#MarineScience - Transition Year pupils from Coláiste Croí Mhuire in Spiddal learned recently that a tracking drifter device they were using to measure the surface currents of Galway Bay before it was lost ended up off the coast of Scotland, where it was found by a local fisherman.
The device was part of a marine science project carried out by TY students Páraic Ó Cualáin, Cian Colfer, Ruarc Ó Comhghain in the run-up to the SciFest Exhibition at GMIT.
The three students working on ‘Project Canister’ released four canisters into Galway Bay, each with a GPS transmitter and battery, designed as simplified Lagrangian drifters.
“Seeing if the drifters would make it to the Aran Islands, the students collected data to better understand the circulation and movements of the surface currents within the Bay and how the currents are influenced by other factors such as tide and wind,” explained Conall O'Malley, scientific and technical officer at the Marine Institute, whose ocean modelling team assisted the student with background research on tide and wind data.
“The visit helped the students gain an appreciation of the amount of data and work that is required to produce reliable ocean current models, which in turn helped the group in deciding where to deploy the drifters in the bay.”
Four drifters were deployed in total, each with its own unique identifier so that they could be tracked efficiently. Two of the drifters ended up off the coast of Clare at Fanore, where they made landfall within 1km of each other three days apart. A third canister was recovered from Rossaveal in Connemara after 10 days.
"Remarkably, the fourth canister, which was deemed to have been lost somewhere in Galway Bay after three days when its GPS transmitter failed, was recently recovered 136 days after its launch in Scottish waters by a fisherman named Donald Brown," said O'Malley.
Alan Berry, team leader at the Marine Institute added: “After traveling 600km in the ocean currents around the west coast of Ireland and then recovered from Gott Bay off the Isle of Tiree, the most westerly of the inner Hebridean Islands off the coast of Scotland, it has been a great end to the tale of the lost drifter.”
“The students were delighted that the lost drifter was found so far away, and this adds to their on-going scientific learning and understanding of the ocean. This experiment certainly shows the importance of the ocean and highlights how we are all interconnected by the sea locally and internationally," said Dr Margaret Keady, science teacher at Coláiste Croí Mhuire.
Colaiste Chroi Mhuire principal Triona ní Mhurchu also thanked the Marine Institute’s ocean energy team, who assisted the Transition Year class with three other SciFest projects.
“Having the SmartBay Observatory in Galway Bay, which is the only place in Ireland and one of the few places in Europe where we can see, hear and count what is happening under the water, in real time, is certainly a welcomed resource for our school, our community as well as researchers at a local and national level,” she said.
Other marine science projects by the TY class were a study to determine whether Galway Bay supports its own population of dolphins, by Tessa Croke, Róise Nic Dhonnagáin, Rachel Nic Oireachtaigh; a smartphone app for sea swimmers in Spiddal, by Marcus Reinhardt, Bianca Ní Dhonabháin, Dylan Whelan, Elana Nic Fhannacha; and a study to determine the age of the fish we eat, by Máire Ní Fhrighil, Líadh Robertson, Caomhín Ó Sé, Aoife Nic Chormaic, Rosie Ní Dhubhghaill, Rebecca Ní Allúráin.
“The projects completed by the students also showed the amazing variety and potential opportunities that there are in marine science research and careers, particularly for those who are interested in ocean industries and technology development involving ICT, engineering, marine science and environmental studies,” said Berry.
