Table 5. Comparison of extrapolated spatial extent of human activities in the OSPAR area in 2005.
| Activity | Estimated spatial extent | Extrapolated to 100% of activity |
| (>200m water depth) | (km2) | (km2) |
| Scientific research: 45% of cruises with activities on the seafloor reported to ROSCOP during 2005 | ||
| Non-fisheries research cruises | 4 | 9 |
| Fisheries research cruises | 22 | 49 |
| Submarine communications cables: Estimate based on 41% of cables | ||
| No burial: between 200–1500 m wd, 50 mm diameter cable ; >1500 m wd, 20 mm diameter cable | 2 | 5 |
| No burial: between 200–>1500 m wd, 50 mm** diameter cable | 4 | 10 |
| Cable burial: between 200–1500 m wd with 2 m wide disturbance strip*; no burial >1500 m wd, 20 mm diameter cable | 15 | Extrapolation inappropriate – see text. |
| Cable burial: between 200–1500 m wd with 8 m wide disturbance strip*; no burial >1500 m wd, 20 mm diameter cable | 61 | Extrapolation inappropriate – see text. |
| Waste disposal: Includes all recorded data | ||
| Radioactive waste | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Munitions and chemical weapons | 1.4 | 1.4 |
| Military | No data made available | No data made available |
| Oil and gas: Includes all recorded data and extrapolations | ||
| Pipelines | 4 | 4 |
| 1 , 2Structures: platforms, templates and wellheads | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 2Structures and associated cuttings piles (∼83 m radius3) | 3 | 3 |
| 2Wells drilled during 2005 and associated cuttings piles (∼83 m radius3) | 1 | 1 |
| 2Wells drilled between 1960 and December 2005 and associated cuttings piles (∼83 m radius3) | 15 | 15 |
| Total pipelines, structures, wells and cuttings piles | 23.2 | 23.2 |
| Bottom trawling in Hatton and Rockall during 2005 estimated as ∼50% of all deep sea bottom trawling area in the OSPAR area | ||
| - Speed range 2.0–3.0 knots, gear width 22 m: | ||
| Tracks not merged | 741 | 1,482 |
| Tracks merged | 548 | 1,096 |
| - Speed range 1.5–5.0 knots, gear width 125 m: | ||
| Tracks not merged | 37,160 | 74,320 |
| Tracks merged | 13,920 | 27,840 |
Estimates and extrapolations of the spatial extent of six major human activities occurring directly on the sea floor, including structures and artefacts present on the seafloor resulting from past activities, within the OSPAR maritime area of the North East Atlantic in waters >200 m during 2005. Estimates for bottom trawling and marine scientific research are based on 2005 data only.
wd: water depth;
*Carter et al., 2009] [23].
1
Information from NPD and Statoil datasets and Eastwood et al., 2007 [19].
2
Boundaries merged and dissolved.
3
SERPENT Project, unpublished data.