From 19th Century to Present: Changes in Hydrographic Surveying Techniques and Determination of Sounding Accuracy

Calculation of morphological change between hydrographic surveys is marred by uncertainties, in particular when methods have changed. When examining estuarine evolution, an approximation of measurement errors is needed. An overview of the changing approaches since the 19th century is given to aid error estimation and subsequent comparison with modern surveys. Changes and errors in horizontal positioning, soundings and datums need to be considered when interpreting sediment gains and losses. As a case study, the derivation of error estimates for an 1845 and modern hydrographic dataset on the south-west coast of Ireland is described.El cálculo del cambio morfológico entre los levantamientos hidrográficos está deformado por incertidumbres, en particular cuando los métodos han cambiado. Al examinar la evolución de los estuarios, se requiere una aproximación de los errores de medida. Se proporciona una visión general de los aproches cambiantes desde el siglo 19, para ayudar a efectuar la estimación de errores y la consiguiente comparación con los estudios modernos. Tienen que considerarse los cambios y errores en el posicionamiento horizontal, en las sondas y los datums, al interpretar los aumentos y las pérdidas de sedimentos. Como estudio de un caso, se describe la derivación de las estimaciones de errores para una colección de datos hidrográficos de 1845 y una colección moderna en la costa suroccidental de Irlanda.Les calculs du changement morphologique entre les levés hydrographiques sont faussés par les incertitudes, en particulier, lorsque les méthodes changent. Lorsqu’on examine l’évolution des estuaires, il est nécessaire d’avoir une estimation des erreurs de mesurage. Une vue d’ensemble du changement d’approches depuis le 19ème siècle est présentée aux fins d’appuyer l’estimation des erreurs et la comparaison ultérieure avec les levés modernes. Les changements et les erreurs dans le positionnement horizontal, les sondes et les systèmes de référence doivent être pris en compte pour interpréter les gains et les pertes en sédiments. Comme étude de cas, l’évolution des estimations d’erreurs pour une série de données de 1845 et pour un ensemble de données hydrographiques modernes sur la côte sud-ouest de l’Irlande est décrite

Managing coastal environments under climate change: pathways to adaptation

This paper deals with the question of how to manage vulnerable coastal systems so as to make them sustainable under present and future climates. This is interpreted in terms of the coastal functionality, mainly natural services and support for socio-economic activities. From here we discuss how to adapt for long term trends and for short terms episodic events using the DPSIR framework. The analysis is presented for coastal archetypes from Spain, Ireland and Romania, sweeping a range of meteo-oceanographic and socio-economic pressures, resulting in a wide range of fluxes among them those related to sediment. The analysis emphasizes the variables that provide a higher level of robustness. That means mean sea level for physical factors and population density for human factors. For each of the studied cases high and low sustainability practices, based on stakeholders preferences, are considered and discussed. This allows proposing alternatives and carrying out an integrated assessment in the last section of the paper. This assessment permits building a sequence of interventions called adaptation pathway that enhances the natural resilience of the studied coastal systems and therefore increases their sustainability under present and future conditions.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Governance barriers to sustainable energy transitions – Assessing Ireland's capacity towards marine energy futures

Marine energies (ME), including offshore hydcrocarbons along with marine renewable energies (MRE), such as offshore wind, wave and tidal energy, are increasingly important in the future energy mix of many nations. We observe that ME governance is complex, as development offshore involves engagement and may often result in conflict. This paper examines the Irish case, where offshore gas and oil remain relatively undeveloped, and yet have provoked extensive controversy. Moreover, Ireland exhibits very ambitious plans for MRE developments. Against a background, where ME development seems to have stalled, the objective of the paper is to analyse the Irish governance setup and its capacity to deliver ME and whether the current system is equipped to enable transition to MREs. Current governance systems lack efficacy in terms of policy integration and enforcement, government oversight, and public trust due to past failures. Although, management approaches have been developed to address some of the barriers, domains such as policy/regulation, industry development and public engagement are disconnected. Results: presented may not simply be generalised, as each country context is different. An analysis of examples with similar issues must focus on studying the context of the governance setup and balances of power across domains

Investigation of an elevated sands unit at Tralispean Bay, South-West Ireland – potential high-energy marine event

A sequence of high elevation sands containing both broken and whole marine shells, as well as many mega-sized, raft-shaped boulders (1-3m across) has been discovered at Tralispean Bay, West Cork, Ireland. Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR), ground surveying and differential GPS (dGPS) show that the sediments cover an area of c.0.75ha, reaching a maximum height of c.+18.5m ODM, with interconnected pockets of sand varying in thickness of up to 1m. Coring, lithostratigraphic study, granulometry, organics loss-on-ignition and carbonate content analyses, together with examination of micro- and macrofossils, indicate that the shelly sands were deposited rapidly, under high energy conditions. Informal interviews with local residents, as well as the extent of the sands, suggest that the deposit is not the result of human actions. Elevations reached by the sediments, the presence of mega-boulders, and other indicators make it unlikely that these sediments arose from storm activity. It is possible that they have been deposited as the result of a tsunami. The radiocarbon (AMS) date obtained places the age of such an event at 1465 AD (Cal BP 485). At present, no clear historical record has been identified of any tsunami impacts affecting the south coast of Ireland other than the Lisbon earthquake of 1755

PolyGR and polyPR knock-in mice reveal a conserved neuroprotective extracellular matrix signature in C9orf72 ALS/FTD neurons

Dipeptide repeat proteins are a major pathogenic feature of C9orf72 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (C9ALS)/frontotemporal dementia (FTD) pathology, but their physiological impact has yet to be fully determined. Here we generated C9orf72 dipeptide repeat knock-in mouse models characterized by expression of 400 codon-optimized polyGR or polyPR repeats, and heterozygous C9orf72 reduction. (GR)400 and (PR)400 knock-in mice recapitulate key features of C9ALS/FTD, including cortical neuronal hyperexcitability, age-dependent spinal motor neuron loss and progressive motor dysfunction. Quantitative proteomics revealed an increase in extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins in (GR)400 and (PR)400 spinal cord, with the collagen COL6A1 the most increased protein. TGF-β1 was one of the top predicted regulators of this ECM signature and polyGR expression in human induced pluripotent stem cell neurons was sufficient to induce TGF-β1 followed by COL6A1. Knockdown of TGF-β1 or COL6A1 orthologues in polyGR model Drosophila exacerbated neurodegeneration, while expression of TGF-β1 or COL6A1 in induced pluripotent stem cell-derived motor neurons of patients with C9ALS/FTD protected against glutamate-induced cell death. Altogether, our findings reveal a neuroprotective and conserved ECM signature in C9ALS/FTD.</p

Evidence from sites in Western Ireland of late Holocene changes in coastal environments

The presence of sand layers interleaved with biogenic material in coastal sedimentary sequences from back-barrier areas has often been used as evidence of storm surge or tsunami action during the Holocene. This paper discusses such stratigraphies from two adjacent sites in Western Ireland in order to assess the validity of this inference. Detailed examination of the sand layers indicates that while some of the sand beds at one of the sites were deposited by overwash, other processes, including aeolian deposition and fluvial reworking of aeolian sediments were also important in sand redistribution in the back-barrier areas. In these cases, local controls, including site drainage characteristics, barrier morphology and available sediment supply, appear to have been important in site evolution. A regional signal of storm frequency was not detected

Computational Modeling of Environmental Processes: A

Numerous research projects are currently being conducted to establish a link between global climate change and the risks to coastal and marine environments. As part of a wider European 5 Project, HIPOCAS, an attempt is being made to establish this link for the Irish and Celtic waters. To facilitate this a wind hindcast was conducted for this region for subsequent integration with a wave model. This paper outlines the experiences of using the computational models selected for this project and the necessity of evaluating the reliability of the atmospheric model before integrating it into the wave model

Governance barriers to sustainable energy transitions – Assessing Ireland\u27s capacity towards marine energy futures

Marine energies (ME), including offshore hydcrocarbons along with marine renewable energies (MRE), such as offshore wind, wave and tidal energy, are increasingly important in the future energy mix of many nations. We observe that ME governance is complex, as development offshore involves engagement and may often result in conflict. This paper examines the Irish case, where offshore gas and oil remain relatively undeveloped, and yet have provoked extensive controversy. Moreover, Ireland exhibits very ambitious plans for MRE developments. Against a background, where ME development seems to have stalled, the objective of the paper is to analyse the Irish governance setup and its capacity to deliver ME and whether the current system is equipped to enable transition to MREs. Current governance systems lack efficacy in terms of policy integration and enforcement, government oversight, and public trust due to past failures. Although, management approaches have been developed to address some of the barriers, domains such as policy/regulation, industry development and public engagement are disconnected. Results: presented may not simply be generalised, as each country context is different. An analysis of examples with similar issues must focus on studying the context of the governance setup and balances of power across domains