An ambitious joint venture to map Ireland’s most productive and commercially valuable inshore waters is now underway between the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) and the Marine Institute.
Covering some 125,000 square kilometres of underwater territory, INFOMAR (the INtegrated Mapping FOr the Sustainable Development of Ireland’s MARine Resource) project will produce integrated mapping products covering the physical, chemical and biological features of the seabed.
The Geological Survey of Ireland and the Marine Institute hosted the annual INFOMAR Seminar- SEABED 10- on 13th & 14th October 2009. Reports will be available via the dedicated INFOMAR website.
November 2009: The INFOMAR Programme is now accepting applications for funding under the 2009 Call for Applied Research Proposals.
Coverage Plan
The INFOMAR programme began in the summer of 2006 with surveys of valuable fishing and fish farming areas in Bantry Bay, Dunmanus Bays and fish spawning areas off the South West Coast. The 2007 survey began in April to extend coverage of the biologically sensitive area off the Dingle Peninsular and will begin mapping Galway Bay in July and Waterford Bay in October. Plans for 2008 include surveys of Dublin Bay, Carlingford Lough, Donegal Bay & Sligo Bay.
INFOMAR will initially focus on 26 priority bays and three priority areas around the coast delivering: hydrographic maps illustrating everything from sandbars to underwater canyons and cliffs; seabed classification maps showing the type of sediment on the seabed, for example sand and gravel deposits which could provide potentially valuable marine aggregates for the construction industry; and habitat maps showing areas which provide homes to a wide range of marine flora and fauna.
These integrated maps will allow us to plan for sustainable development of Ireland’s 220 million acres underwater and protect biologically sensitive areas and resources.
Outputs from INFOMAR
INFOMAR provides key baseline data to support coastal and inshore development. The data collected can be used to input into tidal models and carrying capacity models which can be used for example by the aquaculture industry.
The programme aims to make the vast amount of data collected available to as wide an audience. Making this information available to the world aims to stimulate research and development of Ireland’s 220 million acres under the sea. The data will be of interest to fisheries managers, aquaculture operators, coastal zone managers and engineers, offshore engineering interests, licensing authorities and those carrying out environmental impact assessments. Indeed this unique dataset is of interest in its own right because of the sheer volume of data collected.
Data may be accessed from the follow sites:
The surveys are carried using a range of platforms, including the Marine Institute’s RV Celtic Explorer and RV Celtic Voyager, inshore launches and Airborne LIDAR.
INFOMAR is managed jointly by the Geological Survey of Ireland and the Marine Institute and is overseen by the INFOMAR Programme Board chaired by the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources.
3D Image of the
Hempton Turbot Bank
Background
The Marine Institute worked in partnership with the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) on the Irish National Seabed Survey (INSS), a multimillion European initiative supported by the Irish government. The survey aimed to map Ireland's 220 million acres of territorial seafloor, a natural resource that is approximately ten times the size of Ireland's land area.
Phase 1 of the Irish National Seabed Survey (INSS) is now complete, and we are currently in Phase 2: Integrated Mapping for the Sustainable Development of Ireland's Marine Resources (INFOMAR). While Phase 1 concentrated on outer deep-sea territorial waters, Phase 2 has moved inshore to coastal waters. INFOMAR aims to map the remaining 13% of the Irish territorial seafloor, concentrating on specific areas of interest such as priority bays and areas of biological interest.
Dolphins riding the bow wave of the Celtic Voyager, during the INFOMAR survey, Galway Bay July 2007
