Ireland's hydrocarbon reserves may be more extensive than previously thought, according to new findings by the national sea bed survey.
However, the benefits of the €32 million survey may be lost if the Government does not continue to fund the work beyond its seven-year life span which expires at the end of 2005, Dr Peadar McArdle of the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) told a conference in Galway.
The survey has already discovered features such as evidence of tsunamis (giant waves) off the coast, iceberg scour-marks and carbonate mounds. It has also mapped a 100-nautical-mile-long Lophelia coral ridge of "global importance" among over 450,000 square kilometres of Irish marine territory examined to date since the Government allocated funding for the project in 1999.
However, a high resolution seismic survey carried out with the Irish Lights vessel, Granuaile , this year clarified the existence of prospective hydrocarbon sediment basins north and west of the Rockall Bank and in the Hatton Bank area, according to Mr Mick Geoghegan of the GSI.
"It is too early to say what type of hydrocarbon reserves they are," Mr Geoghegan said of the project, which was supported by the exploration industry in co-operation with the State's Petroleum Affairs Division (PAD). Currently, there is no licensing for exploration in this area, and it "pushes out the frontier", Mr Geoghegan noted.
The Marine Institute's 65-metre flagship research vessel, Celtic Explorer, is currently doing the bulk of surveying in an area totalling 800,000 square kilometres, along with the smaller Celtic Voyager.
However, the sea bed survey team - involving both the GAS, the Marine Institute and other partners - has also made use of other ships, and conducted an aerial survey of Clew Bay.
The benefits of the work include gleaning new information for sovereignty, marine safety, commercial fishing, aquaculture, oil and gas exploration, and marine aggregates, as well as weather forecasts, marine heritage and coastal zone management, Mr Geoghegan pointed out.
This year, work was also carried out in the new Irish Box (known as a biologically sensitive area) off the south-west coast, off the north-west on the Rockily Bank and in the Shannon estuary. Significantly, the estuary's charts required updating.
Data can now be processed within four weeks, and new maps produced within a year, due to new information technology systems adopted, explained Mr Geoghegan.
The survey's findings may contribute to studies of climate change, Dr Fiona Fitzpatrick of the Marine Institute told the conference. A cycle in the Rockily Trough acting as a heat source for north-west Europe has shown a temperature rise over the past five years, she noted. During surveys in the Shannon estuary, the resident pod of dolphins was also noted to have decreased, perhaps due to feeding difficulties, she said.
The Celtic Explorer did not enter the special area of conservation (SAC) in the estuary, she emphasised, and had a special code of practice to ensure marine mammals were not affected by ship activities.
The survey is also engaged in a European project - to map habitats - involving five EU member-states, including Ireland.
Next year, it will work again in the new Irish Box, while four voyages have been planned for sea areas south of Donegal, she said.
Dr McArdle of the GAS said that - while there were competing demands for State resources, particularly in health and education - the work of the survey would have long-term socio-economic benefits for the State and should be continued after 2005.
