DrColman Gallagher

This project examines the impacts of changing sediment supply, rising sea level and climate change on coastal dune stability, determining relationships between shoreline change rates, beach/dune morphodynamics and near-shore/offshore sediment availability and pathways in Donegal Bay. The research pilots the possible development of an integrated national-scale model of coastal change.

The study aims to detail the geologic and stratigraphic character of the martian northern plains, with particular regard to the role that near-surface ice has played in their evolutionary history. It is widely accepted that the uppermost layers of the northern plains are largely sediments that have been shaped by processes involving water-ice, but no consensus has emerged as to whether the ice accumulated due to surface (freezing of wet sediments of fluvial, lacustrine or marine origin), atmospheric (condensation within the regolith, snow, or niveo-aeolian deposition), or subsurface (shallow groundwater) processes, or combinations of all three. Furthermore, although the spatial distributions of some landform types have been measured and correlated with latitude-controlled climatic processes, broad-scale heterogeneity in surface geomorphology exists within latitude bands, suggesting that regional geology and climate play a dominant role. Improving the geological context of the northern plains will help constrain outstanding questions about martian geological evolution, environmental change and – if ice here was once liquid water – astrobiology. To do this, the spatial distribution of landforms thought to be indicative of ice in the regolith must be assessed in more detail and in a representative way, and the types of materials in which these forms occur must be determined. This requires strategic, targeted geomorphological mapping. The goal of the proposed work is to produce new geomorphological maps of the northern plains of Mars, and to identify not only the range of geologically recent, ice-related landforms, but also their association with subtly-expressed geological units. The focus on latitudinal and longitudinal variations in surface geology, and the examination of the surface at high spatial scales, sets this mapping apart from previous work. Earlier maps of the northern plains have been produced at a scale of 1:15,000,000 (hemisphere scale), but new high-resolution datasets permit increased geological and geomorphological detail to be seen. We will therefore produce geomorphological maps at larger scales, such as 1:1,000,000, by strategically defining latitudinal swaths that cover critical physiographic and geologic boundaries. This approach allows for detailed comparisons at regional scales. We will map a minimum of three long swaths, each covering one of the three main plains regions (Acidalia, Arcadia and Utopia Planitiae). The main datasets being used, all in the public domain, are medium resolution CTX (5-6 m/pixel) and HRSC (colour and nadir, ~12.5-50 m/pixel) images, supported by higher resolution HiRISE (25 cm/pixel) and MOC (~2 m/pixel) images. We have brought together experts in planetary geomorphology with experience in studying cold-climate features on Mars and the Earth. We include team members with cross-cutting expertise such as formal planetary mapping techniques and impact crater chronology, and will invite experts in spectral dataset analysis to help us understand surface composition. Our cartographic and topical science results will enhance the community’s understanding of the geologic evolution of this region of Mars.

Shiptime and training to the value of €50,285

Aims to develop an integrated & comprehensive landscape archaeological model of the evolution of the Boyne catchment & hence develop an environmentally contextualised understanding of a key element of Ireland's archaeological heritage.

Aims to develop an integrated & comprehensive landscape archaeological model of the evolution of the Boyne catchment & hence develop an environmentally contextualised understanding of a key element of Ireland's archaeological heritage.

This project report details the third phase of research of the Boyne Valley Landscape Project, which has seen INSTAR funding from 2008‐2010. The overarching aims of the project are to produce an integrated, comprehensive landscape archaeological model of the evolution of the Boyne catchment (Figure 1), and so develop and environmentally‐contextualised understanding of a key part of Ireland’s archaeological heritage

Along shorelines of the South-eastern Irish coast, there is concern that a lack of sediment supply, rising sea level and climate change will have an impact on sediment circulation pattern, which in turn will lead to destabilization of nearshore-beach-dune systems through erosion, overwash, and backshore transgression. The proposed investigation aims to use high-resolution bathymetric/topographic elevation and geologic/geophysical data collected as part of INSS and INFOMAR programs to map approximately 20 km2 of the shallow geomorphology along shorelines of Wexford County. The purpose of this investigation is to test the hypothesis of whether there is a relationship between shoreline change rates and beach/dune morphodynamics, to sediment availability and pathways in near/off- shore areas across the study area. This will be done using lidar, drone, MBES and meteorological data, historic aerial/satellite imagery, existing topographic profiles and sediment characteristics. The relative significance of seasonal/annual/decadal processes versus response of nearshore–beach-dune system to broader geomorphic controls (relative sea level rise, storms) will be assessed. This proposal could be seen as a pilot study for developing an integrated system of modelling shoreline change and sediment budgets that will integrate measurements over different spatial and temporal scales, which can be used for the entire Irish coastline.