Beaufort's Dyke is a natural glacial-formed

trench A trench is a type of digging, excavation or depression in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a swale (landform), swale or a bar ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or trapping ...

within the North Channel between

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The dyke is long, wide and deep. The Dyke is one of the deepest areas of the European continental shelf. The trench is recorded in 1856 as having been discovered "some years ago" by a Captain Beechey.

Geomorphology

Beaufort's Dyke is a submerged tunnel valley caused by glacial erosion during the last glacial period, and has been prevented from filling with sediment by strong tidal currents.

Dumped munitions

Because of its depth and its proximity to the Cairnryan military port, Beaufort's Dyke became the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

's largest offshore dump site for surplus conventional and chemical munitions after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

: it had been used for the purpose since the early 20th century. The Ministry of Defence has estimated that well over a million tons of munitions have been dumped there, including 14,500 tons of 5 inch (127 mm) artillery rockets filled with phosgene dumped in July 1945. Munitions have since been deposited by the tide on nearby beaches. In 1995, phosphorus bombs washed up on Scottish coasts, coinciding with the laying of the Scotland-Northern Ireland pipeline (SNIP), a gas interconnector constructed by British Gas. Over the previous five years, anti-tank grenades had washed up on the shores of Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. An explosion was registered as a 2.5 Magnitude

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

on 8 February 1986.

Nuclear waste

According to documents from the

Public Record Office The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was m ...

, approximately two tonnes of concrete-encased metal drums filled with radioactive laboratory rubbish and luminous paint were dumped in the dyke during the 1950s.

Crossings

Projects for a tunnel or Irish Sea fixed crossing between Northern Ireland and Scotland have been suggested at various times from the late 19th century onwards. The dyke has always been an important problem for such proposals, in terms of both practicality and cost. In February 2020, the UK government announced an initial investigation into a Scotland–Northern Ireland bridge. Two possible routes were proposed: Portpatrick– Larne and Kintyre peninsula–Torr Head. The Portpatrick route would cross the dyke. Explosive ordnance advisers Exord cast doubt on the Portpatrick route saying "any intrusive works such as piling associated with the construction of bridges would pose an unacceptable level of risk". The study concluded that Beaufort's Dyke was one of the project's principal challenges, requiring bridge spans "approaching 4km on foundations set back from the edge", even if crossing the Dyke at its narrowest point. The bridge project was estimated at £335 bn, and it was rejected by a feasibility study.

References

External links

Fisheries Research Service document
*G FORD, L OTTEMÖLLER, B BAPTIE. 2005.
Analysis of Explosions in the BGS Seismic Database in the Area of Beaufort’s Dyke
, 1992–2004''. British Geological Survey Commissioned Report, CR/05/064. 15pp. {{coord, 54.785, -5.420, display=title, region:GB_scale:200000 Environmental disasters in the United Kingdom Landforms of the Irish Sea Water pollution in the United Kingdom