THE remote archipelago of St Kilda off the west coast of Scotland was once a
single mountainous island. The first underwater survey of the area, conducted by
the government agencies Scottish Natural Heritage and the Fisheries Research
Services Marine Laboratory, has revealed that the seabed between the four
islands in the group is just 60 metres below the water’s surface. This would
have been above sea level 18,000 years ago, during the last ice age.
The dramatic seabed terrain has created unusual underwater reefs that support
a rich diversity of marine life, says John Baxter of Scottish National Heritage.…
