If you notice low-flying aircraft in the coming weeks don’t panic.
As part of the Tellus Survey, a white, twin propeller plane will be flying at 60 metres over rural areas, rising to 240 metres in urban settings.
It’s to gather geochemical & geophysical data to examine the chemical & physical properties of our soil, rocks & water.
Dr Jim Hodgson is the Tellus Programme Manager at Geological Survey Ireland – he says there’s no need to worry about privacy concerns but they do want to hear from anybody concerned that their livestock may be startled.
He adds the information they’ll collect has its uses:
“The information we are going to collect is really useful for helping us map the different types of rock and soil if you want to drill a well”
“We need to know what kind of rocks you’re drilling into, so this kind of information is very useful for that”
He added “We’ll be flying very low, about 60 metres above the ground and if people have sensitive livestock and want to be notified about when the aircraft is in the area, they can contact us on 1800 45 55 65 and we also have a website www.tellus.ie where you can get the information on the maps”.