INFOMAR, Ireland's National Seabed Mapping Programme; Sharing Valuable Insights.
Abstract
Following the successful high-resolution deep-sea mapping carried out as part of the Irish National Seabed Survey (INSS), a strategic, long term programme was established: INtegrated mapping FOr the sustainable development of Ireland MArine Resources (INFOMAR). Funded by Ireland's Department of Communication, Climate Action and Environment, INFOMAR comprises a multi-platform approach to completing Ireland's marine mapping, and is a key action in the integrated marine plan, Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth. Co-managed by Geological Survey Ireland and the Marine Institute, the programme has three work strands: Data Acquisition; Data Exchange and Integration; Value Added Exploitation.The Data Acquisition strand includes collection of geological, hydrographic, oceanographic, habitat and heritage datasets that underpin sustainable development and management of Ireland's marine resources. INFOMAR operates a free data policy; data and outputs are delivered online through the Data Exchange and Integration strand. Uses of data and outputs are wide-ranging and multipurpose. In order to address the evolution and diversification of user requirements, further data product development is facilitated through the Value Added Exploitation strand.Ninety percent of Ireland's territory lies offshore. Therefore, strategic national seabed mapping continues to provide critical, high-resolution baseline datasets for numerous economic sectors and societal needs. From these we can glean important geodynamic knowledge of Ireland's vast maritime territory. INFOMAR remains aligned with national and European policies and directives. Exemplified by our commitment to EMODnet, a European Commission funded project that supports the collection, standardisation and sharing of available marine information, data and data products across all European Seas. As EMODnet Geology Minerals leaders we have developed a framework for mapping marine minerals. Furthermore, collaboration with the international research project NAGTEC has unlocked the value of Irish marine data as an important jigsaw piece in the new atlas detailing the tectonostratigraphic evolution of the North-East Atlantic, with emphasis on conjugate margin comparisons.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AGUFMOS14B..03J
- Keywords:
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- 1219 Gravity anomalies and Earth structure;
- GEODESY AND GRAVITY;
- 3002 Continental shelf and slope processes;
- MARINE GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS;
- 3022 Marine sediments: processes and transport;
- MARINE GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS;
- 3045 Seafloor morphology;
- geology;
- and geophysics;
- MARINE GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS