CV17001

Since 2011 the Winter Environmental Survey (WES) has operated with an allocated ship-time of up to 13 days on the Celtic Voyager and funded through NDP. These surveys alternate between south-about and a north-about each year with a southerly survey proposed for 2017. The survey cover coastal waters and bays but also shelf waters through offshore transects and as such are complementary to EPAs estuarine water quality monitoring activities. While all previous surveys have had a strong multi-disciplinary component to them incorporating both Chemical and Biological elements, the survey during 2017 was reduced relative to previous years. During 2017, the Chemistry portion of the survey was omitted as a consequence of resource (personel) limitations. The Chemistry Section will focus efforts on surveys (GO-SHIP AO2 line, and Rockall Hydrographic Survey) to be carried out on the Celtic Explorer during Q1/Q2 of 2017. However, during 2017 the survey focused on benthos ecological quality element and some hydromorphological elements. It is expected that the survey will revert to a full multidisciplinary programme in 2018