Description: A shipwreck is the remains of a ship that has wrecked. Shipwrecks are located either beached on land or sunken at the bottom of the sea. The shipwreck data shows the location of shipwrecks mapped in the sea around Ireland. Research ships working at sea map shipwrecks and other objects on the seafloor. The ships collect bathymetry data. Bathymetry is the measurement of how deep the sea is. Bathymetry is the study of the shape and features of the seabed. The name comes from Greek words meaning "deep" and “measure". At sea, these ships use special equipment called a multibeam echosounder. A multibeam echosounder is a type of sonar that is used to map the seabed. Like other sonar systems, this system emits sound waves in a fan shape beneath the ship. The amount of time it takes for the sound waves to bounce off the bottom of the sea and return to a receiver is used to determine water depth. Shipwrecks are easily spotted as features on the seabed.When a shipwreck is mapped, it’s location is added to the shipwreck dataset. Additional information such as the name of the wreck and its date of loss are also added (sourced from the Underwater Archaeology Shipwreck database).It is a vector dataset. Vector data portrays the world using points, lines and polygons (areas). The shipwreck data is shown as points. Each point holds information on the shipwreck, its name, length, width, the type of ship, the date when it sank and the water depth. Links to an image of the wreck, a 3D sketchfab model and a pdf wreck information sheet are also provided if available. Our shipwrecks were mapped as part of the Irish National Seabed Survey (INSS) and INFOMAR (Integrated Mapping for the Sustainable Development of Ireland’s Marine Resource).
Service Item Id: 2f2f389666064bc9ba17fac5c2a978ee
Copyright Text: Geological Survey Ireland & Marine Institute