Summary: | Salmon farming is a major industry in many Scottish sea lochs. Although the impact of salmon farming and pathways of several farm wastes have been studied extensively, there has been little research into the fate of metals originating from fish farms. This thesis investigates the influence of salmon farming on sediment biogeochemical conditions, with particular reference to the cycling, interactions, and effects of metals in farm sediments of Scottish sea lochs. Scottish sea lochs are fjordic systems, and have a defined set of physical processes occurring within them that depend on topographical characteristics of the sea loch and the influence of external forces. The most common definition of a fjord, also know as a sea loch, is “a deep, high-latitude estuary which has been (or is presently being) excavated or modified by landbased ice” (Syvitski et al. 1987). The established opinion of their origin is that fluvial action along fault lines allowed subsequent glaciers to follow this path of least resistance, leading to major excavation (Skei et al. 2003). Fjords are found in all northern and southern regions of the earth that were once ice-covered, but this review will focus on the sea loch (fjordic) systems of western Scotland.
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