Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Fig. 1.
Priority bays and areas designated under the INFOMAR programme.
- Fig. 2.
INFOMAR Folk 7 classifications.
- Fig. 3.
The Folk sediment triangle and the hierarchy of Folk classification (15, 6 and 4 classes, plus an additional class ‘rock and boulders', indicated by the arrow) used in the EMODnet Geology project (Kaskela et al. 2019).
- Fig. 4.
EMODnet Geology seabed substrate data at scale of 1:1 000 000 for (a) the European seas and (b) the Irish offshore area; hierarchy of five Folk classes. EMODnet Geology 2016 seabed substrate 1:1 000 000–Europe © EMODnet Geology, European Commission, 2016. Available at www.emodnet-geology.eu/geonetwork/srv/fin/catalog.search#/home (last accessed May 2020).
- Fig. 5.
EMODnet Geology seabed substrate data at scale of 1:250 000 for (a) the European seas and (b) the Irish offshore area; hierarchy of five Folk classes. EMODnet Geology, 2016 seabed substrate 1: 250 000–Europe © EMODnet Geology, European Commission, 2016. Available at www.emodnet-geology.eu/geonetwork/srv/fin/catalog.search#/home (last accessed May 2020).
- Fig. 6.
Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone in the Irish Sea with Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan designations (east coast–north, east coast–south, south coast) and current projects planned for the area with their development stage.
- Fig. 7.
(a) Multibeam echo sounder bathymetry data for the Irish Sea acquired by the INFOMAR programme and (b) derived broad-scale bathymetry position index data.
- Fig. 8.
Geomorphological map of the Irish Sea with highlighted sediment waves on fine-scale bathymetry position index.
- Fig. 9.
Seabed substrate map from the EMODnet Geology data portal showing substrate type for the area of interest in the Irish Sea. Red line indicates Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone. EMODnet Geology, 2016 seabed substrate 1: 250 000 – Europe © EMODnet Geology, European Commission, 2016. Available at www.emodnet-geology.eu/geonetwork/srv/fin/catalog.search#/home (last accessed September 2019).
- Fig. 10.
Sediment distribution and dynamics in the Irish Sea. Main layer shows EMODnet seabed substrate map. Red line indicates Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone. Overlain on this are the dominant seabed transport features in the Irish Sea. Adapted from Van Landeghem et al. (2009a). EMODnet Geology, 2016 seabed substrate 1: 250 000 – Europe © EMODnet Geology, European Commission, 2016. Available at www.emodnet-geology.eu/geonetwork/srv/fin/catalog.search#/home (last accessed September 2019).
- Fig. 11.
Constraints map of the Irish Sea. Main layer shows EMODnet seabed substrate map. Black line is Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone. Overlain on this are potential geological constraints to the siting and construction of offshore wind infrastructure. Adapted from Mellet et al. (2015) (Table 1).).
- Fig. 12.
Map of Irish Sea showing the Exclusive Economic Zones of the six neighbouring countries: Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and England.
Tables
Geological feature Potential constraint Shallow gas Affects seabed instability (e.g. pockmark formations) and long-term behaviour of sediments (e.g. differential settlement)
Can create hard substrates at surface (i.e. methane-derived authigenic carbonates)
Over-consolidated sediments (e.g. diamicton) High shear strength values make it difficult to pile
High levels of heterogeneity
Exposed bedrock Hard substrate restrictive to some foundation types
Under-consolidated sediments Low shear strengths affect bearing capacity
Implications for differential settlement
Prone to scour
Mobile sediments Can bury structures
Can erode sediment at the base of structures, causing instability (e.g. scour)
Affect seabed levels
INFOMAR data supports offshore energy development and marine spatial planning in the Irish offshore via the EMODnet Geology portal
- Article
- Abstract
- INFOMAR approach to sediment classification
- Translation of Irish data for a European substrate map
- Results
- Case study 1: Irish seabed substrate data for offshore wind energy development accessed via the EMODnet Geology data portal
- Case study 2: transboundary initiative supporting MSP in the Celtic Seas
- Discussion
- Acknowledgements
- Author contributions
- Funding
- Data availability statement
- References
- Figures & Data
- Info & Metrics