CLImB

Climate, Storm Inundation, and Coastal Boulder Deposits in Western Ireland

Funded by The Naughton Faculty Research Accelerator Program (2-years)

Large waves breaking on west coast of Ireland (Source: Elaine Farrell @foolinIndoolin)

This is a collaborative project between

• The University of Notre Dame (PI Drs Kennedy and Berke)
• Trinity College, Dublin (Dr Bourke)
• Dublin City University (Dr Cullen)
• University College Dublin (Drs Herterich and Dias)

Irish Coastal Boulder Depoisits (CBD) are found everywhere from low-elevation shore platforms to 35m high clifftops, and are cumulative evidence of the Atlantic storm climate acting on bedrock, with properties related to storm waves (Kennedy et al., 2021).

CBD are important because they result directly from storm wave inundation, and thus are a direct result of storm wave history.

Conditions leading to CBD generation and transport remain very poorly understood, in large part because direct links between boulder motion and wave inundation are poorly known (Cullen and Bourke, 2018). Linking wave climate and boulder properties using physical scaling can provide a methodology that may be applied at other locations which also have boulders but uncertain inundation, yielding estimates of storm climatology.

Project:

This proposal uses the extensive coastal boulder fields in Counties Galway and Clare in Western Ireland to examine the links between climate and storm deposits. These boulders were emplaced over centuries by Atlantic storm waves, and provide a long-lasting record of climate if it can be deciphered.

The rocky coasts of counties Galway and Clare in Western Ireland feature extensive Coastal Boulder Deposits (CBD) generated as strong Atlantic storm waves inundate normally dry regions, ripping loose and transporting boulders inland with sizes up to several hundred tonnes (e.g. Cox, 2020).
Image shows large boulder deposits on Aran Islands, Western Ireland (Image Source R. Cox)

We will perform field experiments on multi-ton instrumented boulders to determine thresholds for boulder movement during storms, deposit age estimates, and thus climatological links.

Figure outlining experimental approach for in situ boulder monitoring (source: A. Kennedy).

Student and faculty exchanges will take place in both directions, while a US-Ireland progress meeting and workshop will take place at Kylemore Abbey in June 2023.

Work will strengthen existing research bonds between ND and Ireland, bring in new participants, and will also strengthen inter-Irish research. This project will employ graduate and undergraduate student participation and training in the research.

References:

Cox, R. (2020). Megagravel deposits on the west coast of Ireland show the impacts of severe storms. Weather 75(3), 72-77

Cullen, N.D., and Bourke, M.C. (2018). Clast abrasion of a rock shore platform on the Atlantic coast of Ireland. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 43(12), 2627-2641.

Kennedy, A.B., Cox, R., and Dias, F. (2021). Storm Waves may be the Source of Some ‘Tsunami’ Coastal Boulder Deposits. Geophysical Research Letters, 48(1), doi:10.1029/2020GL090775

Links:

https://www.kylemoreabbey.com/

https://naughton.nd.edu/faculty/