The latest Marine Notice from the Department of Transport advises that a survey to investigate the use of fibre-optic cables in site investigations will be carried out in the North Irish Sea next month.
This survey from 16-25 March is being carried out in support of ongoing research at the Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geosciences (iCRAG).
The equipment and techniques to be used include:
- Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) using fibre-optic cables: A 1000m length of fibre optic cable will be placed temporarily on the seabed in order to carry out the survey. The position of the cable will be marked using surface buoys.
- OBS deployment: Two ocean bottom seismometers will be deployed and will remain in position until retrieval at the end of the survey.
- Sparker seismic profiling: This will be carried out as mobile work towing a transducer a short distance behind the work vessel.
The survey will be conducted by the RV Celtic Voyager (Callsign EIQN) and Fionn Mac Cumhaill (Callsign EIDN2). The two vessels will work close by each other and the latter is assisting with marine mammal observer work.
The vessels will display appropriate lights and signals. Mariners should note that seismic surveying using DAS equipment will be performed during daylight hours.
Further details including relevant coordinates can be found in Marine Notice No 08 of 2021, a PDF of which can be downloaded below.
