October 9-12 promises to be a fascinating week for marine research on the UCC campus where the best of local, national and international marine-related research will be showcased.
As part of its Marine Research week event, the University is hosting three research conferences and workshops over a period of four days with 180 delegates expected to attend the three events.
The Environmental Research Institute (ERI) at UCC has over 120 researchers working in marine research drawn from its three constituent research centres, the Aquaculture and Fisheries Development Centre (AFDC), the Coastal and Marine Research Centre (CMRC) and the Hydraulics and Maritime Research Centre (HMRC). The Institute has published over 200 publications in marine research from 2008-2011.
On Wednesday afternoon (October 10), the ERI will host their 5th Annual ERI Research Open Day on the topic of *Marine Research @ Cork*. The keynote address will be given by *Dr Peter Heffernan* (Chief Executive, Marine Institute) who will discuss the synergies between *Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth – An Integrated Marine Plan for Ireland* launched by An Taoiseach in July 2012 and the *European Union Strategy for the Atlantic (EUSA) Action Plan*.
The event will feature presentations across a range of marine research areas where UCC has expertise including aquaculture, fisheries, marine biotechnology, marine renewables, geomatics, coastal governance and economic opportunities in the maritime and energy sphere. As EU competitive research funding continues to make an important contribution to marine research finding in Ireland, Geoffrey O’Sullivan (Marine Institute) will outline the marine research funding opportunities in the Commission’s new Research and Innovation Funding Programme: Horizon 2020.
The first *Directory of Marine Research* at University College Cork will also be launched at the ERI Marine Research Open Day on October 10. The directory will have full one-page profiles on over 60 marine research projects currently underway at the University in the areas of aquaculture, marine renewables, coastal governance, geomatics and marine biotechnology. It is anticipated that the directory will be a resource for all those interested in the substantial amount of marine research activity in Ireland.
A conference on the management of marine geological and geophysical data types from across Europe takes place from October 9-10. The *Geo-Seas conference* will provide demonstrations of the various tools and services available to access good quality marine geological and geophysical data from almost 80,000 data sets from 24 European data centres. Keynote speeches will be delivered by Professor Alistair Borthwick (UCC) and Wim Jansen (European Commission).
The final event of UCC Marine Research week, the *INFOMAR Annual Seminar “Enabling our Ocean Management*”, takes place on October 11-12. The INFOMAR seminar aims to create a range of mapping products of the physical, chemical and biological features of the seabed in the near-shore area of Ireland. The Assistant Secretary at the Department of Energy, Communications and Natural Resources Michael Manley, will deliver a key presentation highlighting INFOMAR’s role in Ireland’s ocean wealth strategy and the importance of the ‘blue economy’. The seminar will also showcase the conversion of the salmon protection vessel *Cosantóir Bradán* by the team at the Geological Survey of Ireland for use as a seabed survey vessel. The official launch of the Cosantóir Bradán will take place on Thursday October 11.
