inshore ireland October/November 2013 25
Marine R&D
Above: Seabed Habitat Mapping; Top right: DTM Production; Middle right: EMODnet DTM Product; Bottom right: EMODnet Sediment & Substrate Mapping’
EMODnet Phase 2 initiatives Ali Robinson & Janine Guinan
T
he Geological Survey of Ireland’s (GSI) European Projects Geoscience (EPG) team successfully delivered various work packages in 2013 as part of the EMODnet (European Marine Observation and Data Network) hydrography and geology project initiative. These included gridded water depth for the Celtic Sea at resolution of ¼ of a minute of longitude and latitude (approx. 463m) (resolution will be improved to 1/8 of a minute from mid2014, approx. 231m), and a range of seafloor geology, seabed sediment and marine geological event datasets at a scale of 1:1,000,000. The EPG team at the GSI, along with geological surveys and research institutes from several European countries will shortly embark on EMODnet Hydrology and Geology Phase 2. These initiatives seek to build on Phase 1 and continue the compilation of marine datasets to improve the quality, availability and accessibility of a range of marine data products.
Data from the national seabed mapping programme INFOMAR (Integrated Mapping for the Sustainable Development of Ireland’s Marine Resource) continues to be instrumental in contributing Irish marine data to the project. Geographical scope This exciting next phase involves new partners who will expand the geographical scope of the work programme to include the White Sea, Barents Sea; the seas around Iceland and the Faroes; the Bay of Biscay and the Iberian Coast; the Western Mediterranean Sea (within EU waters); the Adriatic Sea; the Ionian Sea and the Central Mediterranean Sea (within EU waters); the Aegean-Levantine Sea (within EU waters – including the Turkish sector) and the Black Sea (Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine) as defined in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. EMODnet Hydrography Phase 2 seeks to improve the resolution of the existing gridded marine data product. In addition, the GSI is one of three project partners tasked in a pilot study to generate a high resolution coastal DTM (between 10 -30m) which will merge multibeam and LiDAR surveys extending from onshore out to 12 nautical miles offshore.
Phase 2 will also see compilation of new information on seabed substrate; seabed geology (bedrock and quaternary geology) including all boundaries and faults with information on Lithology (physical characteristics) and age of the geological units; minerals; geological events (e.g. earthquakes) and probabilities along with information on rates of coastal erosion and sedimentation. The GSI will continue to lead on the minerals work package which has the objective of identifying and mapping areas of minerals (including aggregates, oil, gas and metalliferous minerals) in each of the partner countries based on information available, including publicly-available information (e.g. published scientific papers etc.). Data products and associated metadata will be provided at a scale of 1:250,000 through a single web portal to allow data users globally to discover view and download a range of marine datasets. The GSI’s involvement in European project initiatives has contributed significantly and adds value to the current suite of INFOMAR data and is aligned with the GSI’s ongoing commitment to recognising that marine data is a public good and should be freely accessible.