Glossary

Acoustic Ground Discrimination Systems detect the acoustic reflectance properties of seabed substrata that can be linked to the physical, or occasionally biological nature of the substrata, that can be useful in habitat mapping.

This is the collective term for sand, gravel and crushed rock. They can be compacted to firmly fill a space and are often bound together with cement (to make concrete) or bitumen (for road surfacing).

In 2002 a tax was introduced on the commercial extraction of aggregates. Part of the money raised by the levy has been used to finance the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund, which funds projects to help address the environmental impacts of marine aggregate extraction.

The anchor/static dredger is used to target deeper aggregate deposits than the trailer dredger because it remains stationary during extraction. This method of dredging creates a series of relatively deep depressions on the seabed, but is not commonly used by the UK aggregate extraction industry.

A rapid reconnaissance of a site and records to establish whether a mineral extraction or other development proposal has known or potential archaeological potential requiring further investigation.

Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetacaens of the Baltic and North Seas.