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ScienceGroundwater is the water that soaks into the ground from rain and can be stored beneath the ground. An aquifer is a body of rock and/or sediment that holds groundwater. There are two main types of aquifer in Ireland – bedrock aquifers, and sand and gravel aquifers. Bedrock is...
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There are more than 1,200 geological formations and members (rock units) in the 1:100,000 Bedrock Geology map. Rock properties such as colour, grain size and type, origin, fossil and mineral content are used to define formations and members. A lot of these properties are not...
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Karst is a type of landscape where the bedrock has dissolved and created features such as caves, enclosed depressions (sinkholes), disappearing streams, springs and turloughs (seasonal lakes). Limestone is the most common type of soluble rock. As rain falls it picks up carbon...
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ScienceGroup Water Schemes (GWSs) are community-run water supply schemes. About 70% of GWSs take their water from a privately-sourced supply. The rest take their water from an Irish Water connection (DHPLG, 2017). 81% of the privately-sourced supplies affiliated to the National...
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Public Water Supplies (PWSs) are managed by Irish Water, Ireland's national water utility, since 2013. Before this, public water supplies were managed by Local Authorities. More than 70% of public supplies take groundwater from boreholes, springs and infiltration galleries....
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The Groundwater Vulnerability map shows land areas across Ireland where groundwater can be easily polluted. It also shows areas where it is well protected by the subsoil layers. The vulnerability category given to a site or an area is based on how easy it is for water which...
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Subsoil is the layer of soil under the topsoil and on top of the bedrock. The ease with which water can pass through the subsoil is known as the ‘permeability’. The subsoil permeability affects how easily rainwater can soak down into the ground and fill up the groundwater...
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ScienceGroundwater is the water that soaks into the ground from rain and can be stored beneath the ground. An aquifer is a body of rock and/or sediment that holds groundwater. There are two main types of aquifer in Ireland – bedrock aquifers, and sand and gravel aquifers. Bedrock is...
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EnergyGeothermal Open Loop Domestic suitability map. Ground source heat energy, sometimes called shallow geothermal energy, can be collected from the ground and boosted with heat pumps. This can yield up to four times as much energy as is used to collect it, giving ‘four for the...
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EnergyGeothermal Vertical Closed Loop suitability map. Ground source heat energy, sometimes called shallow geothermal energy, can be collected from the ground and boosted with heat pumps. This can yield up to four times as much energy as is used to collect it, giving ‘four for the...
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EnergyGeothermal Open Loop Commercial suitability map. Ground source heat energy, sometimes called shallow geothermal energy, can be collected from the ground and boosted with heat pumps. This can yield up to four times as much energy as is used to collect it, giving ‘four for the...
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Groundwater is the water that soaks into the ground from rain and is stored beneath the ground. An aquifer is a body of rock and/or sediment that holds groundwater. The process of rain filling up an aquifer is called ‘recharge’. The Groundwater Recharge map shows the amount of...
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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. Geologists map and record information on the composition and structure of rock outcrops (rock which can be seen on the land surface). It...
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Soil is the outside layer of Earth. It is a made up of living organisms, gases, minerals, and organic matter. Knowing what elements are in the soil helps to work out where it came from and how it was made. The GEMAS (geochemical mapping of agricultural soils and grazing land...
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