Coast Of Ireland Research Articles

Observation of a meteotsunami on the south coast of Ireland

A meteotsunami was observed across the south coast of Ireland on the afternoon of Saturday the 18th June 2022. The largest signal occurred in Union Hall at 1440 UTC, where water levels dropped by 70 cm over 5 minutes. The signature was evident across the whole south coast of Ireland (seen here from Castletownbere to Dunmore East) and likely driven by a ridge of high pressure that propagated across the south of Ireland at a similar time.

Meteotsunamis reported around Britain and Ireland, and northern France, 18–19 June 2022

Synoptic analysis of the surface pressure and fronts on 19 June 2022, 0000 utc. Unusual tidal movements were reported in Cork Harbour on the south coast of Ireland, and Solva in Pembrokeshire, west Wales on 18 June 2022. Later, unusual surface pressure patterns were observed in parts of eastern England, and on tide gauges at Boulogne-sur-Mer on the French coast early on 19 June.

Green extraction and esterification of marine polysaccharide (ulvan) from green macroalgae Ulva sp. using citric acid for hydrogel preparation

A green strategy of using citric acid as both an extractant and a cross-linking agent to expel and esterify ulvan – a marine polysaccharide from foliose Ulva sp. and filamentous Ulva sp. for hydrogel preparation was developed. Ulva sp. biomass of two different morphologies, foliose and filamentous Ulva sp., was collected from the Spiddal coast of Ireland to extract ulvan using a novel citric acid method which compared with conventional hydrochloric acid or water-based extraction methods. Extraction process parameters, viz. Ulva sp. load, extraction time, extraction temperature, and citric acid concentration, were optimised using the Taguchi experimental design. The optimised process parameters were 3 wt%, 4 h, 90 °C, and 1 wt%, respectively, for foliose and filamentous Ulva sp. At the optimised conditions, a maximum of 0.41 (±0.02) g/g and 0.39 (±0.04) g/g of ulvan yield with a protein content of 0.010 (±0.003) g/g and 0.007 (±0.002) g/g (dry weight basis) were obtained, respectively. This ulvan yield by citric acid-based extraction was superior in comparison with conventional hydrochloric acid (0.29 g/g) and water (<0.1 g/g) based extraction. Extracted ulvan was characterised and compared with commercial ulvan using proton - Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and differential scanning spectroscopy (DSC) analysis. Extracted ulvan was cross-linked with 2 wt% of citric acid to form hydrogel, and the cross-linking mechanism was found to be an esterification reaction using FTIR spectroscopy. Hybridization of ulvan with varying proportions of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (Na-CMC) was carried out to uncover the broad applications of the hydrogel in health care, agriculture, and environmental fields.

Submarine groundwater discharge detection through remote sensing: An application of Landsat 7 and 8 in Hawaiʻi and Ireland

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) represents an important component of the global water cycle. Improved assessment of SGD occurrences provides information to constrain current estimates of total freshwater discharges, which are crucial for evaluation of changes in the global water cycle.This study leverages SGD linkages to patterns in sea surface temperature (SST) and color. Typically, groundwater temperatures exhibit less variability than SST and tend to have temperature distinct from sea water. Consequently, thermally anomalous plumes often occur in coastal areas with SGD. Nutrient-enriched groundwater flows have been linked to changes in ocean color as a consequence of algae growth and of the presence of colored dissolved organic matter. Under such conditions, SGD presence may also manifest as plumes of different colors. Changes in SST and color can be captured through satellite imagery for the thermal infrared and visible bands, which are used here to detect potential SGD (PSGD) occurrences. A method based on clustering and spectroscopy techniques is applied to automatically detect PSGD plumes. SST data are clustered to map SST anomalies. Derivative analysis and angular distance are applied to identify a color signature linked to SGD. In a novel approach, SST and color are combined to identify PSGD through remote sensing.The methods presented in this study were applied to Landsat 7 and 8 imagery captured over southern Ireland and the west coast of the Island of Hawaiʻi, where past field surveys of radon isotopes activities and salinity have documented SGD occurrences. These selected sites are used as validation points. Derivative analysis and angular distance resulted in PSGD plumes in the vicinity of sampled locations, mainly locations with samples that are strong indicators of SGD. In general, the PSGD plumes derived from each method are compared as independent, parallel lines of evidence of PSGD occurrences. Results also show that PSGD pixels from derivative analysis and angular distance alone, without considering SST, can be obfuscated by confounding factors, such as low tides and unrelated chlorophyll enrichment, and that combining SST and color data reduces those effects. These results provide further evidence for PSGD occurrences along the south coast of Ireland and the west coast of the Island of Hawaiʻi, and showcase that satellite data can be used to better identify the location of PSGD occurrences over large areas.

A Simulated and Experimental Analysis of Evaporation Duct Effects on Microwave Communications in the Irish Sea

This article presents a simulated and experimental analysis of the effects of the evaporation duct on microwave propagation in the Irish Sea. The evaporation duct is a phenomenon that occurs almost permanently over all the world’s oceans and allows electromagnetic waves to travel beyond the horizon. Weather data logged over several years from four buoys off the east coast of Ireland has been analyzed to find the probability and strength of the evaporation duct. Signal propagation in the evaporation duct has been simulated using the parabolic equation model and compared to results obtained from an experimental setup in the Irish Sea. The best antenna heights and frequencies to maximize signal propagation at this location are also found. Results show that the evaporation duct can be used to provide high bandwidth communications beyond the horizon with an uptime of approximately 40%, and that weather data from buoys can be used to predict the performance of the communications link. While this method of communication is not one that can be relied on all the time, it could be useful to reduce dependency on expensive satellite links or provide nontime critical communications.

SEAWEED PRESENCE DETECTION USING MACHINE LEARNING AND REMOTE SENSING

Abstract. The human pressure over coastal areas is becoming increasingly relevant, due to the combinations of resource depletion, climate change effects and ocean eutrophication. Coastal ecosystems are so exposed to a huge number of stress factors that endanger their ecosystem services, like carbon uptake and biodiversity maintenance, that can be crucial in facing the effects of climate changes. With a particular focus on seaweeds, these ecosystems are becoming rapidly relevant both for carbon sinks and as a source of high value products, for example thanks to cosmetic and food industries that produce high added values products.In this contest the capability of conducting efficient monitoring is crucial to monitor environmental dynamics and resources trends. Traditionally seaweed monitoring was carried out with on field surveys that could be based on botanic analysis combined with genetic study, depending on the aims. Recently Remote Sensing techniques, combined with Artificial Intelligence ones, gave a new perspective to seaweed monitoring, introducing tools that are always more efficient.In this contest the present work aims to test the potentiality of remote sensing and artificial intelligence techniques for seaweed monitoring along the Irish west coast, building the basis for a fully automated tool for monitoring. The results showed that, with a supervised classification approach, it is possible to train Random Forest (RF) to perform very precise classification over the entire West Coast of Ireland. In particular, with all the RF configurations tested the Overall Accuracy (OA) was greater than 98.61, with the best performance obtained with the configuration Ntree = 600 and mtry = 2 that produced an OA = 98.87.

Phytoplankton Impact on Marine Cloud Microphysical Properties Over the Northeast Atlantic Ocean.

The current understanding of the impact of natural cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) variability on cloud properties in marine air is low, thus contributing to climate prediction uncertainty. By analyzing cloud remote sensing observations (2009–2015) at Mace Head (west coast of Ireland), we show the oceanic biota impact on the microphysical properties of stratiform clouds over the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. During spring to summer (seasons of enhanced oceanic biological activity), clouds typically host a higher number of smaller droplets resulting from increased aerosol number concentration in the CCN relevant‐size range. The induced increase in cloud droplet number concentration (+100%) and decrease in their radius (−14%) are comparable in magnitude to that generated by the advection of anthropogenically influenced air masses over the background marine boundary layer. Cloud water content and albedo respond to marine CCN perturbations with positive adjustments, making clouds brighter as the number of droplets increases. Cloud susceptibility to marine aerosols overlaps with a large variability of cloud macrophysical and optical properties primarily affected by the meteorological conditions. The above findings suggest the existence of a potential feedback mechanism between marine biota and the marine cloud‐climate system.

“A Missile to the Future”: The Theatre Ecologies of Caryl Churchill’s Far Away on Spike Island

Abstract This article considers how processes associated with reviving well-known plays can offer new theatrical approaches to the climate crisis. Such revivals can make visible ecological or environmental features that might have gone unnoticed in the past, but which can inspire agency and instil knowledge in the present. This idea is explored in relation to an Irish production of Caryl Churchill’s Far Away (2000), which was staged on an uninhabited island off the South Coast of Ireland in 2017 by Corcadorca Theatre Company. This production can be seen as offering a practical illustration of many of the theoretical ideas associated with theatre ecologies, especially for how Corcadorca blurred distinctions between audience and performers, indoors and outdoors, performance and spectatorship, past and present, and much more. This production should thus be seen as a case study that is worthy of analysis in its own right but which also allows for the identification of viable practices for the staging of theatrical revivals more generally.

Impacts of climate change on coastal archaeological sites in County Kerry, Ireland

This paper deals with the effects of climate change on coastal heritage sites located on the south west coast of Ireland. The three case studies discussed below are National Monument sites in State care. The Office of Public Works (OPW) is responsible for their day-to-day maintenance and conservation. The sites used as case studies are Dunbeg Promontory Fort, Skellig Michael and Ballinskelligs Priory. Climate change has been affecting these sites and causing damage to their historic fabric. The OPW has taken mitigating measures to reduce the impact of climate change on these sites and protect their architectural, archaeological and natural features.

A holistic methodology for hydrokinetic energy site selection

Hydrokinetic energy can contribute to diversify and decarbonise the energy mix in many coastal regions, in particular estuaries. These are typically areas of high environmental value and with intense socioeconomic activity. The aim of this work is to provide a comprehensive methodology for selecting the optimum locations for hydrokinetic energy exploitation, by considering all the relevant aspects which affect the decision-making process, and improve the current available procedures. The methodology is centred around a novel holistic index, the Integrated Hydrokinetic Energy (IHE) index, which considers: (i) the exploitable resource, (ii) the costs of installation, and (iii) the socioeconomic and environmental aspects. The approach is illustrated through a case study in the Shannon Estuary, on the west coast of Ireland. It is shown that the application of this methodology facilitates the planning and reduces the uncertainties in the development of a hydrokinetic farm project.

Beach morphodynamic classification using high-resolution nearshore bathymetry and process-based wave modelling

Classification of beach morphodynamic state relies on accurate representation of breaking wave conditions, Hb (plus grain size and spring tidal range). Measured breaking wave data, however, are absent from all but a handful of sites worldwide. Here, we apply process-based wave modelling for propagating offshore waves to the breaking zone using high-resolution nearshore bathymetry, obtaining representative and accurate Hb values for multiple beaches at regional scale, and thereby derive meaningful morphodynamic classifications that accord with observed beach state. Ninety-five beaches on the north coast of Ireland were investigated, with observed beach types and states compared to predictions based on morphodynamic parameters determined using wave, tide and sediment data, obtained from field surveys and detailed numerical wave modelling. The coast is exposed to micro-through meso-tides (0.43–3.90 m) and low sea through high swell waves (Hb = 0.13–1.18 m) and is composed of fine to medium sand resulting in a full range of beach types (wave-dominated, tide-modified and tide-dominated) and most beach states, thereby providing a comprehensive field laboratory to undertake such a comparison. We found that modal beach types reside within their predicted Relative Tide Range (RTR) and modal beach states close to the predicted dimensionless fall velocity (Ω) range. The use of high-resolution nearshore wave modelling to determine Hb was deemed the most appropriate approach for deriving predicted beach classification. The work follows the investigation of the same coast by Jackson et al. (2005) who found shortcomings in relating beach types to breaker wave conditions. However, advances in inshore wave modelling and access to high-resolution nearshore bathymetry since then have enabled improved estimates of breaker height, producing more accurate results and enhancing previous work. The results highlight the need to obtain accurate estimates of Hb and Tp if they are to be used effectively in predicting beach parameters. This work therefore sets a precedence for other coastal sites worldwide where detailed nearshore bathymetry is available and Hb can be derived from process-based wave modelling, improving the classification and prediction of morphodynamic beach type and state.

Getting up to mischief: Comic sensibility, generational and national identity in Arthur Mathews’s comedy writing

Best known as co-writer of Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted (1995–98), Irish writer Arthur Mathews is among the most versatile in recent British and Irish television comedy. Mathews’s other British work includes sketch show Big Train (1998–2002), Toast of London (2013–15) and Toast of Tinseltown (2022–present), while his work for Irish television includes the sitcom Val Falvey TD (2009). Drawing on interviews with Mathews concerning his formation and development as a writer, this article situates his distinctive comic sensibility within Ireland’s changing social and cultural landscape from the 1960s to the 1980s and the east coast of Ireland’s unusual ‘mediascape’ as a confluence of Irish, British and American currents. Mathews’s career and work illustrate how comic sensibility, national and regional identities intersect in the ‘British Isles’ as a geo-cultural archipelago rather than a collection of distinctive national identities. The article examines how he relates his acutely surreal humour and love of generic and stylistic incongruity to his formative experiences of watching and absorbing British television from a vantage point both ‘outside’, in a different national jurisdiction, and culturally on its margins. Finally, it gauges the limits of Mathews’s work in offering forms of cultural and social critique through comedy.

Managing a Dynamic North Sea in the light of its ecological dynamics: Increasing occurrence of large baleen whales in the southern North Sea

A recent increase in sightings and strandings of humpback and to a lesser extent, fin whales in the southern North Sea has been well documented. This positive trend in the marine mammal community is to be welcome. A similar increase has been documented off the south and southwest coasts of Ireland over the past 20 years. The first international match of a humpback whale outside of Ireland was to the Netherlands in 2007, demonstrating a link between these two feeding grounds. Data from Ireland, largely obtained through citizen science, is presented as an insight into what may occur in the southern North Sea in the near future. Between 1999 and 2014 the number of individual humpback whales recorded in Ireland rose slowly. A dramatic increase occurred in 2015, when the number of individually identified whales increased from 30 to 66 and, to a lesser extent, in 2017 and.2020 when numbers increased by 10 and 12. By the end of 2020, there were 109 individual humpback whales in the Irish Humpback Whale Photo-id Catalogue. Inter-annual re-sighting rates are high with a mean ± SD re-sighting rate of 63 ± 20 % in years when 10 or more individual whales were recorded. Minimum residency times within a season ranged from 2 to 186 days with a mean ± SD of 48.0 ± 10.3 days. Just over one fifth (21.3%) were recorded over a period of 10 days, or less, 45.3% over a period of 30 days or less and 13.5% over a period of at least 100 days. Thus humpback whales returning to Irish waters are remaining for an average of 7 weeks with 16% for over 3 months. A similar pattern may occur in the southern North Sea with continued monitoring. An increasing population of humpback whales will bring new management issues, which should be considered early in order to sustain this increase. Some of these issues are presented and discussed.

High prevalence of Paramarteilia canceri infecting velvet swimming crabs Necora puber in Ireland.

The velvet swimming crab Necora puber has been fished in Ireland since the early 1980s and contributes significant income to smaller fishing vessels. From 2016 onwards, reduced landings have been reported. We undertook a full pathological investigation of crabs from fishing grounds at 3 sites on the west (Galway), southwest (Castletownbere) and east (Howth) coasts of Ireland. Histopathology, transmission electron microscopy and molecular taxonomic and phylogenetic analyses showed high prevalence and infection level of Paramarteilia canceri, previously only reported from the edible crab Cancer pagurus. This study provides the first molecular data for P. canceri, and shows its phylogenetic position in the order Paramyxida (Rhizaria). Other parasites and symbionts detected in the crabs were also noted, including widespread but low co-infection with Hematodinium sp. and a microsporidian consistent with the Ameson and Nadelspora genera. This is the first histological record of Hematodinium sp. in velvet crabs from Ireland. Four N. puber individuals across 2 sites were co-infected by P. canceri and Hematodinium sp. At one site, 3 velvet crabs infected with P. canceri were co-infected with the first microsporidian recorded from this host; the microsporidian 18S sequence was almost identical to Ameson pulvis, known to infect European shore crabs Carcinus maenas. The study provides a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of this and all other available Ameson and Nadelspora 18S sequences. Together, these findings provide a baseline for further investigations of N. puber populations along the coast of Ireland.

Short-term behavioural responses of Atlantic bluefin tuna to catch-and-release fishing.

Catch-and-release (C&R) angling is often touted as a sustainable form of ecotourism, yet the fine-scale behaviour and physiological responses of released fish is often unknown, especially for hard-to-study large pelagic species like Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABFT; Thunnus thunnus). Multi-channel sensors were deployed and recovered from 10 ABFTs in a simulated recreational C&R event off the west coast of Ireland. Data were recorded from 6 to 25hours, with one ABFT (tuna X) potentially suffering mortality minutes after release. Almost all ABFTs (n = 9, including tuna X) immediately and rapidly (vertical speeds of ~2.0ms-1) made powered descents and used 50-60% of the available water column within 20seconds, before commencing near-horizontal swimming ~60seconds post-release. Dominant tailbeat frequency was ~50% higher in the initial hours post-release and appeared to stabilize at 0.8-1.0Hz some 5-10hours post-release. Results also suggest different short-term behavioural responses to noteworthy variations in capture and handling procedures (injury and reduced air exposure events). Our results highlight both the immediate and longer-term effects of C&R on ABFTs and that small variations in C&R protocols can influence physiological and behavioural responses of species like the commercially valuable and historically over-exploited ABFT.

Skellig Michael, Co. Kerry: A Lonely Island Hermitage at the Edge of the World?

The spectacular monastic complex on the rocky island of Skellig off the south-west coast of Ireland is a UNESCO World Heritage site that has been subject to archaeological excavations and surveys since the 1980s. In recent years, it has been the location of episodes in the Star Wars films The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi which has led to some diminution of its cultural heritage and, in particular, its place in the history of universal monasticism. This article attempts to restore its significance to world monasticism by reading its location and landscape through the lens of monastic literature and monastic ideology.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the pink sea fan, Eunicella verrucosa (Pallas, 1766)

The pink sea fan, Eunicella verrucosa (Pallas, 1766), inhabits rocky substrates across the northeast Atlantic and the western Mediterranean. Across much of its range it has been detrimentally affected by fishing. DNA from 17 E. verrucosa specimens was amplified by phi29-induced rolling circle amplification. Following purification by sodium acetate-ethanol precipitation, the circular genomic DNA was sequenced on an Illumina MiSeq v2. Specimens originated from sites along the west coast of Ireland, southwest Wales, southwest/southern England, northwest France, southern Portugal, and the Mediterranean coast of northeast Spain. All samples had identical mitochondrial genome sequences of 19,267 bp and included 14 protein-coding genes (including the mutS gene), two ribosomal RNA subunits (12S and 16S) and one methionine tRNA gene. Two genes (nad2 and nad5) overlapped by 13 bp; all other genes were separated by non-coding intergenic regions. All protein-coding genes had the same start codon (ATG) and a TAA or TAG stop codon, except for cox1 that terminated with the incomplete stop codon T--. The mitochondrial genome of E. verrucosa (MW588805) showed 99.72% similarity with that of a related sea fan species, Eunicella cavolini, with six SNPs and a 49 bp deletion between nad5 and nad4 in E. verrucosa distinguishing the two.

Insights into the discrepancy between Azadinium spp. and azaspiracid toxins near strategically important aquaculture operations in the west and southwest of Ireland

Apparent increases in harmful algal blooms worldwide have fostered attempts at mitigating their impacts on the aquaculture industry. The dinoflagellate species Azadinium spinosum has been described as the de novo azaspiracid (AZA) toxin producer of AZA-1 and -2 and been implicated in shellfish poisoning incidents (AZP) around Europe, regularly affecting shellfish mariculture operations.Several species of Azadinium have been confirmed in Irish coastal waters, and routine monitoring has shown disparities between Azadinum spp. cell count estimates in the water column and AZA concentrations in shellfish.A survey of bays on the southwest and west coasts of Ireland, carried out in August 2016, investigated the late summer distribution of Azadinium spp. and AZAs. Molecular analysis of water column samples showed very low levels of Az. spinosum. However, AZAs were found in 44% of samples, including in Az. spinosum negative samples. PCR-DGGE analysis was carried out using Amphidomataceae family specific primers on a selection of Az. spinosum negative, but AZA positive, samples. Subsequently sequenced DNA amplicons showed a high level of similarity with other Azadinium species suggesting that the species-specific molecular assays, in current use for monitoring Azadinium spp., are not capturing the likely greater diversity of the genus in Irish waters.

Assessing remote sensing as a tool to monitor hydrological stress in Irish catchments with Freshwater Pearl Mussel populations

The West Coast of Ireland hosts many of the few populations of Freshwater Peal Mussels (FPM) left in Europe. The decline of this keystone species is strongly related to deteriorating hydrological conditions, specifically to the threat of low flows during dry summers. Populations still capable of reproducing require a minimum discharge and flow velocity to support juvenile mussels, or else stress builds up and an entire generation may be lost. Monitoring environmental and hydrological conditions in small and remote FPM catchments is difficult due to the lack of infrastructure. Indices derived from remote sensing imagery can be used to assess hydrological variables at the catchment scale. Here, five indices are tested as possible surrogates for soil moisture and evapotranspiration, based on two relevant land-cover types: open peat habitats (OPH) and forestry. Selected indices are then assessed in their ability to reproduce seasonal patterns and in their response to a severe drought event. The moisture stress index (MSI) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were found to be the best surrogates for soil moisture and evapotranspiration respectively. Both indices showed seasonality patterns in the two land-cover types, although the variability of MSI was significantly higher. During the 2018 drought, MSI visibly increased only in OPH, while NDVI rose only for forestry. The results suggest that OPH enhances the long-term hydrological resilience of a catchment by conserving water in the peat substrate, while industrial forestry plantations exacerbate the pressure on water during drier periods. This has consequences for river discharge, freshwater biodiversity and specifically for FPM. Implementing these surrogates have the potential to identify land-use management strategies that reduce and even avert the effects of drought on FPM. Such strategies are increasingly necessary in a climate change context, as recurring summer droughts are expected in most of Europe.

Feasibility Analysis of a DC Distribution System for a 6 kW Photovoltaic Installation in Ireland

Recent developments in micro-grids have led to increased interest in DC distribution due to its high efficiency in distributing energy from renewable energy sources to DC loads. This paper seeks to analyse the performance of AC and DC systems in a relatively large-sized 6 kW PV installation to determine the level of improvement in efficiency provided by DC distribution and to identify methods for further improvement. Baseline annual data for the AC system were collected from a live installation on a national school in Inis Oirr, an island off the west coast of Ireland. The results indicate that usage of a DC distribution system has the potential to reduce system losses by up to 50% as well as the ability for an annual saving in grid energy of 5% compared to the existing AC system. Moreover, the analysis reveals that DC outperforms AC distribution more in spring and autumn, when power consumption is comparable to the system production, but there is less impact in summer, when PV production is significantly higher than demand. These findings provide insights into the benefits of future DC distribution systems in individual buildings and in larger-scale micro-grids.