Marine Download Merged INFOMAR/INSS Survey Data Irish Waters WGS84 Web Map

Download merged survey bathymetry and backscatter data. Data available as geotiffs and ESRI grids in WGS84 and UTM29N projections.

Bathymetry is a measure of how deep the sea is. Backscatter shows how hard or soft the seabed is.

Knowing the depth, shape and hardness of the seabed is important for a range of reasons such as: making nautical maps, planning, fishing, coastal heritage and marine life habitats.

Vessels such as fishing boats, oil tankers, ferries or yachts, for example, do not want to hit any underwater hazards such as rocks, sand banks or shipwrecks. The nautical maps they use to navigate are made using accurate data about the seabed.

The data is important in planning sites for wind, wave and tidal energy, fish farming and the laying of cables and pipelines. Pipes, internet cables, wind farms all need to be anchored to the seabed so knowing what material makes up the seabed such as rocks, mud and sand is really useful.

Mapping the seabed allows us to identify shipwrecks.

The seabed is also home to lots of marine life and seabed data allows us to map and monitor this different ecosystems and habitats of the seabed. Marine life such as Kelp, scallops, shrimp and mussels.