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: Dr Gavin Duffy
Host: Realsim
Project Title: The development of the CoastSim platform: a virtual coastal landscape time travel experience exploring landscape evolution
Project Description: CoastSim will allow users to virtually explore Ireland's coastline, past, present and future
within detailed 3D environment simulations. To be developed as a public facing platform, it will aim to engage and educate the public on the theme of the dynamic ever changing coast.
For this project, CoastSim will visually present the story of the evolving coastal landscape from the last ice-age to the present on two pilot study sites, in Dublin Bay and at Grange, in Co. Sligo. The simulations will shed light on the influence of geology, glaciation, climate change and the arrival of man on their shape and form. The simulations will also offer an opportunity to travel forward in time and present various scenarios on how the coast could look in the future based on rising sea levels, coastal erosion and man's efforts to control it. The simulations will be produced by combining a customised game engine with high resolution terrestrial and marine mapping data (bathymetry, drone and OSi aerial mapping), populated with graphical content (glaciers, ancient forests and changing sea levels). Offline and online versions will be produced. The slightly simpler online version, CoastSim Lite, will be produced using WebGL (Web Graphics Language), ensuring maximum public reach, whilst the offline version will be available at Grange Armada visitor centre and ensure that the graphical possibilities are pushed to their limits without the restriction of browser and end user machine limitations.
Report