Skeo Taing to Clugan
Also within
Condition (NatureScot)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Ordovician Igneous | Favourable | — | 2017-03-20 |
Climate exposure
This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.
Coastal habitats are exposed to sea-level rise and storm erosion. Where hard sea defences sit behind them, there's nowhere landward to retreat to — a squeeze that keeps compressing the habitat no matter how well it's managed.
Geology & landscape
Geological Period: Cambrian · Rock Type: Gabbro
Landscape processes: Coastal, Volcanic / Igneous
Description
Skeo Taing to Clugan Skeo Taing to Clugan SSSI consists of coastal rock exposures on the east coast of the island of Unst, to the south of Balta Sound. These are part of the Shetland ophiolite -a sequence of basic and ultrabasic igneous rocks formed at the end of the Cambrian period around 500 million years ago, and believed to represent a slice of ocean crust. The rocks were obducted into their present position as nappe structures. The coastal outcrops between Skeo Taing and Clugan expose a layered sequence of igneous rocks with dunite gradually passing upwards into wehrlite and pyroxenite and finally into gabbro. The dunite and pyroxenite are interpreted as a cumulate sequence which crystallised at the base of a magma chamber with the gabbro development in the upper levels at a later stage.