Browsing University of Galway Theses (PhD Theses) by Subject "Earth and Ocean Sciences"
Now showing items 1-20 of 23
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Characterising the geochemistry of the natural environment using compositional data analysis
(NUI Galway, 2021-05-31)The geochemistry of the natural environment (e.g. soils, streams, sediments and groundwater) is representative of the source(s) from which these materials are derived. In fact, a geochemical dataset is essentially a ... -
Controls on upper Viséan (Carboniferous) depositional environments in Ireland
(2010-11-02)The lithostratigraphy and fauna of Carboniferous sedimentary sequences in northwest and southwest Ireland were investigated to reconstruct how and why palaeoenvironments were changing throughout the upper Viséan and ... -
Environmental aqueous geochemistry of arsenic in groundwater: occurrence, speciation and biogeochemical processes
(NUI Galway, 2020-04-27)The presence of arsenic and other trace elements within groundwater has become a global concern due to the health risks from drinking water associated with elevated concentrations in the last three decades. Whilst ample ... -
Evaluating controls of acoustic noise propagation across the continental margin
(NUI Galway, 2021-08-23)The ocean’s ability to transmit underwater sound efficiently over long distances enables anthropogenic noise as a cause of pollution in the global ocean. Ever increasing noise from sources such as sonar, seismic surveys, ... -
Field and geochemical studies of the Galway granite batholith - the Kilkieran sector, Connemara, western Ireland
(2015-04-24)The late-Caledonian granites of south Connemara occupy a key location in the western Irish Caledonides. The granites comprise the Galway Granite Batholith and its satellite plutons of Roundstone, Inish, Omey and Letterfrack. ... -
High-resolution habitat suitability modelling of vulnerable marine ecosystems in the deep sea
(2013-02-15)Knowledge of the spatial distribution of species and habitats is crucial for effective management of marine resources. Data to support informed decision-making in the deep sea are often sparse or absent, as offshore sampling ... -
An Integrated Approach to Characterising the Hydrogeology of the Tynagh Mine Catchment, County Galway, Ireland
(2014-01-08)The first major Pb-Zn mine in Ireland, located near the village of Tynagh, in east County Galway operated from the early 1960s until the early 1980s producing almost eight million tonnes of ore from surface and underground ... -
Investigating sediment source, supply and evolution of the Northwest Carboniferous Basin: A multi-proxy provenance approach
(NUI Galway, 2022-06-14)Provenance analysis investigates the origin of sediment and its pathways into sedimentary basins. Such analysis must consider certain external controls (e.g. location and scale of the transportsystem feeding a basin, ... -
Magnetic and interpolation techniques in the identification and analysis of metal contaminants In urban soils
(NUI Galway, 2019-06-28)Soil pollution has been identified as the third most important threat to soil quality in Europe. There are an estimated ~2,000 potentially contaminated sites in Ireland alone. Metal contamination has been identified as one ... -
Magnetotelluric research of the Rathlin Basin
(NUI Galway, 2018-12-24)The IRETHERM Project was funded under SFI PI Grant 10/IN.1/I3022, with the aim of addressing uncertainties and gaps in the knowledge of potential geothermal resources within Ireland. This thesis presents geophysical ... -
Mapping soil using neural network machine learning and remotely sensed geoscience data; a study in peat
(NUI Galway, 2023-02-17)Several concepts exist in the discipline of data analysis that are often unknowingly used in geosciences. Specifically, the concepts related to Big Data, Data Assimilation, Digital Soil Mapping, and Exploratory Data ... -
Microplastic pathways in marine pelagic systems
(NUI Galway, 2020-02-07)Marine litter and microplastics in particular have for some time now been postulated to be of environmental concern. Despite the ever-increasing amount of microplastic studies, conclusive evidence of the adverse effects ... -
Microplastics in the marine environment: analytical considerations, emerging sources, and protocol validation
(NUI Galway, 2024-02-02)Microplastics particles, with a size range between 1µm to 5 mm are established in all ecosystems, from the poles to the equator, and in a wide range of organisms including mammals, birds, fish, and invertebrates. ... -
Modelling the shoaling behaviour of pelagic fishes to improve acoustic stock assessment methods
(NUI Galway, 2021-04-21)Creating a model of collective behaviours, such as a fish shoal, requires understanding the movements and interactions of the individuals within. Individual-based models (IBMs), which consist of autonomous agents interacting ... -
A modern perspective on the commercial seaweed landscape of Ireland
(NUI Galway, 2021-08-24)In Ireland, seaweed was historically commercially used as a raw material to produce high-volume, low-value commodities, mostly animal feed. More recently, and due to the increasing mainstream acceptance of seaweed, there ... -
Multidimensional magnetotelluric imaging of crustal and uppermost mantle structures of the Atlas mountains of Morocco
(2015-04-16)The primary goal of the PICASSO (Program to Investigate Convective Alboran Sea System Overturn) project, and the concomitant TopoMed (Plate reorganization in the western Mediterranean: Lithospheric causes and topographic ... -
Perspectives on driving mechanisms affecting intermediate water masses presence in the Rockall Trough
(NUI Galway, 2020-11)The Rockall Trough (RT), a deep channel in the northeast North Atlantic (NA), hosts water masses of subpolar and subtropical origins. Large-scale atmospheric (North Atlantic oscillation, Eastern Atlantic pattern) and oceanic ... -
Provenance of Triassic sandstones in NW European Margin Basins - reconstructing palaeogeography using a multi-proxy approach
(NUI Galway, 2019-11-04)Provenance studies endeavour to unravel the history of a sediment, from investigating potential source rocks, to assessing the processes which may have affected sediment during weathering, transport, burial and diagenesis, ... -
Sand supply, sources and evolution of the mid-Carboniferous Clare Basin, western Ireland: insights from multi-proxy provenance approaches
(NUI Galway, 2021-01-19)Sedimentary provenance analysis aims to improve the understanding of all factors associated with sediment production, transport and deposition. This has implications for a wide range of geosciences, helping towards ... -
A Solution to Darwin's Dilemma: Differential Taphonomy of Ediacaran and Palaeozoic Non-Mineralised Discoidal Fossils
(2012-08-29)The eldonides, a group of non-mineralised asymmetrical discoidal fossils characterised by a coiled alimentary canal with circumoral tentacles and radially arranged internal lobes, are perhaps the least-well known major ...