Ireland's Future

 Millions of years of gradual change as well as occasional catastrophic events have formed Ireland's unique landscape.  Uniformitarianism dictates that the same actions that have shaped the present landscape will continue to act on the island in a never ending system.  The most recent ice ages covered Ireland with glaciers and the lasting effect can be seen by the classic irregular rolling hills, drumlins, and what is left of the Scandinavian mountains that were formed in the north before the breakup of Pangea.

Drumlin formed by glaciers acting on unconsolidated till in Norther Ireland 

The mild temperature and consistan rains are a result of Irelands' current position at about 53degrees north latitude, just below the cold polar easterlies but within the powerful North Atlantic Current which brings warm air and water to the region.

Ireland in 1000 Years

Because Ireland is largely made up of limestone, in 1000 years it is likely that a great deal of weathering will occur.  The iconic rocky cliffs that make up its coastline will crumble due to corrosion from sea water and the size of the island will shrink.  1000 years is a long time, but in the perspective of geologic time is practically nothing and although there will be changes Ireland will be recognizable to the form it is today.

the Cliffs of Moher are made out of limestone  chemical weathering  

Ireland in 10,000 Years

The the divergent plate boundary where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet is slowly expanding along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.  This spreading is pushing Ireland north at a rate of about 5cm  every year.  This spreading will force Ireland out of the northern temperate zone and closer to the Arctic circle.

Ireland In 1,000,000 Years

A million years from now Ireland will likely be unrecognizable to anyone who knows it today.  The combination of weathering and tectonic plate movement will push what is left of the island north into the arctic circle and east into the european land mass.  

Sustainable Marketing

Patagonia has philanthropic outlets such as the Common Threads Partnership which serve as a marketing tool and opportunity improve environmental spaces or social communities.  As an outdoor gear company, Patagonia’s long term ability to succeed will be determined not only by consumer and business needs, but the perennial health of the environment.  The sustainable marketing concept that Patagonia employs so skillfully combines societal marketing and strategic planning to satisfy current consumer needs while planning for the future and doing the same for business itself.  Since its founding, Patagonia’s socially and environmentally responsible ethos has been central to the companies brand and marketing.  Additional customer value is created by their quality, long lasting products which are highly desired by the psychographic segment Patagonia satisfies .  In reaction to materialism and advertising driven false wants, segments of consumers have developed who are willing to pay more for a good if it is perceived to be more durable and therefore less environmentally and socially damaging.  Patagonia’s Black Friday “Don’t Buy This Jacket” advertisement campaign was a moral appeal that worked to reinforce the brand rather than to actually sell jackets themselves.  This type of advertising only works for brands as strong as Patagonia because although they are telling customers not to buy the product they fortify the brand's dedication to the environment and rejection of consumerism.

Weather and Climate

Irish countryside 

Ireland is know for its vibrant green rolling hills and rainy but mild seasons.  The atmosphere that facilitates any type of climate is a complex system with many variables.  The troposphere is closest layer to Earth's surface and is where weather patterns form the greater climate of an area.  Ireland's climate, according to Köeppen's system of classification, is CFB, meaning it has mild temperatures, typicaly wet and has warm summers.  To understand why Ireland has this great climate we must first understand the system that drives weather patterns.

Pressure is the force that drives weather and creates climates.  Air always moves from high pressure to low pressure and warm air has less atmospheric pressure than dense cold air. Areas near the equator receive the more sun than the poles making it naturally warmer there.  This difference in pressures and the atmospheres desire for equilibrium are what moves air creating weather and different climates.

The Equator gets more sun and is warmer than the Pole's 

If air could only move across earths surface, warm horizontal winds would simply blow north in the Northern hemosphere and south in the Southern hemisphere, but altitude, temperature  and earths rotation also act on airs movement.  Temperatures are much lower at higher atlitudes so cold air falls vertically and warm air rises. When warm high pressure air rises it cools and falls back to lower altitudes in a cycle know as a Hadley Cell.  Earth's rotation sets in motion the Coriolis Effect deflecting straight path north to south . Together Hadley Cells and the Coriolis Effect crate a circulation of hot air up and away from the equator that circulates around the earth  falling again at predictable latitudes.  

The pattern of spinning, rising, and falling of air from high to low pressure 

Ireland's latitude is 53°N, just within the prevailing westerlies winds below the cold polar easterlies. Most places at this latitude are much colder but because of Ireland's location in the Atlantic ocean it benefits from the warm North Atlantic Current.  Warm moist winds with high absolute humidity from the westerlies begin to cool, rise, and condense causing clouds and rain.  Its location, in line with the warm westward winds off the Atlantic and below the subpolar low causing rain, Ireland's beautiful green hillsides moderate climate.

Weathering and Soils

Like anywhere, Ireland's is constantly undergoing weathering that slowly, but dramatically changes the landscape.  The large lowland of central Ireland is limestone, a sedimentary rock, that formed when the landmass was under a warm calcium rich sea 300 million years ago.  The limestone is the base covered  mostly clay, sand and large deposits of dead plant materials that form pete bogs through out Ireland.  Although there are may soil tipes on the island it is mostly covered in what is called alfisol soil defined by the large amount of clay accumulated in the B layer of the soil horizon.

Soil horizon showing a large peat bed, decomposed plant material.
This peat is high in carbon and often dug up, bricked, and dried so that it can be burn and used for heating in the winters.

Limestone solubility means it chemically weathers by the process of dissolution, when water and carbon dioxide mix they make carbonic acid that reacts with the calcite in limestone and dissolves the stone.  The Burren, or "Great Rock" in Gaelic, is the best example of the effect of the dissolution on the limestone in Ireland leaving behind what is known as karst landscape.  Karst topography is the landscape created by the weathering of this limestone which creates caves and sinkholes under the surface of the area.

The path of dissolution causing water can be seen in orange flowing through what are called "grikes" before disappearing under the rock into underground channels and karst features formed by the acidic rain water

The on the surface the limestone chemically weathers along groves called "grikes" that separate slabs of rock referred to as "clints".  The clints from a limestone placement that covers the area and is the most visible and beautiful karst feature. 

The beautiful weathered limestone surface of The Burren

Resources:

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/enfo/irelands-environment/biodiversity/definitions/soils-in-ireland/

http://www.ucd.ie/sssi/Soils_of_Ireland.html

http://www.globalgeopark.org/News/News/5951.htm

Formation Of Ireland As We Know It

Irelands physical geography is very unique and shows clearly how the island as we know it today was formed.  Often compared to a saucer or frying pan because of the low lying center raised edges, costal mountains surround the lower middle plain of the island making for beautiful scenery and interesting geographic inquiry.   Ireland is the product of several natural processes that help explain the landscape.

The coast is lined with small mountains that encircle the lower lying central plain

      Plate tectonics are responsible for the bulk of the physical features that define the island.  Ireland, as it is today, is on the Eurasian Plate, but the distinguishable north western part of Ireland was once part of the tectonic plate that now makes up the North American Plate.  These two plates collided 400 million years ago when a divergent plate boundary stopped spreading and the two plates were forced together. The resulting convergence, combined with the duration of that convergence, caused compression that led to major mountain building and syncline folding that can still be observed today. 

Copyright of the Geological Survey of Ireland 2006.

An example of some syncline folding left behind by the convergent boundary that  helped

create the mountainous coast of Ireland

The latest mountain building event to leave its mark on Ireland could be thought of a reversal a of the prior plate convergence.  Shifts in the lithosphere caused a divergent plate boundary to re-form along the.  This produced lava flows and sea floor spreading that ultimately created the Atlantic Ocean by forcing the Eurasian and North American Plates appart.  This volcanic activity in the area also left its mark on the island,  Slieve Gullion mountain is the remnant of a volcano that is encircled by great examples of ring dykes.  There are many conflicting theories about what type of volcano it was since it has a complex rock makeup and has been eroded by glaciers that covered the island at least twice.

Ireland's landscapes not only makes for nice pictures, but in understand how they were formed a broader picture can be drawn about the island, as well as the world have been shaped by a slow but tumultuous  past.


Sources:
http://www.doeni.gov.uk/niea/index.htm
http://www.ringofgullion.org/
http://www.ireland-information.com/

A little introduction

My name is Jack Brennan and I am a business student at the University of Colorado Denver.  I was born and raised in Denver and as I approach the end of my college career, which has been lengthy, I can't help but want to travel.  One of my first destinations is the island of my ancestors, Ireland, so when I was presented with the option to create a blog exploring an area of my choice it wasn't hard for me to decide.  The purpose of this blog will to be to explore the geographic landscape and phenomena that exist on this island in the north Atlantic Ocean.  Known for its rolling hills and green landscape, it will be interesting to discover what creates the beautiful pictures I have seen and have a working knowledge of the Ireland when I finally get there.