Name: Cara Brennan, BSc (Hons)

Position: MSc Student

Supervisors: Aaron Lim (Lead supervisor), Larissa Macedo Cruz De Oliveira (Co-supervisor) and Ger Summers (Co-supervisor)

Office: Research Office, Ground Floor, Department of Geography

Email Address: c.brennan@umail.ucc.ie

Biography

Cara graduated from University College Cork with a BSc (Hons) degree in Earth Science in 2023, developing an interest in offshore renewables, seabed mapping and marine geophysics.  She completed her thesis under the supervision of Dr Aaron Lim on marine magnetometry using INFOMAR data, identifying geohazards such as UXOs (unexploded ordnance), pipelines, and shipwrecks which may pose a threat to the development of offshore infrastructure. Upon the completion of her degree, she interned at Fugro in Aberdeen, Scotland as a trainee ROC (Remote Operations Centre) surveyor.  Cara is currently undertaking an MSc by research supervised by Dr Aaron Lim and Dr Larissa Macedo Cruz De Oliveira.

Research

Cara's research aims to apply an enhanced ARA (eARA) to 6 broad areas of INFOMAR data: deep (+700 m); intermediate (400 m); shallow (200 m) and 3 areas of interest to ORE developers in the North Celtic Sea (ranging from 100 to 20 m). Her methods will be applied to the raw acoustic data using a industry standard ARA methodology (QPS) calibrated by available INFOMAR sediment samples. The resulting backscatter grid will be segmented into clearly defined zones of differing backscatter response and using focal statistics, the majority ARA-derived sediment composition values will be applied to these segments. INFOMAR magnetometer data, will be processed (as per ORE-accepted industry standard via SonarWiz) and total field values will be applied to the classified eARA segments. The inclusion of magnetometry data will be the first for the INFOMAR program. Accuracy will be calculated using previously acquired sediment samples and a new workflow document created for the derivation of these data layers that can be adopted by governmental programs and increase industrial uptake of governmental data.

Publications

A Geohazard assessment: offshore Cork: 1st results from marine magnetometry: The use of magnetometry to identify geohazards which may pose a threat to the development of offshore renewable Energy (OWE) in the South Cork region.