Possible evidence of 'great storm' in St Kilda's heather
- Published
Potential signs of the storm in St Kilda's heather has been spotted in a long-term study of Soay sheep
Scientists may have found possible evidence of an impact of a "great storm" in the 1990s in the heather that grows in a remote Scottish archipelago.
Salt spray blown from the sea is believed to have caused a die-back of the plant in St Kilda in 1992 or 1993.
Experts have been recording heather growth on the islands for almost 30 years.
They have identified a "steep rise" in the abundance of taller heather in 1993 that may have followed a die-back.
Prof Mick Crawley, of Imperial College London, has sought memories of the winter storm as part of the study.
He said the likely "candidates" were "great Hebridean" storms of 1 January 1992 or 8-17 January 1993.
St Kilda lies about 40 miles west of North Uist in the Western Isles
Prof Crawley and the other researchers spotted the possible die-back in data gathered as part of a long-term study of St Kilda's population of grazing Soay sheep.
He said: "A plant of particular interest is heather, and our long-term data clearly show that since about 1998 the plants have been fluctuating but gradually increasing despite the grazing.
"What we noticed was that from 1993, when this part of the study began, there was a steep rise in the abundance of taller heather.
"It is most likely, although of course we can't know for sure, is that this followed severe heather die-back at some stage before August 1993.
"The most likely cause is inundation by salt spray during a winter storm."
St Kilda lies about 40 miles (64km) west of North Uist, the nearest inhabited place to the archipelago.
The last islanders left St Kilda in 1930 and people only now live on the main island of Hirta on a temporary basis to work at the military site, or on wildlife conservation or research projects.