Darwin Mounds

Darwin Mounds is a large field of undersea sand mounds situated off the north west coast of Scotland that were first discovered in May 1998. They provide a unique habitat for ancient deep water coral reefs and were found using remote sensing techniques during surveys funded by the oil industry and steered by the joint industry and United Kingdom government group the Atlantic Frontier Environment Network (AFEN) (Masson and Jacobs 1998). The mounds were named after the research vessel, itself named for the eminent naturalist and evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin. The mounds are about 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) below the surface of the North Atlantic ocean, approximately 100 nautical miles (190 km) north-west of Cape Wrath, the north-west tip of mainland Scotland. There are hundreds of mounds in the field, which in total cover approximately 100 square kilometres (39 mi2). Individual mounds are typically circular, up to 5 metres (16 ft) high and 100 metres (330 ft) wide. Most of the mounds are also distinguished by the presence of an additional feature referred to as a 'tail'. The tails are of a variable extent and may merge with others, but are generally a teardrop shape and are orientated south-west of the mound. The mound-tail feature of the Darwin Mounds is apparently unique globally.