Tellus survey gives a new insight into county
NEW insights into the rocks and soil beneath the Garden County are set to be revealed with the release of the latest date from the Tellus Programme.
The Tellus survey is ongoing airborne geophysical survey. The data collected provides useful information to the agricultural, mineral and environmental sectors. In 2019, airborne surveying planes crossed the skies over Counties Wicklow, Wexford, Carlow, and parts of Kilkenny, Kildare and Waterford. These new data map over 600 million years of complicated and varied geology; from traces of long lost continents, dramatic volcanic arcs and the massive granite intrusions which still dominate the landscape today.
Koen Verbruggen, Director of Geological Survey Ireland said, ‘we’re are delighted to release further geophysical data collected by the Tellus aircraft and in particular the new EM inversion dataset providing further value added products from the data which will be of use to people engaged in construction, mineral exploration and environmental management.
‘Releasing the new data at the annual Irish Geological Research Meeting, held this year in Athlone and hosted by GSI, among the young geoscientists who will be using this information for years to come is most appropriate. We look forward to the next phase of the Tellus survey over the counties of Kilkenny, Laois and Tipperary which will take to the skies this summer.’
Since the start of the Tellus survey in 2011, the survey pilots have been taking photographs from their vantage point of the stunning landscape below them. The Tellus team has collated these images along with facts from the localities and digitally mapped them to provide a ‘Tales from Tellus’ ESRI storymap which shows the varied landscape of Ireland. While the survey collects geochemical and geophysical data that can image the deep geological features beneath our feet, these photographs show the human story of the survey and the dramatic coastlines, hills, fields and people who make up this island. The storymap includes images of Wicklow Head, Lough Tay, Greystones and Roundwood.
Tellus is funded by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment. All data is made freely available and data and maps are available to view and download from www.gsi.ie/tellus.