The coastal zone is being seen increasingly as a major resource requiring the planning of its use to accommodate the many and frequently conflicting demands placed upon it. In the U.K. this planning is complicated by the difficulties arising from the scale, map projection and quality of information provided by the different mapping agencies. These difficulties are compounded because the representation of information concerning the littoral is quickly outdated by the dynamic coastal processes operating in this zone. This paper presents the results of an investigation of the use of digital remote sensing and mapping techniques, using data from a set of LANDSAT MSS scenes corresponding to different tidal states, for mapping within the coastal zone where regular and possibly cyclic map revision is required.

It is a great pleasure, and an honour, to be given the opportunity to open this Symposium. That the subject is of major and widespread interest can be shown by the impressive list of speakers who have agreed to address us in the next two days and also by the encouraging response we have had from those wishing to attend. There can, indeed, be few subjects of greater importance to our future prosperity than energy supplies. After the upheavals of the last thirteen years, in which the international oil price rose so dramatically in two major surges from 3 dollars a barrel in 1973 to a peak of over 40 dollars in 1980 and has now, since last November, fallen from 30 to 15 dollars, this point needs little emphasis. The intolerably high levels of unemployment which still plague the industrial world are at least in part a consequence of the economic dislocation which these price changes brought about; so too is the problem of excessive debt in many of the less developed countries with its serious threat to the world financial system.

The principles of airborne thermography are outlined. A general introduction to instrumentation, imaging and data correction methods is included, along with particular examples of some of the methods used. Specific applications of work done on Tay Estuary and English Channel imagery are described to illustrate some of the results which can be achieved.

The main features of energy demand in Scotland are described and compared, in respect of total energy use and the shares supplied by the different fuels, with the figures for the United Kingdom and other countries. Recent trends in demand are examined to illustrate how the present position has been reached and factors likely to influence each fuel's share in the future are outlined. The role of the energy industries themselves is discussed and the scope for new initiatives by these industries indicated.

A new mathematical model has been constructed for tidal motion and level in the Tay Estuary. The model is based upon the two-dimensional vertically integrated equations of motion and gives two-dimensional vector velocities and levels from the rail bridge to the Bar, about 5 km east of Buddon Ness. The extent of the model outside the mouth of the Tay is 3 km north of Buddon Ness and 7 km south. The equations of motion are expressed in the form of central differences in space and solved explicitly in time using the Local Integral Method. The emergence and submergence of drying zones in the estuary are calculated during the tidal cycle. A representation of the hydrodynamic resistance of the road bridge was included in the model.

The boundary conditions for the model were based upon estimates of river flows at the western entrance and tidal levels at the eastern, northern and southern boundaries. Boundary conditions at the eastern end of the model presented considerable complexities because of the presence of an amphidromic system to the south of the Norwegian coast. The final solution adopted was to choose tidal levels along the easterly boundaries to give velocities in the outer estuary that agreed with available tidal atlases of the region.

Velocities and levels at intervals of 250 m for the period of a tide show the prevalent shoaling conditions over the estuary combined during certain periods with conditions of high velocity, giving very difficult approaches to the River Tay.

In a mathematical model of the Tay (Gunn & Yenigun 1987) based upon the Local Integral Method (Gunn & Yenigun 1985), tidal levels at the seaward boundaries and velocities at landward boundaries are used in setting boundary conditions, so that validation studies are mainly based upon changes in internal tidal levels, and comparison between computed and measured velocities within the modelled region. The comparisons of tidal levels within this estuary over a 5.0 m tide showed agreement with overall values from Buddon Ness to the rail bridge, but within the overall agreement there were significant differences in the immediate vicinity of the road bridge. Velocities predicted within the estuary have been compared with measurements provided by a number of surveys in the period from 1972-78. The agreement between experiment and prediction was good in the central and western regions of the model, but the comparison between measurement and prediction was less good near the eastern boundaries. The principal reason for poorer agreement in the east was the difficulty in setting boundary conditions at the open sea extremes of the model. The most satisfactory way of improving the model near the open sea boundaries would be to link the model for the Tay with a model for velocity and level in the North Sea.

Since the assessment of coal reserves for the Royal Commission on the coal industry of Great Britain made nearly a century ago, up to assessments made by geologists of the National Coal Board, it has been evident that the coalfields of Scotland contain considerable quantities of coal. Throughout the past two decades the presence of hydrocarbons in the rocks beneath the North Sea, the general abundance of oil in various parts of the world, and the development of nuclear power, has meant that coal is only one of several sources of energy readily available to us. The coalfields of Scotland contain seams of varying quality and energy content and so can be compared with other fuels. Consequently it is the cost of the energy to the consumer that is often the controlling factor in the choice of which fuel to use. The very nature of coal as a bulky and not-too-easily-handled fuel has meant that only the generation of electricity offers the scope for substantial consumption of coal.

The paper examines these factors and also the location of the coal reserves in Scotland, particularly in the light of the geological factors that affect the cost of the energy. The National Coal Board's deep mining exploration programme in Great Britain has sought opportunities for new ventures and developments, some of which have been in Scotland. The market for the coal and the competition for that market clearly indicates that the productivity of coal mining operations is paramount in determining the future size of the coal industry in Scotland. About half of the coal can be provided from low-cost opencast operations, with the other half obtained from the mines with the highest productivities—productivities that result in energy costs similar to those obtained from oil and nuclear power.

Some 6 billion of the 14 billion barrels of proven reserves on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf have already been produced. The remaining 8 billion barrels are reasonably insensitive to oil prices even as low as $10 per barrel, as the operating costs of most existing fields are below $7 per barrel. Production from these proven reserves is already dropping from a peak of just under 3 million barrels per day towards 0·3 million barrels per day in the year 2000.

A description of the buried sequence in the northern North Sea and the frontier area towards Rockall and Faeroe leads to an assessment of probable oil reserves somewhat more conservative than the Department of Energy best guess of 44 billion barrels. Further developments will be sensitive to the course of oil prices, but at least another 8 billion barrels could be added to the proven reserves.

The world is consuming oil far faster than it is finding it, and the supply must be dominated again by the Middle East producers as production declines.

A numerical model based on a Galerkin finite element solution of the one-dimensional salt transport equation is used to simulate the unsteady longitudinal distribution of salinity in the Tay Estuary. Tidal discharges are provided by the hydrodynamical equations of motion and continuity whose solution is coupled to that for the transport of salt. Dispersion coefficients used in the model are estimated with the aid of field data collected during a spring and neap tide. These coefficients are shown to vary with longitudinal position.

A method of predicting coastal changes north and south of the Tay Estuary, due to the action of waves and wave-generated nearshore currents using computer simulation techniques, is described. The computation is based upon a wave refraction procedure, using as input data the deep-water wave climate (height, period and direction of approach) and the bathymetric characteristics of the sea area from Montrose to Fife Ness. The technique provides a prediction of the longshore component of wave energy flux at breaking, by computing the wave energy dissipation through shoaling, refraction and friction of the waves, for a number of points along the 70 km of shoreline. Potential patterns of longshore sediment transport are then derived in order to establish zones of potential erosion, transport and deposition between Boddin Point and Fife Ness.

This paper considers market fundamentals rather than privatisation, which is largely about organisation. During the last ten years there has been significant growth in the size of the world's remaining proven gas reserves. The proven reserve production ratio has been growing and is now sixty years. Beyond proven reserves there are reserves in the “probable” and “possible” categories. Within Western Europe, gas reserves are principally located in Norway, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Additional reserves are accessible to Western Europe. For the United Kingdom, gas supplies are probably ample in the short to medium term. In the longer term there is likely to be a need for imports but there are various potential suppliers. At the Church House debate in 1976 many were obsessed with “energy gaps”; today's conventional wisdom is “market forces”. Energy forecasts have proved inaccurate, but gas demand has been fairly close to projections. Over the last ten years the role of gas in energy markets has been growing, such that gas is now the major fuel in non-transport energy demand. Gas now dominates the domestic market for energy in Britain. Growth in customers continues in Scotland and the rest of Britain. Nevertheless, there is fierce competition in the domestic market with millions of decisions taken on acquiring and replacing appliances each year. The growing role of gas in Scottish and British industrial and commercial markets is discussed, with faster growth overall in demand in Scotland than Britain as a whole. The recession has had its effect but gas suffered less than some other fuels. Growth in gas demand from industry has resumed. Great emphasis is placed upon improving the efficiency of gas use. Used wisely, an availability of gas is foreseen on a long term basis.

The present buyer's market in energy is likely to continue for several years, but in the longer run the disparity in resources and consumption rates among the principal fuels will result in renewed shortage and price rises for oil and natural gas. In the longer term the major energy importers must rely on the broad international market in coal and uranium. A useful insurance for power producers will be to invest overseas in the production of their fuels.

The occurrence of a population of the spionid polychaete Marenzelleria viridis (Verrill 1873) in the middle reaches of the Tay Estuary is reported. This is a new British and European record of a North American species, and its principal characteristics are described and compared with earlier accounts. Size frequency analysis of the population showed it to be dominated by large animals from July 1984 to May 1986. The population matured coelomic gametes during winter 1985–86 and spawned in March 1986 to produce a heavy settlement in May, which subsequently grew rapidly. The distribution of M. viridis in relation to other species, sediment and other ecological parameters is described from a single survey of the Invergowrie Bay mudflats. Marenzelleria population densities of up to 1500 m 2 were negatively correlated with all other species of a low diversity macrofaunal community dominated by predatory polychaetes and filter feeding bivalves. Marenzelleria was abundant down to sediment depths of 20–30 cm. The significance and origin of this population is discussed.

The spatial distribution of different physiological groups of bacteria (nitrifying bacteria, nitrate respiring bacteria, clostridia, phototrophic bacteria, sulphate reducing bacteria and methanogens) has been determined in the surface sediments of Kingoodie Bay in the Tay Estuary. The overall distribution of the different microbial populations is largely dependent upon the presence or absence of O2, i.e. populations of obligate aerobes were greater at the surface where O2 was present, but with increasing depth and hence anoxia were successively displaced by populations of facultative and then strictly anaerobic bacteria. Thus, maximum rates of nitrification, an oxygen dependent process, were recorded in the 0–10 mm depth horizon (098 μg of N per g dry weight of sediment per day) while nitrate respiration rates were maximal in the 10–20 mm horizon (2.92 μg N per g dry weight of sediment per day). Dissimilatory sulphate reduction at 20–30 mm depth (102.1 n mol SO42 reduced g dry weight sediment -1.d -1). Methanogenesis was similarly recorded at all depths investigated but higher rates were recorded at 40–50 mm depth (22.64 n mol CH4 produced g dry weight sediment -1.d -1). These data are discussed in relation to the physico-chemical factors which arc generated in these estuarine sediments and which not only govern the spatial organisation of individual microbial populations but also modulate their metabolic activities.

The background to recent major advances in the construction and operation of fast reactors is outlined with particular reference to the Dounreay Prototype Fast Reactor. The advantages and disadvantages of sodium as a coolant of the high energy density assembly are discussed and an account given of the consequences of a leak and the precautions taken against this eventuality. Attention is drawn to the safety aspects of the system. The economics of the plans for fuel reprocessing are explained and an account given of the progress in the fabrication of fast reactor fuel pins. Finally the environmental impact of present and planned activities on the Dounreay site is presented in the context of participation in the European Collaboration on Fast Reactor Technology and attention drawn to the importance of the planning inquiry in progress at Dounreay.

The sediments of the floor of the Tay Estuary are dominated by assemblages of quartzo-feldspathic sands, although pebbles and silts are locally important. The sands are principally of inorganic materials, but they include shell fragments which account for up to 25% of the material, depending upon locality.

Detailed analyses of the shell components of the 0.3–1.2 mm size fraction (400 particles from each site) in the area between Balmerino and Monifieth Bay reveal the presence of much molluscan debris (identified as mature and immature bivalves and gastropods), with significant proportions of bryozoan, barnacle or echinoderm skeletal fragments according to locality. Ostracoda and foraminifera are less common. The shelly material occurs mostly within zones inhabited by the same living organisms.

The characteristic blue-coloured Mytilus edulis shell fragments are also recognised up to 6 km landwards of the westernmost known colonies, along the railway bridge.

Shell matter is dissimilar in shape and surface texture to the clastic grains and large shell fragments are frequently associated with sand sized inorganic sediments, which have been shown in flume experiments to respond in a similar manner to hydraulic controls.

The Mytilus is therefore suitable for use as a natural tracer. It indicates up-estuary net residual motion of sediments in the middle and upper reaches. This pattern confirms evidence from heavy mineral assemblages that North Sea derived sands enter the estuary and migrate westwards to accumulate on the upper estuarine tidal flats.

Renewable energy sources are assessed on the basis of the practically available size of the reserve and the economic competitiveness of its development. Solar water heating panels are expensive, but attention to passive solar heating and heat retention in house design is inexpensive and rewarding. Photovoltaic cells remain expensive for United Kingdom use but are likely to be useful in small specialised applications. Offshore wave power needs bulky and expensive structures, though economic generation may be possible at favoured points on rocky shores. Wind power is nearly competitive with conventional electricity generation and offers an attractive export market even with a small United Kingdom base. Total power promises to be economic but it involves very large installations where the obstacle is the huge initial investment. Geothermal energy from hot, dry rocks has yet to show acceptable heat generation rates. The most promising renewable energy source at present is man-made; domestic, industrial and agriculture waste used as fuel.

The organisation of the generation and supply of electricity in Scotland by the South of Scotland Electricity Board and the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board is detailed and differences from the other nationalised energy industries in Scotland and from the arrangements for the supply of electricity in England and Wales noted. The present plant position is described and the flexibility in the fuels used underlined. The experiences of the last thirty years are analysed and an account given of the response of the Boards to the crises of dramatic oil price increases and the 1984/85 dispute in the coal industry. Attention is given to the forward planning problems arising from the long construction time of a new station and the delays that may be involved with public inquiries. The opportunities for exporting power to England after the modest anticipated rises in Scottish demands are met are cited as a factor in the budgetting. The difficulties the Combined Heat and Power projects, being studied for a number of major cities including Edinburgh, present to the Boards are listed. Finally the implications for suppliers and contractors of the necessary replacement before the end of the century of equipment associated with the distribution system are noted.

In the upper Tay Estuary the marshes bordering the northern intertidal mud-flats are dominated by Phragmites communis in the west, with Juncus gerardi becoming more important eastwards, where Aster tripolium is also significant. Sedimentation on the surface of the marshes at Kingoodie and Invergowrie has been measured at monthly intervals over a twenty-three month period, using stake implants to provide local marker levels. The marsh surfaces were at their greatest heights in early summer and fell during autumn and winter. Maximum accretion rates were measured in spring on the outer marshes at both sites, where net accretion over the entire period was greatest. The net accretion in the Phragmites marsh was 2.5 mm, in the Aster belt 5 mm, in established Juncus 9 mm and in newly colonising Juncus 8.7 mm, whereas on the adjacent Kingoodie mud flats there was net stability over the twenty-three-month interval. Accretion was less at Invergowrie (3–5 mm) than at Kingoodie (2.5–9 mm). Monthly analysis of the upper 0.5 cm of the surface sediments showed the Invergowrie marsh sediments to be sandier than those of Kingoodie. Silts and clays deposited on the outer marsh surface in spring migrate landward during the summer and autumn. The apparent annual net accretion varied greatly with the specific month used for comparison, with 13 mm net losses based on November figures and 10 mm gains using January data.