The INFOMAR programme is a joint venture between the Geological Survey of Ireland and the Irish Marine Institute and is the successor to the Irish National Seabed Survey. Covering some 125,000 km² of Ireland’s most productive and commercially valuable inshore waters, INFOMAR will produce integrated mapping products covering the physical, chemical and biological features of the seabed.
The 2013 Annual INFOMAR Seminar will take place in the Pavilion on October 09 -10th at University College Limerick, Ireland. The seminar will include an update on Ireland’s national seabed mapping programme including survey operations and coverage, future plans, associated research along with poster sessions. Organised by the Geological Survey of Ireland and the Marine Institute, the seminar is free and open to all, with registration possible at the following link. Examples of research funded by INFOMAR can be found at this link, with INFOMAR data available here.
Professor Markku Rummukainen from Lund University on the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.
The IPCC is an international scientific organisation that provides research-based information about the causes and consequences of climate change, including both human-influenced and naturally-occurring climate change. It also assesses measures for lessening the severity of climate change and the potential for adapting to its consequences. Its purpose is to inform government policy, but it does not recommend which policies governments should adopt.
The IPCC was formed in 1988 by two bodies: the United Nations Environmental Programme and the World Meteorological Organization. Thousands of scientists from across the world voluntarily contribute to its assessment reports, which are published every six years or so.
September 2013 sees the first phase in the publication of the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), which consists of four reports and summaries for policymakers. The first summary from Working Group 1 is released on 27 September with the full report published on 30 September. Subsequent reports from Working Group 2 and Working Group 3 are published in March 2014 and April 2014. Finally, the Synthesis Report, providing an integrated view of climate change drawing upon the individual working group reports, is published in November 2014.
The oceans contain a huge amount of energy. Changes in salinity, thermal gradients, tidal currents or ocean waves can be used to generate electricity using a range of different technologies. These could provide reliable, sustainable and cost-competitive energy. Capturing ocean energy could have substantial benefits.
The energy in the ocean waves is a form of concentrated solar energy that is transferred through complex wind-wave interactions. The effects of earth’s temperature variation due to solar heating, combined with a multitude of atmospheric phenomena, generate wind currents in global scale. Ocean wave generation, propagation and direction are directly related to these wind currents. On the other hand, ocean tides are cyclic variations in seawater elevation and flow velocity as a direct result of the earth’s motion with respect to the moon and the sun and the interaction of their gravitational forces. A number of phenomena relating to earth rotational tilt, rate of spinning, and interaction among gravitational and rotational forces cause the tide conditions to vary significantly over time. Tide conditions are more apparent in coastal areas where constrained channels augment the water flow and increase the energy density.
The development of wave and tidal resources as a source of energy is the subject of growing international investigation. Ireland’s offshore renewable energy resources have significant development potential and are considered as being among the best in the world, with the practicable wave energy resource estimated at more than 6000MW.
At present there is no well-established wave energy industry anywhere in the world. Ireland has the potential to become a world-leading developer and manufacturer of the technologies that will enable the harnessing of ocean energy resources. To achieve this, the Marine Institute is working with Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland to implement a National Strategy for Ocean Energy. The main objectives are the creation of a centre of excellence in OE technology and the stimulation of a world-class industry cluster and the connection of 500MW of ocean energy by 2020.
Finally, an example showing the peak wave power in Galway Bay, obtained using a Spectral Wave Model in summer storm conditions, made using DHI MIKE Coupled Models. If on average wave power is above 30kW/m, energy generation is viable.
A new species of shark that “walks” along the seabed using its fins as tiny legs has been discovered in eastern Indonesia, an environmental group said.
The brown and white bamboo shark pushes itself along the ocean floor as it forages for small fish and crustaceans at night, said Conservation International, whose scientists were involved in its discovery.
The shark, which grows to a maximum length of just 80 centimetres and is harmless to humans, was discovered off Halmahera, one of the Maluku Islands that lie west of New Guinea.
Bamboo sharks, also known as longtail carpet sharks, are relatively small compared to their larger cousins, with the largest adult reaching only about 120 centimetres in length.
They have unusually long tails that are bigger than the rest of their bodies and are found in tropical waters around Indonesia, Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Conservation International said the discovery of the shark, which was first disclosed in the International Journal of Ichthyology, “should help draw diver interest to this mega-diverse but largely undiscovered region”.
The 48th Annual European Marine Biology Symposium 2013 starts today in Galway, being hosted by the National University of Ireland, Galway. The overarching theme of EMBS 48 is Biodiversity in a Changing Ocean. Research is proceeding actively on many fronts as we attempt to sustainably manage human activities in the ocean against a backdrop of climate change and ocean acidification. Here are some photos from the first day.
Delegates of the European Marine Biology Symposium, 2013Poster session in the Bailey Allen Hall, NUI GalwayKey note speaker Prof. Jason Hall-Spencer’s talk about ocean acidification and biodiversity.Keynote speaker Prof. Mark Costello’s talk asked the question “Can we discover Earth’s species before they go extinct?”The number of marine vs. terrestrial species discovered per year over time. Since the latter half of the twentieth century, there has been a recent increase in the number of marine species discovered, with increasing number of marine science expeditions and research.Prof Peter Croot, NUIG gave a talk about the change in distribution of picoplankton and the Peruvian oxygen minimum zone in the Eastern Tropical South Pacific.
More information about the conference can be found at this link and on the EMBS 2013 Facebook page.
Video Poster Trailers
This year, in addition to oral presentations and posters, some participants are preparing video presentations of their poster, in advance of the conference, which can be viewed on the web. Here are some of them highlighting the diverse range of research at this year’s conference. A wonderful medium for communicating scientific research!
Poster and video by M Bolgan- Does the Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) rely on sound to communicate?
Poster and video by M. Milanese, on behalf of the SPECIAL Consortium – SPECIAL- Sponge Cells and Enzymes for Innovative AppLications
Poster and video by N Artemis – Benthic Diversity in Messolonghi Lagoon, Greece
The Longest River – An Arts, Music and Marine Science Fusion is a unique collaboration between Galway based choir Cois Cladaigh and the Marine Institute, Ireland. The event was presented at Eglise du Saint-Sacrement, Brussels as part of the celebration of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of European Union in April 2013. The Longest River promotes marine science, research and development through ocean literacy and music and was orated by John Delaney, University of Washington. The Longest River event was supported by Culture Ireland, Tourism Ireland and was under the patronage of both Ms Maria Damanaki and Ms Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, Members of the European Commission.
