INFOMAR attend CARIS 2014 - 'Developing the Blue Economy' – Brest, France

Fabio Sacchetti and Vera Quinlan represented INFOMAR at the CARIS 2014, 'Developing the Blue Economy', user group conference.
Caris is one of the largest developers of hydrographic software solutions and it is used by most of the hydrographic organisations around the world.

The conference was held in Brest, one of Europe's main centres of marine science and technology and recognised as a centre of excellence in marine research, education and hydrography.

The main theme of the conference focused around our oceans and seas, one of Earth's most valuable natural resources and major contributors to the world economy. Over 90 per cent of global trade is transported by sea and a wealth of resources can be found within its depths including food, minerals and energy. The health of our oceans and seas is critical in developing economic sustainability, yet our oceans still remain largely unexplored. Hydrography plays a significant role in sustaining our oceans, underpinning an ever-increasing list of activities which include coastal zone management, marine spatial planning, ocean science, offshore energy, environmental monitoring, tourism and many more.

Over the years, INFOMAR has developed a world-leading reputation in seabed mapping including methodologies, human capacity, know-how and physical infrastructure. Within this context, it was crucial for INFOMAR to have a strong presence at the Caris event in order to share experiences, talk with industry leaders, drive the direction of future software development and hear about the latest technological advancements.

Port of Brest






Over two hundred delegates from European and US hydrographic offices, academic and research institutions attended. INFOMAR delegates Fabio Sacchetti and Vera Quinlan manned a stand detailing the seabed mapping that is ongoing within the program and fielded many questions on how we have managed such a successful campaign.

Vera Quinlan INFOMAR - Seabed Mapping and Developing the Blue Economy'





Fabio presented a talk 'INFOMAR - A foundation for Harnessing our Ocean Wealth'.

In addition, Fabio also presented two research posters focused on glacial geomorphologies of the Irish seabed and sediment mobility on the coast of Northern Ireland derived from INFOMAR surveys.

Preceding the main event, two days were spent sharing ideas and concepts. Future software enhancements were discussed, argued and agreed upon through both the user group meetings and boot camps hosted by CARIS. Many valuable contacts were made which were mutually beneficial both to INFOMAR and the hydrographic, academic and research institutions involved in seabed mapping worldwide.

INFOMAR supports academic research in Irish water.

INFOMAR supports academic research in Irish water.

Over the last 2 weeks, INFOMAR provided support for the WICPro survey project on board the R.V. Celtic Explorer. The survey, led by Prof. Andy Wheeler, represents a coming together of several Irish university research groups and international collaborators. Dr. Fabio Sacchetti from the INFOMAR team was on board as co-investigator and to support geophysical and sediment sampling activities.
The survey focused on the collection of sediment core material and geophysical data from several survey areas in support of different research objectives.

Objective 1: Study of environmental records from cold-water coral reefs on the Moira Mounds. The aim is to test hypotheses relating to cold-water coral reef initiation and development and sedimentological dynamics in a zone of active coral growth in the eastern Porcupine Seabight.
Objective 2: Study the history of glaciomarine deposition from the Porcupine Bank flank. The study will focus on the effect of glaciation on the development of the outer western Porcupine Bank, to explore evidence for sea ice extent, pro-glacial sediment supply and ocean circulation changes.
Objective 3: Study the ice limits and glacial processes on the western shelf. The primary aim is to use seismic data to define ideal sites for coring during the BRITICE-CHRONO programme on the RSS James Cook later on in 2014. Additionally, Irish sediment cores/sparker data will help to determine the nature of glaciation on the shelf edge and will be used to date some of the glacial moraines present on the continental shelf.

The survey was also a good opportunity to test the sediment sampling capabilities of the R.V. Celtic Explorer and in particular the performance of the recently acquired 6 m gravity corer.


Fig. 1 shows the new 6 m gravity corer being prepared for deployment. The red cylinder connected to the top of the corer is the USBL acoustic beacon used to monitor the position and depth of the corer during its descent.

Preliminary results
On-mound and off-mound cores were retrieved from the Moira Mounds in the eastern Porcupine Seabight. Cores were retrieved from the Porcupine Bank margin targeting glacial sequences down to 3000m water depth. Also on the Porcupine Bank, a small number of box cores and a gravity core were taken from the canyons mounds (both on- and off-mound).




Fig. 2 shows the box-corer been deployed and some of the seabed fauna found inside the sediment sample.

Considerable effort was made to collect geophysical (sparker) data and retrieve vibrocores from the western shelf to date the end of the last glaciation. These proved hard to get as they targeted reworked gravels and diamictons which consist of very stiff mud, super compressed by the weight of the former ice sheet that once covered the continental shelf. However, successful cores up to 3 m long were collected on various sites.

 

  

 
Fig. 3 shows the preparation phase of the vibrocorer before its deployment. The yellow and orange unit at the top is the vibrating electric engine that allows the corer to penetrate in relatively hard and coarse sediment. The last image shows the “core catcher”, a set of metal blades designed to allow the sediment to go inside the core but avoid it to escape during the recovery phase.

The scientific team and the crew of the R.V. Celtic Explorer worked around the clock to get the best out of the good weather. Not even S.Patrick day could stop them as can be seen on figure below.

Dingle Bay 2013

From 18th June to 21st July 2013, INFOMAR vessels operated by the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) carried out survey operations in Dingle Bay. This seabed mapping extended multi-beam coverage that had previously been acquired by the Marine Institute (MI) in 2009. During that survey leg, the MI research vessel Celtic Voyager mapped the bulk of the deeper waters of the bay.

The GSI vessels R.V. Keary, M.V. Cosantóir Bradán and R.V. Geo finalised the seabed map by focusing their efforts on the shallower waters along the coast, along with surveying areas of seabed around the islands of Great Blasket, Inishnabro, Inishvickillane, Tearaght and Inishtooskert. The figure below shows the extent of each vessel's survey leg, including the 2009 leg operated by the R.V. Celtic Voyager.

Click on the image to see a larger view. The legend displays colours for the following survey legs: KRY13_04 (R.V. Keary), CB13_03 (Cosantóir Bradán), GEO13_03 (R.V. Geo), CV09_02 (R.V. Celtic Voyager).

Dingle Bay Survey Legs

The M.V. Cosantóir Bradán and the R.V. Geo began surveying in late June, with the R.V. Keary joining the operation in early July. The Cosantóir initially focused her efforts on mapping the waters off the coast of Inch and Rossbeigh beaches in the inner bay, while the Geo mapped the shallow waters of Ventry and Dingle harbours and a narrow strip running along the northern coastline of the bay. Once her operations in the inner bay were complete, the Cosantóir mapped a large area of seabed around the Great Blasket and Inishtooskert islands, along with an area to the north of Valentia Island. Once the Keary was on site, she carried out survey operations off the coast of Coumenole Beach and an area of seabed around the islands of Inishnabro and Inishvickillane. Both vessels mapped either side of Tearaght Island. The R.V. Geo also carried out mapping north of Valentia island.

For further information on the survey vessels operated by the GSI and the MI, see http://www.infomar.ie/surveying/Vessels.php. Below are images of the three GSI vessels that took part in this survey:

R.V. Keary

M.V. Cosantóir Bradán

R.V. Geo

Below is a series of images detailing the bathymetric data (water depths) acquired during the 2013 Dingle Bay Survey. Note that this data is still in the process of being finalised and checked for errors and therefore contains some inaccurate depth information. The units of the colour scales are "metres below LAT" (Lowest Astronomical Tide) and are included to give an approximate impression of water depth.

Several areas mapped were found not to agree with existing nautical charts - notifications of these hazards were sent to the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office for the purposes of chart corrections.

Overally Bathymetry for 2013 Survey

Note the survey lines crossing the middle of the bay - these were mapped while the vessels were in transit to and from their survey areas around the edges of the bay. This data can be compared with Celtic Voyager data in the same areas for the purposes of quality control.

Dingle Harbour



Ventry Harbour

Shallow bank off the coast of Inch (note: this image uses a different colour scale range from the other images)

Inishtooskert and Great Blasket Islands

Inishnabro and InishVickillane



Craggy coastline of Inishnabro island

 Jagged rock in Ventry harbour

R.V. Geo surveying near the cliffs of the Iveragh Peninsula

INIS-Hydro Completion

Between May and June 2013, INFOMAR survey vessels carried out seabed mapping operations in Dundalk Bay, finalising their contribution to the INIS-Hydro Project.

This was the completion of mapping that began in 2011 - see the following blogs for details: http://infomarupdates.blogspot.ie/2011/11/inishydro-project.html and http://infomarupdates.blogspot.ie/2012/06/inishydro-2012-progress.html

INIS-Hydro was a 3 year INTERREG IVA Programme with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) in the UK as lead partners. The project brought together 7 partners to conduct hydrographic surveys in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. The partners are the MCA, Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI), Marine Institute (MI), the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), the Scotish Association of Marine Science (SAMS), the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) and the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO).

The surveys were undertaken in Dundalk Bay, Carlingford Lough, Dundrum Bay, the Firth of Lorn and South West of Islay by several different vessels drawing on expertise from the various partners. The bathymetric data delivered 3D baseline maps using multibeam echosounder technology which will be freely distributed. The project aims to harmonise hydrographic survey specifications and synchronisation for future surveys.

Dundalk Bay was surveyed by the Marine Institute (MI) and the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI), who took responsibility for blocks 1 and 2, respectively, as shown in the image below:

Block 1 was surveyed by the R.V. Celtic Voyager, while the GSI vessels R.V. Keary, R.V. Geo and M.V. Cosantóir Bradán surveyed the shallower waters of Block 2 (though elements of block 1 were also surveyed by the M.V. Cosantóir Bradán).

R.V. Celtic Voyager

R.V. Keary

R.V. Geo

M.V. Cosantóir Bradán

Overall, seven seperate survey legs were required to complete the mapping of this large area. The following image shows the extent of each of these survey legs. Each leg is coded according to the vessel that undertook it (Celtic Voyager = CV, Keary = KRY, Geo = GEO and Cosantóir Bradán = CB), followed by the year and that vessel's particular leg number of that year (e.g. KRY11_06 is the Keary's sixth survey leg of 2011 - the previous 5 survey legs would have taken place in other locations around the Irish coast).

The following image shows the bathymetric data (water depths) acquired over all seven legs:

The mapping of Dundalk Bay was a challenging endeavour. Exposed to many wind directions, the vessels engaged in shallow water mapping were often hampered by the weather. Easterly winds were particularly disruptive to survey operations, as the quality of acquired data diminishes rapidly with increasing wind (and therefore, choppier seas). In addition to this, the shallow nature of the inner bay extended the duration of the overall project. The reason for this is that the width of the track mapped by each pass of a survey vessel actually narrows as the water depth decreases, increasing the time it takes to map a given area as the vessel moves into shallower waters.The R.V. Geo in particular had to contend with this law of diminishing returns.

Three interesting shipwrecks were imaged as part of the mapping process. They are visible in the following images:

Sunken meteorological station - 3D view

 The Topaz - 3D view (wreck information sheet at http://www.infomar.ie/data/Shipwrecks/Box45/pdfs/SSTopaz_Final.pdf)

The Crusader

Along with the shipwrecks, a host of other interesting seabed features were mapped, including this large channel feature in the centre of the bay:

A backscatter image was also produced during processing of the bathymetric data. This image is a measure of the strength of the reflection of the vessels' sonar pulses off the seafloor - thus giving an impression of relative hardness of different seabed types. In the backscatter image below, darker patches are indicative of harder seabed types:

In addition to the seabed mapping operations, the R.V. Keary and the R.V. Celtic Voyager also carried out seabed sampling. This process involves lowering a device to the seafloor, called a grab sampler, which on impact closes a pair of jaws and retrieves a sample of whatever sediment type is there. See the following video clip for a demonstration of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B06Fw0MEfd0. The following map shows the locations at which seabed sampling was carried out:

The following images show examples of sediment types retrieved from the seabed (sand and gravel, respectively):

INFOMAR reports on a successful survey season - 2013

V. Quinlan, K. Sheehan, F.Sacchetti

INFOMAR continued its survey activities in the south of the country into August. During this survey period INFOMAR completed the important South Priority Area (SPA) which stretches from near Toe Head in the southwest to Carnsore Point in the northeast.
RV Celtic Voyager operations commenced in Clonakilty Bay off the Cork coast in early July and for a period of four weeks seabed mapping continued into Glandore Bay, Baltimore Bay, Long Island and Roaring water Bay and a number of smaller bays in this region.


Figure1. Extent of Multibeam coverage during July & August 2013

The survey area included the important Special Area of Conservation (SAC) for marine mammals which encompasses Roaring water and Long Island bays. Mapping within the SAC requires a special license agreement, which was granted by National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). The survey was conducted during day light hours exclusively, in compliance with the Code of Practice for the Protection of Marine Mammals during Acoustic Seafloor. Ports of significance in the area include Crookhaven, Schull, Baltimore, Cape Clear and Glandore. Water depths range from 10 to 100 meters.
Strong currents, shoals, and fishing gear made for exciting times mapping the Gascanane sound which separates Cape Clear and Sherkin Islands. This sound is regularly used by the Baltimore to Cape Clear ferry and by numerous fishing boats and pleasure crafts.
The seabed in the sound is extensively scoured by strong tidal currents, forming impressive holes of up to 50 meters depth.


Figure 2. Bathymetry image of Gascanane sound with scour holes evident.

Favorable weather periods were utilised to survey close in to the iconic feature that is the Fastnet rock. Survey data from both the Geological Survey of Ireland vessel; RV Keary and RV Celtic Voyager were required in order to map this area safely and to acquire full coverage.


Figure 3. Fastnet Rock (Photo courtesy of Nicola O'Brien)

Bad weather conditions on 31st July meant an unscheduled portcall in Castletownbere (figure 4), County Cork. Castletownbere is the biggest fishing port in the south of Ireland. Figure 4 shows the inner harbour. The weather downtime allowed the data processors to get through a backlog of processing and for the crew to do some maintenance and painting that they don’t get the opportunity to do while at sea.


Figure 4: Castletownbere Harbour.

Wrecks
A total of nine wrecks were mapped. Figure 4 below is an image of a wreck discovered on this survey. This wreck is previously uncharted and appears to be that of a submarine. This is currently under research, the outcome will no doubt be an interesting story. All the wrecks are initially identified from the main multibeam survey lines and are then mapped in detail using a 'box in' process of three parallel lines and one perpendicular line. Multibeam water column data is also acquired in order to maximize the mapping effort and ensure that small objects such as masts are also mapped. This effort produces the detail required both for identification and charting purposes.


Figure 4 A possible submarine.

The survey demobilised in Galway on 7th August 2013.

INFOMAR 2013 - CELTIC VOYAGER MAPPING SOUTHERN PRIORITY AREAS AND BAYS

INFOMAR Survey CV13_01

Monday 22^nd April saw the commencement of the first RV Celtic Voyager INFOMAR survey leg of 2013, named CV13_01. Operations commenced off the Cork coast between Ballycotton and Youghal, shoreward of coverage attained in previous years.  The area forms part of the South Priority Area (SPA), stretching from Mizen Head in the south-west to Carnsore Point in the north-east.  The Priority Bays of Youghal and Dungarvan were also partially surveyed. Figure 1 shows the extent of multibeam coverage achieved in the area while figures 2, 3 and 4 show detailed seabed morphologies of the bays of Ballycotton, Dungarvan and Youghal respectively.   

Figure 1: Multibeam inshore survey coverage between Ballycotton and Dungarvan.

 

Figure 2: Seabed geomorphology offshore Ballycotton.

 

 Figure 3: Seabed geomorphology offshore Dungarvan.

 

Figure 4: Seabed geomorphology offshore Youghal.

Survey operations alternated between the inshore area above and an offshore block south of Waterford, shown in figure 5. The offshore survey block covers an area of approximately 320 km². Water depths range from 50 m to 80 m approximately with depths increasing from north to south. The seabed is mostly covered by sediment but outcropping rocks are also found in the north.

Figure 5: Offshore survey block south of Waterford.

An area east of Wexford and west of the Blackwater Bank was also mapped during a period of strong westerly winds. The multibeam shaded relief image in figure 6 shows that the seabed is largely composed of sediment waves. Water depths vary from 10 to 25 m approximately.

Figure 6: Multibeam image near Blackwater Bank Wexford.

Survey operations moved west for the final week of survey. The area included the waters around Old Head of Kinsale and Courtmacsherry Bay (figure 7). Its offshore extent was along the SPA boundary, more than 12 km offshore of the Old Head of Kinsale. Water depths ranged from 12 m to 100 m approximately. The extent of the mapped area was approximately 400 km². Several magnetic anomalies were observed, attributed to the geology. Survey operations finished on 31^st May. The Celtic Voyager remained operational for over 70% of the total time.

Figure 7: Multibeam image of Courtmacsherry Bay and Offshore Kinsale.

Wrecks

A total of 21 wrecks were mapped during this leg. Figure 8 shows an image of a wreck off the Waterford coast. The wrecks were initially identified from the main survey lines and then mapped in detail using a standard box in process of three parallel lines and one perpendicular line with multibeam water column data and magnetometer data acquired on each line.

 

Figure 8: Multibeam image of mapped wreck.

Groundtruthing stations

In total 128 groundtruthing stations were visited. A total of 111 samples were acquired from these stations, with no returns at 17. A Shipek grab was used throughout. Each sample was photographed and described. Samples varied from mud through to gravel. Figure 9 shows a photograph of the sample obtained at station 4.

Figure 9: Shipek Grab sample photograph.

Figure 10 is a distribution plot of the visited groundtruthing stations. Each red X marks a station.

Figure 10: Groundtruthing spatial distribution plot.

Sub Bottom Profiler Data

Sub bottom profiler data was acquired on each survey line. Figure 11 below shows an example of sub bottom profiler data with a palaeochannel in the view. Each horizontal red line represents 8 metres depth. The vertical blue lines are approximately 120 metres apart. The horizontal line near the top of the image represents the seabed return.

Figure 11: Sub-Bottom-Profiler data example.