SAMS is key player in new Irish-Scottish sea-bed survey

Last night (3rd July 2011) Argyll’s Scottish Association of Marine Science (SAMS) featured on BBC television’s acclaimed programme, Coast. Part of the University of the Highlands and Islands, its Director, Professor Laurence Mee and its research ship, Calanus, were part of a section of the programme on Sir Charles Wyville Thomson and the renowned three and a half year long, round-the-world Challenger expedition.

The Challenger initiative took innumerable deep sea samples – using a dredge operating at over 5,000 metres, finding all sorts of new species of sea creatures.

This is not inappropriate because today, 4th July 2011, at the Belfast Harbour Commissioners Office, an exciting new multi-partner project is announced. It is charged with mapping missing links in the sea bed and is receiving £3.2 million funding from the European Union’s INTERREG IVA Programme – with further support from the Natural Environment Research Council.

The project brings together the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland in this joint initiative led by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agenency (MCA)  and with SAMS responsible not only for participation but for the project communications.

For the Argyll coastal area of Scotland, the project will see SAMS produce data for a high resolution seabed map of the entire Firth of Lorn. The Northern Lighthouse Board will survey the area Southwest of the Islay renewables area.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and six partner organisations will participate in the Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland Hydrographic Survey (INIS Hydro) project.

INIS Hydro will produce a standardised hydrographic survey specification and accurate high-resolution bathymetric datasets for seven important seabed areas to the east of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and off the west coast of Scotland.

A total of 1400 km² will be surveyed by the partner organisation’s research vessels fitted with multibeam sonar technology.

Multi-beam sonar is a technology used by hydrographic surveyors to determine the depth of water and the nature of the seabed. The echosounders can be mounted on the hull of survey vessels and send broad acoustic pulses to the seabed. The signals ‘bounce back’ and the travel time and angle of the return beams provide information about the depth of the seabed and the type of seabed the outgoing signal has met.

High-quality bathymetric information is essential for producing accurate navigational charts and for the effective management and conservation of the marine environment.

Despite recent technological advances in high-resolution seabed mapping, some ‘current’ nautical charts still include data from the mid 19th century when depth was measured by lowering lead lines to the seabed at wide intervals. (When HMS Astute famously went aground near the Skye Bridge, there were suggestions that her charts were out of date and therefore dangerous in an area known for shifting sea bed levels.)

The INIS Hydro project will survey:

• the Firth of Lorn in Argyll, Scotland
• the SW Islay Renewables area n Argyll, Scotland
• Dundalk Bay (shallow and deep) in the Republic of Ireland
• Carlingford Lough and Approaches – with its north coast in Northern Ireland and its south coast in the Republic
• Dundrum Bay in Northern Irealnd
• Parts of the coast off the Mourne mountains in Northern Ireland.

These areas were selected for their environmental significance, suitability for offshore renewables development and in all cases to update nautical charts.

The project will thus improve safety at sea and provide supportive data to enable effective marine conservation and management – for example in relating to fisheries, marine protected areas and marine renewable energy development. This last is, of course of particular current importance.

André Cocuccio, MCA Hydrography Manager and INIS Hydro Project Director, said:

‘Reliable bathymetric datasets are critical for safe navigation and the effective stewardship of the marine environment.  We [MCA] are looking forward to working with our project partners from across the UK and Ireland and together map these little explored areas off our coastline.’

To deliver this project the MCA have teamed up with:

• the Agri-food and Biosciences Institute of Northern Ireland
• the Geological Survey of Ireland
• the Irish Marine Institute
• the Scottish Association for Marine Science
• the Northern Lighthouse Board
• the UK Hydrographic Office.

INIS Hydro follows on from the successful Joint Irish Bathymetric Survey (JIBS) project, funded by the European Union and with some match funding from the MCA, the UK Natural Environment Research Council and the Northern Lighthouse Board.

Speaking at the launch, the Republic of Ireland’s Agriculture and Rural Development Minister, Michelle O’Neill said:

‘I am pleased that the INIS Hydro Project was able to secure EU INTERREG Funding, allowing my Department and agencies between Ireland and Scotland to work together enabling the sharing of skills and transfer technology.  This work is a key element in the spatial planning approach to the sustainable management of our fisheries and marine resources, and the outcomes from this project will be of significant long term value to our local fishing industry, renewable energy developers and conservation groups.’

Howard Keery from the Special EU Programmes Body highlighted the expected benefits of the project, saying:

‘The INIS Hydro project has the potential to provide invaluable data that will help the region benefit from natural resources still widely untapped. The coastal and marine area between Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland is uniquely positioned and offers access to a wide range of resources. The work developed by this project should make an extremely important contribution towards initiatives in the areas of tourism, renewable energy and marine conservation, which are priority areas identified by the INTERREG IVA Programme.’

The INIS Hydro project website will become active on the launch day – 4th July 2011.