Our facilities ensure we can contribute cutting edge research, training, services and knowledge exchange that are relevant and responsive to the needs of the region, which at the same time, are also of tangible value to society. For further information please contact eri-info@uhi.ac.uk

Marine Survey and Instrumentation

For details please contact benjamin.williamson@uhi.ac.uk

Equipment and facilities are available for hire or collaboration. Associated expertise in data analysis is available.

  • Survey vessel “RV (ERI) Aurora” 6.2 m Cheetah Marine Catamaran with pole mount, either for surveys from Gills Bay (Pentland Firth) or around northern Scotland via road trailer
  • Outland 1000 inspection class ROV with MicroNAV USBL and underwater DSLR
  • Multi-instrument active acoustic (sonar) environmental monitoring platforms for environmental impact assessments and pre/post consent monitoring applications
  • Various Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) and Acoustic Wave and Current Meters (AWACs) for either vessel surveys or seabed frames (seabed frames available) including Nortek Signature 5-beam broadband ADCPs (500 & 1000 kHz), Teledyne Workhorse ADCPs (300 & 600 khz), Nortek AWACs (400 kHz and 1000 kHz) and Aquadopp Profilers (400 kHz and 2 MHz)
  • 2* RBR Maestro CTD / Dissolved Oxygen / Fluorescence / PAR meters
  • 3* Datawell Waverider wave buoys
  • Nortek X-band marine radar system for monitoring waves, currents and marine life
  • 3* Valeport Model 106 Lightweight Current Meters
  • Tritech Gemini 1200ik dual-frequency multibeam imaging sonar (720/1200 kHz)
  • Tritech Super SeaKing DST Sonar
  • Simrad ES70 echosounder (38/200 kHz), EK60 and EK80 (WBT) split-beam echosounders (38/120/200 kHz), EK80 WBAT wideband autonomous transceiver, acoustic calibration spheres
  • 20* VEMCO VR2AR 69 kHz acoustic fish tag telemetry receivers and moorings with VR100-200 transponding hydrophone
  • CTD with PAR Sensor, Fluorometer and Dissolved Oxygen Probe
  • Starfish Advanced 450F sidescan sonar and Chesapeake Sonar Wizz 5
  • Custom multi-frequency sidescan sonar towfish developed with Kongsberg Geoacoustics (link)
  • Niskin bottles for sampling water at depth
  • Optics for seabird / marine mammal surveys
  • Various acoustic releases
  • Various tide gauge equipment
  • Various meteorological station equipment

Aerial Survey and Instrumentation

For details please contact benjamin.williamson@uhi.ac.uk

Associated expertise in data analysis is available:

  • GVC-qualified pilots (research/commercial, MTOM 20 kg) with full liability insurance
  • Phantom 4 RTK UAV
  • Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 UAV
  • Aibotix X6 UAV
  • Tetra TD-7 water landing UAV (3.5 kg payload)
  • Aerial imaging cameras – FLIR Vue Pro R 640 thermal camera, MapIR 3N multi-spectral camera, DJI X5 16MP RGB camera, reflectance calibration targets

Analytical Instrumentation

  • High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) coupled with a diverse range of Mass Spectrometers (triple quadrupole, time of flight and high capacity ion trap).
  • Two HPLC systems with both Diode Array and Fluorescence Detection.
  • Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDX) allowing wet and non-conductive samples to be viewed in their original state.
  • ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry) and Cathodic Stripping Voltammetry for elemental and trace metals analysis.
  • Gas Chromatography with flame ionisation, nitrogen-phosphorous and mass spectroscopic detectors.
  • Seal AQ2 discrete auto analyser (for TON, SRP, ammonium, etc) and Shimadzu TOC analyser (for DOC/TOC/IC).
  • Molecular biology facilities including real time PCR and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis.
  • Stereoscopic Microscope with Digital Camera to enable viewing of specimens in a fresh state.

Seminar Room with VC

ERI has a light and airy hall that can accommodate up to forty people (seated), and can be configured to host meetings and seminars. It is often used for teaching, tutorials and workshops in conjunction with other facilities at the ERI if required. Video conferencing and LCD projection
facilities are also available in the hall. In addition, we have 3 further meeting/VC rooms available at CfEE.

ICT
A multifunctional ICT environment supported by a high-speed network (LAN and WLAN), videoconferencing, conference phone systems and multi-OS workstations.

Our facilities ensure we can contribute cutting edge research, training and services that are relevant and responsive to the needs of the region, which at the same time, are also of tangible value to society.