Geomorphology Association of Ireland Winter 2022 newsletter
Winter newsletter of the Geomorphology Association of Ireland
Introduction
Dear Members,
Delighted to introduce this first newsletter of the Geomorphology Association of Ireland (formerly IGGy) and to welcome any new members into what is a growing community of enthusiastic geomorphologists/geoscientists in Ireland and beyond. This newsletter will function as a platform for various announcements that may be of interest on many levels.
Our current rebranding to the ‘Geomorphology Association of Ireland (GAI)’ (https://www.irishgeomorphology.ie/) reflects a new approach to the group where we want to make things more inclusive and bring in, not just geoscientists working and living in Ireland, but also the Irish diaspora scattered around the world who are also making contributions to the field. Our formal launch will be in the first half of 2023, so watch this space!
We want to make membership of the GAI rewarding and worthwhile and to offer unique benefits to include such things as an annual Field award (more info later), access to research and teaching info and a network of like-minded researchers, reductions in sister organisations and events to name but a few.
Best wishes,
Professor Derek Jackson President, GAI; MRIA, FRGS, FBSG
Recent events
Coastal geomorphology in action
During October the first student cohort of the new Bachelors in Climate and Sustainability (BCES) at DCU went into the field to visit Malahide and Killiney beaches as part of GY239 (Introduction to the Oceans and the Marine Environment). The 2nd year students were investigating sediment dynamics, wave energy, longshore drift and the impacts of coastal protection structures (see below). After a sunny start at Malahide on Day 1 , they overcame some challenging conditions at Killiney on Day 2 and pushed through the wind and rain to collect all of the data they needed! Their overall task is to produce a report assessing the vulnerability of the different sites to the impacts of sea level rise and coastal erosion and propose solutions for their sustainable management.
To learn more, contact Dr Niamh Cullen: niamh.d.cullen@dcu.ie
Sea walls and groynes at Malahide Beach. Photo credit Aaron Mcniffe (Photo credit: Aaron Mcniffe)
BEFLUX Summer School
Wahaj Habib (PhD candidate, Trinity College Dublin) attended a “summer” (arctic summer 😉) school in September this year. The summer school named “BEFLUX” was kindly sponsored by the UArctic (University of the Arctic) and was focused on the Environmental monitoring in the Arctic, with a particular focus on greenhouse gas flux studies. There were 18 participants (PhD Students) from 11 different countries. The school was based in the University of Oulu, Oulanka Research Station. The research station is tucked away in the in the river valley of Oulanka within the Oulanka National Park, Finland. The course consisted of lectures and hands-on training including analysing existing observational data from in-situ sensors i.e., Eddy covariance towers, static/automatic chambers as well as obtaining own data from the field. The field data collection was based on state-of-the-art automatic chambers and UAVs. The main aim of the course was to develop a basic knowledge about climate change as a scientific phenomenon, and how it interacts with and drives natural arctic ecosystems.
To connect with Wahaj, email him at: habibw@tcd.ie
8th Irish Geomorphology Scientific Workshop
Maynooth University Geography hosted the GAI’s 8th Irish Geomorphology Scientific Workshop on the 10th of December 2021. The event was organised by Ro Charlton with the help of Kate de Smeth (UCD Geography), and Mick Bolger.
Held annually, the aim of the Scientific Workshop is to share research, enhance interdisciplinary communication and develop new opportunities through collaboration, bringing together academic researchers, those working in state agencies and public bodies, consultants, and individuals with an interest in geomorphology and the Irish landscape. The Workshop was held online and attracted over 100 participants from Ireland, UK, Portugal, Germany, Turkey, the United States, Canada, India and Venezuela.
The broad theme of the Workshop was Geomorphology in Environmental Management, with the Keynote delivered by Professor Andrew Cooper (Ulster University), who provided a fascinating and thought-provoking talk on Understanding and predicting coastal change: geomorphological perspectives, that led to much discussion afterwards.
The research presented included coastal, peatland, fluvial and planetary geomorphology were Research presentations encompassed a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, combined with new datasets and innovative new methodologies in the context of climate change impacts and the impacts of human activity. Research students and early career researchers were well-represented among the speakers.
To watch the talks, please refer to the Latest News section on the GAI website homepage (https://www.irishgeomorphology.ie/).
Member profiles
Hi! I’m Louis Gilet and I am a physical geographer currently working as a postdoctoral researcher on the RePEAT project (PI: Dr. John Connolly) (https://sites.google.com/view/project-repeat/home), within the Department of Geography at Trinity College Dublin. The project aims to refine our knowledge of the extent of Irish peatlands and of the land use changes they have undergone over the past 200 years. Prior to this post, I worked as a research and teaching assistant for different universities in Paris and at the Laboratory of Physical Geography (LGP). I hold a PhD in fluvial geomorphology from Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University (2019). I have now been working for several years on the evolutionary trajectory of hydrosystems, studying the changing interactions between biophysical processes and anthropogenic influences.
To learn more about Louis’ work, take a look at his ResearchGate profile (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Louis-Gilet) or contact him at giletl@tcd.ie
Hi! I’m Ciara Ryan and I work in Inland Fisheries Ireland as a Research Officer. My project is nested within the larger Hydromorphology team within the Research Division at IFI (https://www.fisheriesireland.ie/what-we-do/research). The larger team covers a range of topics including river habitat, barriers to fish passage, as well as rare and protected fish including lamprey, shad, salmon and eel for example.
Currently I am working on the Environmental River Enhancement Programme (EREP) which is funded by the Office of Public Works (OPW). The OPW are statutorily obliged to conduct routine arterial drainage maintenance operations on 11,500 kilometres of inland waterways. The EREP is a long-term programme which aims to promote strategies for reducing the adverse environmental effects of drainage, as well as to recognise and implement opportunities for environmental gain. The project allows us to collect catchment-scale data on hydromorphology and fish as part of routine monitoring, and conduct site-specific research projects.
I really enjoy my work as it’s a very applied role and has a nice balance of field and office-based tasks, meaning we can spend a good portion of our time outdoors, in any and all weathers! Working across all OPW schemes means I get to see a lot of the country, an aspect which I like as you really familiar with different catchments. I like the challenges of working at different scales within catchments and working with the OPW on strategies to improve river corridor hydromorphology. Moreover, the team working on the EREP within IFI are exceptional colleagues which makes working on this project very enjoyable.
To connect with Ciara, email her via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ciarafleming/
Feature article: UCD Drone Summer Course
Contact: Dr Tine Ningal (tine.ningal@ucd.ie)
The UCD School of Geography successfully conducted its second drone summer course in June 2022. Three courses of two days each were offered in June and close to 30 participants attended that comprised academics, researchers, students, professionals, and drone enthusiasts from within Ireland and internationally. One participant came all the way from Mozambique! The UCD Earth Institute collaborated in subsidising 50% of the fees for UCD postgraduates to attend the course.
The content of the course was updated to reflect the changes in the drone industry and a component on global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) was included this time. Dr Sojan Mathew (https://www.champlain.edu/academics/champlain-abroad/champlain-abroad-dublin/faculty-and-staff-dublin/matthew-sojan) who is an expert in GNSS was involved in delivering the lectures and practical around GNSS technology. Dr Ankur Sati also assisted with the course (https://people.ucd.ie/ankur.sati).
A new component introduced in this course was drone demonstration where the participants get to fly small consumer grade drones weighing less than 250 grams to gain first-hand experience on starting, taking off, manoeuvring, stopping the drones and getting used to other functions such as taking photographs, video footages and experimenting with built-in functions.
The course content introduced drones as a disruptive technology and its evolution over time, highlighting the various application and its rapid proliferation to date. There are many drone software available, however, in the course, Pix4Dcapture and Pix4Dmapper were used. The hands-on exercises provided sufficient material with data on ground control points (GCPs) gathered using the GNSS receivers and the overlapping photographs captured by the drone. The photogrammetry tool in Pix4Dmapper was used to create georeferenced outputs such as orthomosaic (photomap), digital surface model (DSM) and digital elevation model (DEM) (see below). Other activities include undertaking measurements such as determining distances, computing areas and volumes using the drone data. The software generates point clouds which can be imported into other applications such as GIS analysis, mapping, modelling and more. These are but some of the information that can be derived from drone data.
At the end of the second day, the participants received their certificates of attendance and were asked to provide feedback which would be useful in improving future drone courses. Generally, the participants enjoyed the drone course and affirmed that they learned new skills while making various recommendations for consideration.
The next drone course will take place between May and July 2023. Keep an eye out for more information at: https://www.ucd.ie/geography/shortcourses/
Did you know?
The European Geosciences Union (EGU) has opened the call for abstracts for the EGU General Assembly in 2023 in Vienna, Austria. The window for abstract submission is 01 Nov 2022- 10 Jan 2023. More information can be found here: https://egu23.eu/about/deadlines_and_milestones.html
The Women Advancing River Research seminar series continues to bring fascinating fluvial geomorphology insights. Previous presentations and registration for upcoming talks can be found here: https://www.cee.psu.edu/events/women-advancing-river-research.aspx
Fun from the field!
Check out UCD Masters student Fadzai Makokove installing sediment baskets in Carrigeenduff, Wicklow for her research quantifying deposited and suspended sediments in an area actively used for commercial forestry.
Check out UCD PhD student Eibhlin Vaughan (eibhlin.vaughan@ucdconnect.ie) preparing multi-parameter sondes in Arderin, Offaly as part of her research for the HydroSED project (https://www.ucd.ie/hydrosed/) examining the hydrological and sediment impacts of forestry operations in Ireland.
Get in touch
To join the GAI or contribute to the newsletter please contact the GAI committee: iGeomorphology@gmail.com
We welcome submissions for all sections of the newsletter, including job advertisements and grant and conference announcements. Don’t forget you can also email the GAI community any time using the listserv, or by emailing us to send out on your behalf. We'd love to hear from you!
Best wishes to everyone as we approach the end of the year, 'til next time!
GAI Committee