Bedrock is the solid rock at or below the land surface. Over much of Ireland, the bedrock is covered by materials such as soil and gravel. The Bedrock map shows what the land surface of Ireland would be made up of if these materials were removed. As the bedrock is commonly covered, bedrock maps are an interpretation of the available data. Geologists map and record information on the composition and structure of rock outcrops (rock which can be seen on the land surface) and boreholes (a deep narrow round hole drilled in the ground). Areas are drawn on a map to show the distribution of rocks. Faults are vital information that is needed alongside bedrock geology maps to provide information on the structure of rocks.The faults show the details of the structural geology. Faults are the result of great pressure being applied to rock across a whole continent or more. These rocks will break under the pressure, forming faults. Faults are recorded as lines where the break in the rock meets the surface.In terms of time scale in geology, Quaternary is the present-day time and it began 2.6 million years ago. A lot of this time period relates to the Ice Age.Quaternary sediments are the soft material that has been deposited during this time. In Ireland much of this is related to the movement of glaciers and ice sheets. The main types of sediments shown on the map are tills (boulder clays), gravels, sands and peat. Over most parts of Ireland, these sediments cover the bedrock (solid rock at or below the land surface). Geologists map and record information from the shallow sediments which can be seen at or near the surface. This information along with boreholes (a deep narrow round hole drilled in the ground), geophysical data (information on the physical properties of the Earth's surface and subsurface e.g. magnetics, gravity and electromagnetics) and geochemical data (chemical properties) is used to create the map. Areas are drawn on a map to show where sediments are found. OneGeology-Europe is an EU project which aims to make geological data held by the geological surveys of Europe more easily discoverable and accessible via the internet. It also aims to standardise and harmonise the data in order to create an EU map. “Geology” within OneGeology-Europe is defined as "composition (lithology/geochronology) and structure of the surface geology”. Surface geology = geology that would be visible if the overlaying soil were removed, in other words: the Quaternary/superficial geology plus the exposed bedrock.Lithology refers to the rock type. Geochronology refers to the age of the rock.The Bedrock geology is defined as pre-Quaternary geology.To produce this dataset, the Geological Survey Ireland (GSI) bedrock geology 1:500,000 and 1:100,000 maps were generalised. Standardised EU field names and codelists were used and the GSI data was mapped to the specifications.This map is to the scale 1:1,000,000. This means it should be viewed at that scale. When printed at that scale 1cm on the map relates to a distance of 10km.It is a vector dataset. Vector data portray the world using points, lines, and polygons (areas).The bedrock data is shown as polygons. Each polygon holds information on the GeologicUnit name, description, type, age, Observation Method, position accuracy, Event Environment, Event Process, Lithology, Younger and Older ages. Some values refer to defined values in the Commission for the Management and Application of Geoscience Information (CGI) vocabularies.The surface data is shown as polygons. Each polygon holds information on the GeologicUnit name, description, type, age, Observation Method, position accuracy, Event Environment, Event Process, Lithology, Younger and Older ages. Some values refer to defined values in the Commission for the Management and Application of Geoscience Information (CGI) vocabularies.The structural data is shown as lines. Each line holds information on the GeologicUnit name, fault type, Observation Method, position accuracy, Contact purpose and sampling frame. Some values refer to defined values in the Commission for the Management and Application of Geoscience Information (CGI) vocabularies.

The land surface forms were identified using the method developed by the Missouri Resource Assessment Partnership (MoRAP). The MoRAP method is an automated land surface form classification based on Hammond's (1964a, 1964b) classification. MoRAP made modifications to Hammond's classification, which allowed finer-resolution elevation data to be used as input data and analyses to be made using 1 km2 moving window (True, 2002; True et al., 2000). While Hammond's methodology was based on three variables, slope, local relief, and profile type, MoRAP's methodology uses only slope and local relief (True, 2002). Slope is classified as gently sloping or not gently sloping using a threshold value of 8%. Local relief, the difference between the maximum and minimum elevation in a 1km2 neighborhood for analysis, is classified into five classes (0-15m, 16-30m, 31-90m, 91-150m, and >150m). Slope classes and relief classes were subsequently combined to produce eight land surface form classes (flat plains, smooth plains, irregular plains, escarpments, low hills, hills, breaks/foothills, and low mountains). In the implementation for the contiguous United States, Sayre et al. (2009) further refined the MoRAP methodology to identify a new land surface form class, "high mountains/deep canyons", by using an additional local relief class (>400 m). This method was implemented for Africa using a void-filled 90m SRTM elevation dataset which was created from the 30m SRTM elevation data provided by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. In the preliminary output, which had nine land surface form classes (flat plains, smooth plains, irregular plains, escarpments, low hills, hills, breaks/foothills, and low mountains, and high mountains/deep canyons), artifacts were identified over flat desert areas affecting the classification between the two lowest relief classes, "flat plains" and "smooth plains." Since this problem was especially pronounced in areas where the input SRTM elevation data originally had data-voids, the problem could have been caused by anomalies or artifacts in the input data, which resulted from the void-filling processes. Instead of further investigating causes of the problem, the two land surface form classes were combined. In addition, the "low hills" class which had a very low occurrence was combined with the "hills" class. As a result, seven land surface form classes were identified in the final dataset (smooth plains, irregular plains, escarpments, hills, breaks/foothills, low mountains, and high mountains/deep canyons). References: Hammond, E.H., 1964a. Analysis of Properties in Land Form Geography - An Application to Broad-Scale Land Form Mapping. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, v. 54, no. 1, p. 11-19. Hammond, E.H. 1964b. Classes of land surface form in the forty-eight states, U.S.A. Annals of the Association of American Geographers. 54(1): map supplement no. 4, 1: 5,000,000. Sayre, R., P. Comer, H. Warner, and J. Cress. 2009. A new map of standardized terrestrial ecosystems of the conterminous United States: U. S. Geological Survey professional Paper 1768, 17 p. True, D. 2002. Landforms of the Lower Mid-West. Missouri Resource Assessment Partnership. MoRAP Map Series MS-2003-001, scale 1:1,500,000. http://www.cerc.usgs.gov/morap/Assets/maps/Landforms_of_the_Lower_Mid-West_MS-2002-01.pdf. True, D., T. Gordon, and D. Diamond. 2000. How the size of a sliding window impacts the generation of landforms. Missouri Resources Assessment Partnership. http://www.cerc.cr.usgs.gov/morap/projects/landform_model/landforms2001_files/frame.htm.

[From The Landmap Project: Introduction, "http://www.landmap.ac.uk/background/intro.html"]

 A joint project to provide orthorectified satellite image mosaics of Landsat,
 SPOT and ERS radar data and a high resolution Digital Elevation Model for the
 whole of the UK. These data will be in a form which can easily be merged with
 other data, such as road networks, so that any user can quickly produce a
 precise map of their area of interest.

 Predominately aimed at the UK academic and educational sectors these data and
 software are held online at the Manchester University super computer facility
 where users can either process the data remotely or download it to their local
 network.

 Please follow the links to the left for more information about the project or
 how to obtain data or access to the radar processing system at MIMAS. Please
 also refer to the MIMAS spatial-side website,
 "http://www.mimas.ac.uk/spatial/", for related remote sensing materials.

Note: This is a real-time dataset. If you do not see any data on the map, there may not be an event taking place. The Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1 and ends on November 30, and the eastern Pacific hurricane season begins on May 15 and ends on November 30.Hurricanes, also known as typhoons and cyclones, fall under the scientific term tropical cyclone. Tropical cyclones that develop over the Atlantic and eastern Pacific Ocean are considered hurricanes.Meteorologists have classified the development of a tropical cyclone into four stages: tropical disturbance, tropical depression, tropical storm, and tropical cyclone. Tropical cyclones begin as small tropical disturbances where rain clouds build over warm ocean waters. Eventually, the clouds grow large enough to develop a pattern, where the wind begins to circulate around a center point. As winds are drawn higher, increasing air pressure causes the rising thunderstorms to disperse from the center of the storm. This creates an area of rotating thunderstorms called a tropical depression with winds 62 kmph (38 mph) or less. Systems with wind speeds between 63 kmph (39 mph) and 118 kmph (73 mph) are considered tropical storms. If the winds of the tropical storm hit 119 kmph (74 mph), the storm is classified as a hurricane. Tropical cyclones need two primary ingredients to form: warm water and constant wind directions. Warm ocean waters of at least 26 degrees Celsius (74 degrees Fahrenheit) provide the energy needed for the storm to become a hurricane. Hurricanes can maintain winds in a constant direction at increasing speeds as air rotates about and gathers into the hurricane’s center. This inward and upward spiral prevents the storm from ripping itself apart. Hurricanes have distinctive parts: the eye, eyewall, and rain bands. The eye is the calm center of the hurricane where the cooler drier air sinks back down to the surface of the water. Here, winds are tranquil, and skies are partly cloudy, sometimes even clear. The eyewall is composed of the strongest ring of thunderstorms and surrounds the eye. This is where rain and winds are the strongest and heaviest. Rain bands are stretches of rain clouds that go far beyond the hurricane’s eyewall, usually hundreds of kilometers. Scientists typically use the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale to measure the strength of a hurricane’s winds and intensity. This scale gives a 1 to 5 rating based on the hurricane’s maximum sustained winds. Hurricanes rated category 3 or higher are recognized as major hurricanes. Category 1: Wind speeds are between 119 and 153 kmph (74 and 95 mph). Although this is the lowest category of hurricane, category 1 hurricanes still produce dangerous winds and could result in damaged roofs, power lines, or fallen tree branches. Category 2: Wind speeds are between 154 and 177 kmph (96 and 110 mph). These dangerous winds are likely to cause moderate damage; enough to snap or uproot small trees, destroy roofs, and cause power outages. Category 3: Wind speeds are between 178 and 208 kmph (111 and 129 mph). At this strength, extensive damage may occur. Well-built homes could incur damage to their exterior and many trees will likely be snapped or uprooted. Water and electricity could be unavailable for at least several days after the hurricane passes. Category 4: Wind speeds are between 209 and 251 kmph (130 and 156 mph). Extreme damage will occur. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months after the hurricane. Well-built homes could sustain major damage to their exterior, most trees may be snapped or uprooted, and power outages could last weeks to months. Category 5: Wind speeds are 252 kmph (157 mph) or higher. Catastrophic damage will occur. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months after the hurricane. A significant amount of well-built, framed homes will likely be destroyed, uprooted trees may isolate residential areas, and power outages could last weeks to months. This map is built with data from the NOAA National Hurricane Center (NHC) and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). The map shows recent, observed, and forecasted hurricane tracks and positions, uncertainties, wind speeds, and associated storm watches and warnings. This is a real-time dataset that is programed to check for updates from the NHC and JTWC every 15 minutes. If you are in an area experiencing a tropical cyclone, tune into local sources for more up-to-date information and important safety instructions. This map includes the following information: Forecast position points: These points mark the locations where the NHC predict the tropical cyclone will be at 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, 96, and 120 hours in the future.Observed position points: These points mark the locations where the tropical cyclone has been.Forecast track: This is the line that connects the forecast points and marks the expected path of the hurricane.Observed track: This line marks the path the tropical cyclone has already taken.Cone of uncertainty: Due to the complexity of ocean atmospheric interactions, there are many different factors that can influence the path of a hurricane. This uncertainty is represented on the map by a cone. The further into the future the forecast is, the wider the cone due to the greater uncertainty in the precise path of the storm. Remember rain, wind, and storm surge from the hurricane will likely impact areas outside the cone of uncertainty. This broader impact of wind can be seen if you turn on or off Tropical Storm Force (34 Knots) 5-Day Wind Probability, Strong Tropical Storm Force (50 Knots) 5-Day Wind Probability, or Hurricane Force (64 Knots) 5-Day Wind Probability map layers.Watches and warnings: Storm watches or warnings depend on the strength and distance from the location of the forecasted event. Watches indicate an increased risk for severe weather, while a warning means you should immediately move to a safe space.Tropical storm watch: The NHC issues this for areas that might be impacted by tropical cyclones with wind speeds of 34 to 63 knots (63 to 119 kilometers per hour or 39 to 74 miles per hour) in the next 48 hours. In addition to high winds, the region may experience storm surge or flooding.Tropical storm warning: The NHC issues this for places that will be impacted by hurricanes with wind speeds of 34 to 63 knots (63 to 119 kilometers per hour or 39 to 74 miles per hour) in the next 36 hours. As with the watch, the area may also experience storm surge or flooding.Hurricane watch: The NHC issues this watch for areas where a tropical cyclone with sustained wind speeds of 64 knots (119 kilometers per hour or 74 miles per hour) or greater in the next 48 hours may be possible. In addition to high winds, the region may experience storm surge or flooding.Hurricane warning: The NHC issues this warning for areas where hurricanes with sustained wind speeds of 64 knots (119 kilometers per hour or 74 miles per hour) or greater in the next 36 hours are expected. As with the watch, the region may experience storm surge or flooding. This warning is also posted when dangerously high water and waves continue even after wind speeds have fallen below 64 knots.Recent hurricanes: These points and tracks mark tropical cyclones that have occurred this year but are no longer active.

Want to learn more about how hurricanes form? Check out Forces of Nature or explore The Ten Most Damaging Hurricanes in U.S. History story.