View new data on Infomar Image Webmapping Site

New data is now available on the Infomar Image Webmapping site and in the INFOMAR webmapping services from the following surveys:

Geo11_01 - Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin
KRY11_01 -  Waterford Harbour
Geo11_02 - Waterford Harbour
KRY12_02 – Bunmahon, Co. Waterford
CV11_MeshAtlantic - Kenmare Bay,  Kerry/Cork
CV12_SEAI_Clare - West of Clare
KRY11_03 -  Killard Point, Co. Clare
KRY11_03 – South of Achill Island, Co. Mayo
Geo11_04 - South of Achill Island, Co. Mayo

These are primarily near shore surveys and the location of these new surveys is shown in yellow in the map.

These surveys were carried out by the R.V. Keary, the R.V. Geo and the R.V. Celtic Voyager.  Data produced from these surveys include bathymetry grids, shaded relief and a backscatter images, tracklines and survey polygons.

This image shows bathymetry data from survey around Inishbofin, Inishshark and south of Achill Island.

This is a shaded relief image of bathymetry data collected in Kenmare Bay.

The survey of Kenmare Bay was carried out by the Mesh Atlantic project with support from the INFOMAR project in terms of personnel and equipment. The Mesh Atlantic partnership is compromised of IFREMER, IMA, DIREN Bretagne (France), Marine Institute (Ireland), AZTI, IEO (Spain), ICNB, INRB, Universities of Aveiro, Azores, Algarve (Portugal).

In addition there is also new data on the website for sediment samples.  This includes historical samples in Zone 3 and particle size analysis results for sediment samples taken in 2011 and 2012.

Please note:

• All of the image layers on this website are also available as WMS services which can be used in ESRI ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Explorer online and other freely available mapping packages, see the Google kml and WMS Links page for details.

• It is possible to download data used in the site. Use the   button in the tool bar at the top right of the page to click and drag a box around an area of interest, the tool will open our IWDDS download site and you then select the type of data you are interested in downloading.

Please note also to improve performance some of these layers are cached locally onto your computer as you browse the website.  In order to see new data it is necessary to clear the local cache and reload the page.  To do this in:

• Internet Explorer: click Tools > Delete Browsing History >Check Temporary Internet Files and click Delete.

• Mozilla Firefox: click Tools > Clear Recent History > Check Cache and click Clear Now

• Google Chrome: in the Chrome menu select Tools > Clear browsing data > Check Cache and click Clear Browsing data 

Lambay Island Survey

From late April to May 2013, the M.V. Cosantóir Bradán and R.V. Geo carried out survey operations around Lambay Island and along the coast between Howth and Skerries, Co. Dublin. This seabed mapping was carried out on behalf of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS - http://www.npws.ie/), who requested the survey so they could delineate habitats in the area. Survey coverage was also extended beyond the NPWS requirements in order to expand INFOMAR national mapping coverage in the area.

 

The M.V. Cosantóir Bradán is the latest addition to the INFOMAR survey fleet and is operated by the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI). A fisheries patrol vessel in a previous life, she is now outfitted with a multibeam sonar mapping system - http://www.fisheriesireland.ie/Press-releases/minister-commissions-an-cosantoir-bradan-in-her-new-role-as-a-seabed-survey-vessel-at-infomars-2012-annual-conference.html.
The transducers (these are the part of the system that send and receive the sonar pulses) are deployed by means of a bow-mounted hydraulic frame.

 

The R.V. Geo is also operated by the GSI and is a 7.5m RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat). She is equipped with an interferometric sonar mapping system, which is manually deployed by means of a bow-mounted frame.

Note: data shown in images below is not yet finalised and may contain some errors.

Overall survey coverage by M.V. Cosantóir Bradán and R.V. Geo

Close-up of survey coverage around Lambay Island

M.V. Cosantóir Bradán (Crosshaven, 2012)

 

 

R.V. Geo (Killary Harbour, 2012)

 

 

 

Cork Harbour Survey - To Be Updated

INFOMAR SEAI SURVEY 2013

From mid-March through to the end of April, the R.V. Celtic Voyager was tasked with the mapping of the seabed off the West Clare coast.

Due to the ideal wave regime, favourable seabed morphology and proximal port facilities, this area has been identified as a suitable region for the future deployment of wave energy converters. Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI) leads a project to help realise this potential.

The INFOMAR program is collaborating with SEAI to provide them with a detailed understanding of the seabed morphology and surficial geology over this extensive area. Considerations of these environmental factors are critical to the planning and development of such marine infrastructure.

Despite challenging conditions for the vessel’s crew and survey team due to prolonged adverse weather, good coverage was achieved close to the coast.

The image below shows the extent of the multibeam and geophysical data collected by INFOMAR in support of the SEAI initiative.



The acquired multibeam data show some spectacular structures in the siliclastic bedrock and a Namurian/ Carboniferous contact.