This research has been carried under the Geological Survey Ireland 2017 Short Call. This call provided funding for researchers in academia or industry on the island of Ireland for projects of less than 12 months duration and less than €25,000.
Please note that the final report has been redacted to remove staff, financial and sensitive information. Some file sizes have been reduced to allow easier uploading/downloading, higher quality files are available on request. Supplemental information is also available on request in most cases. Please contact research[AT]gsi.ie
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this report are those of the author(s) and not of Geological Survey Ireland or the Department of Climate Action, Communications and Environment.
Lead Applicant: Prof Nancy Riggs
Host: Trinity College Dublin
Project Title: Detrital zircon geochronology in the west of Ireland in support of Tellus geophysics interpretations
Project Description: Tellus geophysical surveys are providing a wealth of new information about the tectonic amalgamation of Ireland. This proposal requests funds to complement new Tellus data and interpretation with a zircon geochronology program to study successions in Mayo and Connemara.
We present here three research goals, all of which will use interpreted Tellus data:
- a test of the age and history of a proposed suture between Ordovician Clew Bay Complex ophiolitic rocks and Dalradian supracrustal rocks;
- a test of the provenance of rocks in the South Connemara Group, which has implications for sites of gold mineralisation;
- a test of terrane amalgamation through understanding Silurian rocks that cover tectonic sutures. The greatest impacts of our work will be in scientific discoveries, demonstration of methods that add value to collection and interpretation of Tellus geophysical data, and through training a TCD undergraduate in research methods.
Report