Climate Change – Related Programmes
Geological Survey Ireland is involved in several projects relating to climate change.
CHERISH project (Marine Programme)
CHERISH stands for Climate, Heritage and Environments of Reefs, Islands and Headlands. The 5 year project is cross-disciplinary with partners in Wales and Ireland. CHERISH aims to raise awareness and understanding of the past, present and near future impacts of climate change, storminess and extreme weather events on the rich cultural heritage of the Irish and Welsh regional seas and coast.
GWFlood project (Groundwater and Geothermal Unit)
GWFlood is a groundwater flood monitoring and mapping programme aimed at addressing the knowledge gaps surrounding groundwater flooding in Ireland. The programme was initiated in response to the unprecedented groundwater floods of Winter 2015/2016 and is a collaborative effort combining the karst groundwater expertise of Geological Survey Ireland and Trinity College Dublin. The project is providing the data and analysis tools required by local and national authorities to make scientifically-informed decisions regarding groundwater flooding.
Read more (redirect to Groundwater and Geothermal Unit page)
Coastal Vulnerability Index (Marine Programme)
Geological Survey Ireland is undertaking a new coastal vulnerability mapping initiative. Maps produced in this project will provide an insight into the relative susceptibility of the Irish coast to adverse impacts of sea-level rise through the use of a Coastal Vulnerability Index.
Carbon Capture and Storage (Geoenergy Programme)
Geological Survey Ireland participated in several CO2 storage projects in recent years to assess site suitability in the Irish Sea and is a member of the FP7 CGS Europe consortium and co-authored the Key Report on CO2 storage site selection.
Coastal Erosion from Space-ESA (Marine Programme)
The coastal environment is constantly changing. Climate change, storm surges, rapid sea level rise and floods impact the coastline. Earth observation from space has made a significant step up since 2016 with the appearance of the EU Copernicus Sentinel missions (ESA), and the new generation of very high resolution commercial satellite platforms. The scope of the ESA Coastal Erosion project is to develop & demonstrate innovative Earth Observation products founding the basis for long-term exploitation of data from satellites by large user communities. These applications aim to detect and track coastal erosion and accretion to inform coastal management plans.