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Displaying items by tag: noise pollution

Ahead of its broadcast this weekend, Newstalk previews A Sea of Sound, a new radio documentary that explores the impact of noise pollution on marine wildlife.

Marine mammals such as dolphins and whales effectively ‘see’ through sound in the water. “So to understand the life they lead, as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group’s Simon Berrow says, we need to “think acoustically”.

Producer John Higgins spoke to Berrow and other environmental stakeholders for the documentary, which also features some of the remarkable sounds of whales and dolphins communicating beneath the waves — and explores the sounds that threaten them, from seismic surveys to military sonar and more.

A Sea of Sound will be broadcast on Newstalk this Sunday morning 27 March at 7am, with a repeat on Saturday 2 April at 9pm. It will also be available as a podcast.

Published in Marine Wildlife

When cruiseships dock in Cobh they have been warned to keep quiet by the Port of Cork.

The busy port, writes Echolive, which sees up to 100 cruise liners docking throughout the year in the tourist town, has issued a statement regarding noise levels at certain times in an effort to maintain a good relationship with local residents.

In a notice, issued by Captain Paul O’Regan, who is Harbour Master and Chief Operations Officer for the Port of Cork, cruise liner captains were asked to reduce noise pollution in the area.

The notice from Captain O’Regan said that due to the topography of Cobh Cruise Berth, the sound from passenger announcements, music played on external decks and alarm sirens were amplified and this can be an issue for the surrounding residential properties.

To find out the times ship masters must adhere to when using alarms and announcements click here.

Published in Cork Harbour

Over 300 scientists are meeting in Dublin this week discussing the effects of noise on aquatic life. A public talk on Noise and its impact in the Ocean will be given tonight (Tuesday 12th July) 8 – 9:30pm at the O’Callaghan Alexander Hotel, Fenian Street, off Merrion Square in Dublin.

When people think of pollution they conjure up images of sewage spilling into the oceans, massive oil spills, floating rubbish and maybe even toxic chemicals. Noise pollution, however, is easily left out of such thoughts. Nevertheless, pollution from noise is likely as dangerous to many marine animals as any other type of pollution. 

Ocean noise pollutionAnthony Hawkins (Aquatic Noise Trust UK) and Robert Gisnier (International Association of Geophsyical Contractors US) met with 300 scientists attending the 4th International Conference on the Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life. A public talk on Noise in the Ocean and its impact will be given tonight at 8 – 9:30pm at the O’Callaghan Alexander Hotel, Fenian Street, off Merrion Square in Dublin

 

Published in Marine Wildlife

#MARINE SCIENCE - Apart from some of the world's largest concentrations of wave energy, the waters of Galway Bay and the west coast of Ireland are now providing something potentially even more valuable - information.

That's according to IBM's Harry Kolar writing for the blog A Smarter Planet, as he discusses the start of his company's new underwater data collection project developed in association with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and the Marine Institute.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the system comprises an array of noise sensing equipment such as hydrophones deployed in Galway Bay to monitor the noise levels produced by wave energy conversion devices in real time.

This array is attached to a large monitoring buoy about 2km from the southern shore, and constantly transmits the data it records to a receiving system on land.

The scheme, which was finally switched on last month, is an offshoot of the SmartBay initiative for developing and testing new marine technology to foster future commercial development in the fast-growing marine science sector. The 'Twitter buoy' deployed for the Volvo Ocean Race finale recently is another of the project's schemes.

"Initially, the system will capture and analyse the ambient noise of the ocean to establish a baseline of acoustics including natural and anthropogenic (man-made) sound sources including vessel traffic," writes Kolar.

"But the ultimate goal is to capture and analyse the sounds and vibrations of hulking wave energy conversion machines that have begun bobbing along off the coast and help determine what, if any impact the sound waves from those devices could have on marine life – but especially highly sensitive dolphin, porpoise, and whale populations."

A Smarter Planet has much more on the story HERE.

Published in Marine Science
#POWER FROM THE SEA - The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is teaming with IBM in a new project to assess the noise levels of wave energy devices off the Irish coast.
The scheme will see an array of noise sensing equipment such as hydrophones deployed in Galway Bay to monitor the noise levels of wave energy conversion devices in real time, as well as map patterns of marine life in the area.
According to AOL Energy, noise pollution at sea is a chief concern, having a disturbing effect on fish migrations among other marine ecosystems.
The west of Ireland will prove an important case study in this regard, as it hosts one of the world's largest wave energy infrastructures.
"Underwater noise is a global environmental issue that has to be addressed if we are going to take advantage of the huge potential of ocean energy," said EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn.
AOL Energy has more on the story HERE.

#POWER FROM THE SEA - The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is teaming with IBM in a new project to assess the noise levels of wave energy devices off the Irish coast.

The scheme will see an array of noise sensing equipment such as hydrophones deployed in Galway Bay to monitor the noise levels of wave energy conversion devices in real time, as well as map patterns of marine life in the area.

According to AOL Energy, noise pollution at sea is a chief concern, having a disturbing effect on fish migrations among other marine ecosystems.

The west of Ireland will prove an important case study in this regard, as it hosts one of the world's largest wave energy infrastructures.

"Underwater noise is a global environmental issue that has to be addressed if we are going to take advantage of the huge potential of ocean energy," said EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn.

AOL Energy has more on the story HERE.

Published in Power From the Sea

Round Ireland Yacht Race Information

The Round Ireland Yacht Race is Ireland's classic offshore yacht race starts from Wicklow Sailing Club (WSC) and is organised jointly with the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and the Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC). This page details the very latest updates from the 2008 race onwards including the race schedule, yacht entries and the all-important race updates from around the 704-mile course. Keep up to date with the Round Ireland Yacht Race here on this one handy reference page.

2020 Round Ireland Race

The 2020 race, the 21st edition, was the first race to be rescheduled then cancelled.

Following Government restrictions over COVID-19, a decision on the whether or not the 2020 race can be held was made on April 9 2020 to reschedule the race to Saturday, August 22nd. On July 27th, the race was regrettably cancelled due to ongoing concerns about COVID-19.

Because of COVID-19, the race had to have a virtual launch party at the Royal Irish Yacht Club for its 21st edition

In spite of the pandemic, however, a record entry was in prospect for 2020 with 50 boats entered with four weeks to go to the race start. The race was also going big on size and variety to make good on a pre-race prediction that the fleet could reach 60. An Irish offshore selection trial also looked set to be a component part of the 2020 race.

The rescheduling of the race to a news date emphasises the race's national significance, according to Afloat here

FAQs

704 nautical miles, 810 miles or 1304 kilometres

3171 kilometres is the estimate of Ireland's coastline by the Ordnance Survey of Ireland.

SSE Renewables are the sponsors of the 2020 Round Ireland Race.

Wicklow Sailing Club in association with the Royal Ocean Racing Club in London and The Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dublin.

Off Wicklow Harbour on Saturday, August 22nd 2020

Monohulls 1300 hrs and Multihulls 13.10 hrs

Leave Ireland and all its islands (excluding Rockall) to starboard.

It depends on the boat. The elapsed record time for the race is under 40 hours but most boats take five or six days to complete the course.

The Race Tracker is https://afloat.ie/sail/events/round-ireland/item/25789-round-ireland-yacht-race-tracker-2016-here.

The idea of a race around Ireland began in 1975 with a double-handed race starting and finishing in Bangor organised by Ballyholme Yacht Club with stopovers in Crosshaven and Killybegs. That race only had four entries. In 1980 Michael Jones put forward the idea of a non-stop race and was held in that year from Wicklow Sailing Club. Sixteen pioneers entered that race with Brian Coad’s Raasay of Melfort returning home after six days at sea to win the inaugural race. Read the first Round Ireland Yacht Race 1980 Sailing Instructions here

 

The Round Ireland race record of 38 h 37 min 7 s is held by MOD-70 trimaran Musandam-Oman Sail and was set in June 2016.

George David’s Rambler 88 (USA) holds the fastest monohull race time of two days two hours 24 minutes and 9 seconds set in the 2016 race.

William Power's 45ft Olivia undertook a round Ireland cruise in September 1860

 

Richard Hayes completed his solo epic round Ireland voyage in September 2018 in a 14-foot Laser dinghy. The voyage had seen him log a total of 1,324 sea miles (2,452 kilometres) in 54 sailing days. in 1961, the Belfast Lough Waverly Durward crewed by Kevin and Colm MacLaverty and Mick Clarke went around Ireland in three-and-a-half weeks becoming the smallest keelboat ever to go round. While neither of these achievements occurred as part of the race they are part of Round Ireland sailing history

© Afloat 2020

At A Glance – Round Ireland Yacht Race 2024

Race start: Off Wicklow Harbour on Saturday, June 22 2024

There will be separate starts for monohulls and multihulls.

Race course:  leave Ireland and all its islands (excluding Rockall) to starboard.

Race distance: is approximately 704 nautical miles or 1304 kilometres.

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