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.
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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: Dr Jonathan Turner
Host: University College Dublin
Project Title: Reconstructing the late Quaternary history of the River Nore using OSL dating
Project Description: This proposal seeks to acquire funding to implement fundamental geoscience research in Quaternary geology. The research project addresses an under-researched area in the Quaternary in an Irish context: fluvial geomorphology. Using the River Nore as a case study catchment, we will implement established techniques in palaeoflood hydrology to assess the development of the floodplain-channel system and evidence of past extreme flooding events, beyond recorded datasets. Advanced geochronological techniques will be applied to date the flood sediments, namely optically stimulated luminescence dating, which has hitherto not been applied to Irish fluvial sediments, generating a novel methodological contribution.
This project falls under the remit of the GSI research strategy, addressing the second challenge, "Risk Mitigation for Geological Hazards". Floodplains are vulnerable areas, and potentially hazardous to those who live and work along river banks. Using methods in palaeoflood hydrology to interpret geological evidence, this research will generate a more thorough understanding of flooding hazard in a lowland river catchment, generating data on the frequency of such events in the geological past. The outcomes will generate impacts in two of the three key areas of the GSI Research Programme: Knowledge and Education; Society and Public Policy.
Report