of GeoSciences, NatureScot, Heriot-Watt University, the University of Liverpool, Robert Gordon University, the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). This collaboration ensured a wide range of expertise in marine ecology, conservation policy, and environmental science. The working group worked on the Story Map for a year, collating facts from the literature and compiling them in an easily understandable and visually descriptive way to make the information more accessible to a wide audience. As soon as the general direction of the Story Map had been decided, the individual sections were finalised in two workshops.

Alongside the Story Map, the group has also produced a concise Policy Brief to support decision-makers in understanding the challenges facing Scotland’s deep-sea habitats and the urgent need for protective measures in the face of climate change.

Whether you’re a student, policymaker, or simply curious about the ocean, the Story Map is an engaging resource for understanding why deep-sea ecosystems matter, how they will change in the future due to climate change – and what we can do to protect them.

Find out more and view the Story Map | Effects of climate change on Scottish deep seas here

MASTS Policy Brief | Protecting Scotland’s Deep Sea in a Changing Climate