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Cork Open Research Archive (CORA) is UCC’s Open Access institutional repository which enables UCC researchers to make their research outputs freely available and accessible.
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Seismic characterisation and geomorphological interpretation of the summit area palaeoenvironment of Tropic Seamount, offshore Western Sahara: A sediment starved, ferromanganese crust and nodule rich guyot
(2026-07-30) Commissario, Lucrezi; Recouvreur, Audrey; Arosio, Riccardo; Terrinha, Pedro Antonio; Batista, Luis; Yeo, Isobel; Wheeler, Andrew James; Horizon Europe
To understand and reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental development of Tropic Seamount, a guyot offshore Western Sahara, an assessment of landforms morphology and seismic facies interpretation was conducted. High resolution multibeam echosounder bathymetry and backscatter, two hours of ROV footage and 23 TOPAS-acquired seismic lines were analysed to derive a morphological model and define seismic facies and units. The seabed morphology was classified into seven morphological classes. Eight seismic (sub)facies were identified on the basis of their internal configuration, forming five seismic units separated by reflectors with distinct morphological geometries. The link between geomorphologies and seismic units allows for the reconstruction of the morphogenetic processes which have likely originated the landforms. According to the reconstructed geological history, Tropic Seamount, a former volcanic island, began to sink after the end of its eruptive activity. Wave action and erosion washed away the islands' terrigenous sediment. Tropic Seamount may then have experienced reefal deposition, with the formation of syn-depositionally cemented hardgrounds. The continuous sinking may have brought its summit in correspondence of the oxygen minimum zone where reduced Fe and Mn ions have undergone oxidation and precipitation on the seamount's summit, leading to the formation of Fe-Mn crusts and nodules. The onset of the glacial/interglacial climate pattern and the consequent aridification of the Sahara may have led to ocean fertilization due to iron-rich continental dust input, which enhanced pelagic sedimentation. Finally, submarine resedimentation processes have reshaped the seamount's summit. The reconstruction of Tropic Seamount's depositional history may help shed light on the geological evolution of deep-sea environments and on the processes shaping them.
Under the cover of darkness: Foraging behaviour increases on cloudy, new moon nights in a pelagic seabird
(2026-07-31) Wilkinson, Darren; Kane, Adam; Jessopp, Mark; Quinn, John L.; Taighde Éireann - Research Ireland; European Commission
While many visual predators feed exclusively during the day, others exploit foraging opportunities at night, although the efficiency with which they do so is strongly influenced by ambient light levels. We investigated the influence of variation in nocturnal light on the foraging behaviour of a small pelagic seabird, the European Storm-petrel Hydrobates pelagicus. Nocturnal foraging, identified using GPS-accelerometry data and a Hidden Markov Model, was concentrated in two areas: shallow coastal waters near the colony and deeper offshore waters near the shelf edge. Generalized additive models revealed that, in offshore areas, European Storm-petrels forage under the darkest nocturnal conditions, contrasting with the increased activity under moonlit conditions reported for many other nocturnally foraging seabirds. This was strongly influenced by cloud cover and suggests that European Storm-petrels may be exploiting vertically migrating prey that are more accessible under low ambient light. While olfaction probably plays an important role in detecting prey patches at night, bioluminescence may aid visual detection of individual prey items. In contrast, nearshore foraging was unrelated to nocturnal light and was instead associated with local productivity indicators. If the trend of declining cloud cover in the North Atlantic continues, reducing the frequency of dark nights, European Storm-petrels may alter their nocturnal foraging strategies, forcing them to rely primarily on coastal regions. Our results support growing evidence for the idea that climate-driven and anthropogenic changes to sensory environments are likely to alter the foraging ecology of nocturnal species.
When wellbeing goes to school: exploring the enactment of wellbeing in Junior Cycle in Ireland
(2026-07-29) McCormack, Orla; McGarr, Oliver; Hennessy, Jennifer; Neary, Aoife; National Council for Curriculum and Assessment
Many education systems have placed a focus on student wellbeing, as issues relating to physical, mental, emotional and social wellbeing of young people become increasingly evident. Wellbeing was introduced as a dedicated area of learning into lower second level schooling in Ireland (Junior Cycle, ages 12–15 years) through the introduction of 400 hours of timetabled engagement within the Framework for Junior Cycle. Drawing on student surveys (n = 3612) and focus groups (n = 432) as well as teacher (n = 136), principal (n = 32) and parent (n = 60) interviews from a larger national four-year NCCA-funded longitudinal study, this paper explores how participants experienced the enactment of Wellbeing in Irish schools. The study found that the enactment of Wellbeing was influenced by four inter-related issues: (i) Wellbeing was not always perceived and experienced as something that was valued within Junior Cycle; (ii) Wellbeing was understood and experienced in a narrow way; (iii) Wellbeing was deemed to cause additional stress for students and (iv) Assessment continued to remain the dominant concern for students and staff. The paper considers the implications of the findings for the positioning and enactment of wellbeing within assessment-driven education systems.
Introduction
(Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA, 2013) Lozada, Maria Cecilia; O'Donnabhain, Barra
AI-based quantification of inflammatory extent for relapse prediction in ulcerative colitis: a prospective cohort study
(2026-07-30) Maeda, Yasuharu; Kudo, Shin Ei; Ogata, Noriyuki; Takenaka, Kento; Takabayashi, Kaoru; Kuroki, Takanori; Kawabata, Yurie; Okumura, Taishi; Sakurai, Tatsuya; Kouyama, Yuta; Ichimasa, Katsuro; Hayashi, Takemasa; Baba, Toshiyuki; Ogata, Haruhiko; Ohtsuka, Kazuo; Mori, Yuichi; Iacucci, Marietta; Misawa, Masashi; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science; Takeda Science Foundation
Background and Aims: Endoscopic remission is a key therapeutic goal in ulcerative colitis (UC); however, conventional indices focus on peak severity without accounting for the spatial extent of inflammation. We developed a deep learning-based score, Quantitative Ulcerative Colitis Assessment using Deep Learning (QUAD), and evaluated whether incorporating inflammatory extent improves relapse prediction in patients with UC in clinical remission. To our knowledge, no studies have examined whether artificial intelligence (AI)-derived assessment of inflammatory extent predicts clinical relapse. Methods: This prospective cohort study evaluated relapse prediction over 24 months in patients with UC in clinical remission. The QUAD model assigns a score of 0-3 to each image quadrant, yielding a total score of 0-12. The model was trained on 84 743 images from 998 patients with UC across three centers. Still image-based validation and automated full-length video analysis were conducted to assess the impact of inflammatory extent on relapse prediction. Results: Clinical relapse occurred in 19.4% of patients with QUAD ≥ 4 compared with 5.2% of those with QUAD < 4 (P = .01), with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.67 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.57-0.76). Notably, automated video-based analysis showed that distal inflammatory burden yielded the highest predictive performance, with analysis of the distal 10% segment achieving an AUC of 0.73 (95% CI: 0.62-0.85), compared with whole-colon assessment (AUC, 0.62; 95% CI: 0.48-0.76) and still image-based evaluation. Conclusion: AI-augmented assessment integrating inflammatory severity and extent may provide complementary prognostic information beyond severity-based evaluation.