The cover may look extraterrestrial in origin, but it is actually part of Earth’s ‘inner space’. It features an image created using bathymetry - the science of sounding, or measuring depths in the sea. The location featured is the Wyville Thomson Ridge in the Scottish Continental Shelf / Faroe-Shetland Channel Regional Seas.  This image was obtained through a joint survey, forming part of the UK Department of Trade and Industry’s offshore energy Strategic Environmental Assessment programme (funded and managed by the DTI and coordinated on their behalf by Geotek Ltd and Hartley Anderson Ltd). It is a contribution to the survey of areas of potential reef to support the implementation of the EU Habitats Directive in UK offshore waters (funded by Defra and managed on Defra’s behalf by JNCC). Copies are available free of charge upon request.