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A seascape is a
In the UK a seascape is defined in planning and land use contexts as a combination of adjacent land,
A seascape is a photograph
A photograph (also known as a photo, or more generically referred to as an ''image'' or ''picture'') is an image created by light falling on a photosensitivity, photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor. Th ...
, painting
Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
, or other work of art
A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...
which depicts the sea
A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...
, in other words an example of marine art
Marine art or maritime art is a form of figurative art (that is, painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture) that portrays or draws its main Sea in culture, inspiration from the sea. Maritime painting is a genre that depicts ships and the seaâ ...
. The word originated as a formation from landscape
A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...
, which was first used for images of land in art. By a similar development, "seascape" has also come to mean actual perceptions of the sea itself. It is applied in planning contexts to geographical locations possessing a good view of the sea. Seascape aesthetics receive legal protection in terms of biodiversity/ health of the seas (the OSPAR Convention
The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic or OSPAR Convention is the current legislative instrument regulating international cooperation on environmental protection in the North-East Atlantic. Work ...
, and in terms of the visual bio-cultural seascape (European Landscape Convention
The European Landscape Convention of the Council of Europe, also known as the Florence Convention, is the first international treaty to be exclusively devoted to all aspects of European landscape. It applies to the entire territory of the Parties ...
).
History
The word seascape was first recorded and coined in 1790. ''Smithsonian'' noted in 2016 that the first use it found was 1804. The term was modelled after the word landscape. In modern times, seascapes have endured partially in depictions of maritime works of art, as well as views of the sea.Planning use
In the UK a seascape is defined in planning and land use contexts as a combination of adjacent land, coastline
A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...
and sea
A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...
within an area, defined by a mix of land-sea inter-visibility and coastal landscape character assessment, with major headlands forming division points between one seascape area and the next. This approach to coastal landscape planning
Landscape planning is a branch of landscape architecture. According to Erv Zube (1931–2002) landscape planning is defined as an activity concerned with developing landscaping amongst competing land uses while protecting natural processes and ...
was developed jointly by Government environmental bodies in Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
(UK) and Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
in 2000 to assist spatial planning for (at that time new) offshore wind farm
Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per amount of ca ...
developments. The resulting "Guide to best practice in seascape assessment" (Marine Institute, Ireland, 2001), have since been adapted and applied in 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 ...
and Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
for guidance to offshore wind farm developers and for carrying out spatial planning assessments.
Meanwhile, the word has also been adopted in England referring to the historic and archaeological character areas of the sea – a different but complementary methodological approach encompassing what lies beneath the sea surface. This use of the word departs from the focus on scenery and visual perception, relying instead just on cognitive perception (what lies beneath the sea surface is out of sight to most of us).
The Welsh language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...
distinguishes between 'Morluniau' (seascape in the traditional sense of a picture
An image or picture is a visual representation. An image can be two-dimensional, such as a drawing, painting, or photograph, or three-dimensional, such as a carving or sculpture. Images may be displayed through other media, including a proje ...
, view or painting
Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
) and 'Morweddau' (seascape as a distinct, geographical area exhibiting particular characteristics and qualities). There is no such distinction in the English language.
References
{{portal, Environment, Visual arts, Oceans