| Photograph: Chief Scientist Dr. Katrien Van Landeghem (4th from LtoR) from the University of Liverpool on board the RV Celtic Voyager with the Vessel's crew and supporting scientists from the University of Basel, Bangor University, Dublin City University and the University of Genoa. |
A EUROFLEETS eleven day cruise called AmSeDIS (Amplified Growth of Sediment Waves in the Irish Sea) was successfully carried out on board the RV Celtic Voyager in the Irish Sea recently (9th - 19th of April 2012).
“EUROFLEETS aims to provide access to research vessels for all European scientists and their partners on the sole condition of scientific excellence covering all fields of marine science from environmental and biodiversity protection, to coastal zone management, geodynamics and climate change research,” explained Mick Gillooly from Ocean Science and Information Services at the Marine Institute.
Fully funded by the EU, the EUROFLEETS project provides marine scientists with 66 days of ship time on five global/ocean class research vessels and 110 days of ship time on 13 regional class ships. As the Marine Institute are partners in EUROFLEETS, two cruises on board the national research vessels have been funded by EUROFLEETS and made available for 2012.
The first survey, lead by Chief Scientist for the Dr. Katrien Van Landeghem from the University of Liverpool was assisted by six scientists from five European universities including the University of Basel, Bangor University, Dublin City University and the University of Genoa. The survey received additional funding from the Petroleum Affairs Division of the Irish Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources as well as University of Liverpool.
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| Site location of AmSeDIS Survey |
Large sediment waves under the sea are striking and have been recorded to reach up to 38m in height and have been documented to migrate up to 70m per year. The formation and dynamics of the very large sediment waves have rarely been the focus of in-depth scientific studies.
“Therefore the objectives of this survey on the RV Celtic Voyager aim to increase the understanding of the inter-linkages between grain size variability, gas seepage and the prevailing hydrodynamics in sediment wave behaviour,” said Dr. Van Landeghem.
It is often difficult to model sediment waves development and migration due to the interplay between geological, biogeochemical and hydrodynamic processes that are likely to influence their formation, migrations, and extreme growth.
“Due the nature of movement of sediment waves, they can also endanger the stability of important infrastructure such as pylons, cables and pipes on and beneath the seabed. Therefore it is important to study this natural occurrence which can also result in a highly mobile benthic habitat with implications for navigation and safety,” Dr. Van Landeghem further explained.
The team of marine geoscientists, geochemists and numerical modellers from the UK, Italy, Switzerland and Ireland collected 200 grab samples and water samples. They also obtained 65km of Boomer seismic data and 45km of sparker data with the multibeam EM1002 operating at depths of up to 150m.
The results of the successful cruise are currently undergoing analysis in which the main conclusions will be available at a later stage on the Eurofleets webpage: www.eurofleets.eu.
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| Multibeam Echosounder (MBES) data from the AmSedIS cruise. The bathymetry data shows large sediment waves from survey area 9 in the Irish Sea. |
A second survey ECO2@NorthSea will take place in July on board the ocean class vessel, the RV Celtic Explorer.
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Communications Office
Marine Institute
Telephone: 091 387 200
EUROFLEETS Background
The EU project EUROFLEETS "Towards an alliance of European research fleets" was launched on the first of September 2009, bringing together 24 partners, from 16 member states of the European Union or associated countries forming the EUROFLEETS consortium, whose main objective is to develop the coordination within European research fleets.
This project fosters the shared use of European research vessels and associated equipment to enhance their efficiency and help reducing costs, also by providing scientists on land with real time data from cruises. It entails the development of environmental standards for new research vessels, the development of new cruise planning tools and hardware for underwater vehicles.
Research Vessel Celtic Voyager Background
The RV Celtic Voyager is a 31.4m multi-purpose research vessel. The vessel has wet, dry and chemical laboratories, which are permanently fitted with standard scientific equipment and can accommodate 6 - 8 scientists with a maximum endurance of 14 days. The vessel is manned by a very experienced crew who are highly skilled with the handling and deployment of scientific equipment.
The RV Celtic Voyager facilitates the collection of fisheries, geophysical, oceanographic and environmental data and provides practical training for the next generation of marine scientists.
This research is of crucial national importance, to ensure the development of Ireland's vast natural resource in a sustainable manner. For more information about the RV Celtic Voyager see http://www.marine.ie/home/services/researchvessels/