GG3007: Coastal and Marine Geomorphology
GG2005: Quaternary Environments and Geomorphology
GG6532: Coastal and Marine Resource Use Practices
GG1013: Environmental Geography
GG6540: Applied Seafloor Mapping
Contributes to:
GG1015: Applied Geography
GG2022: Fieldwork
GG2038: Geographical Research Methods
GG3006: Research Methods and Dissertation
ER4005: Frontiers in Earth Science
ER4001: Research Project
Biography
Dr Aaron Lim is a Lecturer in Coastal Geomorphology, co-Director of the MSc Applied Coastal and Marine Management and Head of the Earth and Ocean Lab at University College Cork. He holds a PhD in Marine Geosciences and his research interests seabed habitat mapping, development of novel seabed mapping and monitoring methods and contemporary seabed processes. Since 2017, Dr Lim has won >€4M in research grants (SFI, Marine Institute, H2020, PIP, EI, GSI, EPA and IRC) and published 26 peer-reviewed research articles with a H-index of 13. He has won the Presidents Award for Research into Innovative form of Teaching, the Gold Medal Delap prize with 2 articles selected as Editors choice Nature Science Reports (‘Top 100 in Earth Science’ and ‘Editors Choice for Coral Reefs’). He has 2 years of senior scientific management experience in the offshore survey/renewable industry and was previously a member of the EuroFleets+ Scientific Advisory Committee. He has participated in over 15 research cruises (chief scientist on four) ranging from the Mid-Atlantic, North Atlantic, Celtic Sea and Irish Sea. He is an editorial board member for Frontiers in Marine Science and has supervised 8 research students and several at undergraduate level.
Research Interests
- Development of novel marine and coastal mapping and monitoring methods
- Development and novel application of marine geomatics, imaging and spatial analyses (typically applied to multibeam, photogrammetry, acoustic backscatter (side scan sonar and multibeam snippets), magnetometry, ROV and AUV operations, sub-bottom profiler, point clouds)
- Understanding active and recent seabed processes
- Mapping cold water coral habitats in space and time
- Development of effective and environmentally-friendly offshore survey design
Research Grants
| Project | Funding Body | Start Date | End Date | Award | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Digital Twin Reconstruction in response to climate change | Environmental Protection Agency | €555,187.30 | |||
| Instability and Pollution Potential Mapping of Irish Shipwreck Sites for a National Risk Assessment Database (I-PoINt) | Marine Institute (MI) | 01-DEC-23 | 30-NOV-27 | €384,556.00 | |
| Seagrass mapping to assess natural stocks of blue carbon (SEAMANS_Carbon). | Marine Institute (MI) | 01-MAY-23 | 30-SEP-26 | €319,932.00 | |
| 3D modelling of CWC reefs | Irish Research Council | 01-JAN-24 | 31-DEC-26 | €112,000.00 | |
| The development and impact of VR fieldtrips on Geoscience Curricula. | Department of Communication, Climate Action and the Environment | 01-SEP-23 | 31-AUG-25 | €77,636.00 | |
| An Enhanced Angular Range Analysis workflow with backscatter and magnetometry for wider industrial impact and uptake of INFOMAR data. | Department of Communication, Climate Action and the Environment | 01-SEP-23 | 31-AUG-25 | €78,873.00 | |
| Novel high-resolution spatio-temporal monitoring of cold water coral reefs over 9 years | Enterprise Ireland | 14-DEC-22 | 14-DEC-23 | €15,896.00 | |
| Towards inclusive, open access, virtual reality geoscience fieldtrips for teaching and research enhancement | National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education | 06-MAR-23 | 31-DEC-23 | €25,493.00 | |
| Systematic monitoring survey of the Moira Mound chain | Marine Institute | 01-JUL-20 | 01-JUN-21 | €350,000.00 | |
| Monitoring Changes in Submarine Canyon Coral Habitats | Marine Institute | 13-MAY-19 | 31-JUL-19 | €500,000.00 | |
| Flexible Marine Environmental Monitoring | Marine Institute | 01-NOV-17 | 30-OCT-18 | €178,980.00 | |
| Pipco RSG | Industry | 01-OCT-19 | 31-DEC-23 | €194,621.00 | |
| Controls on Cold water coral habitat development | Marine Institute | 01-JUN-18 | 14-JUN-18 | €250,000.00 | |
| Integrated assessment of Atlantic Marine Ecosystems in Space and Time | Horizon 2020 | 18-JUN-19 | €97,800.00 | ||
| Monitoring Microplastics and their Associated Chemicals and their effects in Irish Deep Water Coral Habitats. (Plast_Chem_Dora) | Marine Institute | 01-JUN-22 | €284,397.00 | ||
| Novel Mapping of the INFOMAR data set | Marine Institute | 01-JUN-20 | €349,109.00 | ||
| Mapping, Monitoring and Modelling Key Processes and Controls and | Science Foundation Ireland | 01-NOV-17 | €869,099.00 |
Contract Researchers
| Researcher Name | Project | Role | Funding Body | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dr Ger Summers | SEAMANS_Carbon Seagrass Mapping with side scan, multispectral UAV and sediment cores | Postdoctoral Researcher | Marine Institute | |
| Dr Larissa Macedo | Development of VR fieldtrips | Postdoctoral Researcher | Higher Education Authority via NAIRTL | |
| Dr Larissa Macedo | ERC Research Support | Research Assistant | Enterprise Ireland |
Publications
Peer Reviewed Journals
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2023) | 'The geomorphology of Ireland’s continental shelf' Arosio, Riccardo and Wheeler, Andrew J and Sacchetti, Fabio and Guinan, Janine and Benetti, Sara and O’Keeffe, Eimear and van Landeghem, Katrien JJ and Conti, Luis A and Furey, Thomas and Lim, Aaron (2023) 'The geomorphology of Ireland’s continental shelf'. Journal of Maps, 19 (1) [Details] | |
| (2023) | 'A Low-Cost, Repeatable Method for 3D Particle Analysis with SfM Photogrammetry' Tunwal, M; Lim, A (2023) 'A Low-Cost, Repeatable Method for 3D Particle Analysis with SfM Photogrammetry'. Geosciences, 13 (7) [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2023) | 'Multi resolution appraisal of Cork Harbour estuary: An object based image analysis approach' Gerard Summers, Aaron Lim, Andy Wheeler (2023) 'Multi resolution appraisal of Cork Harbour estuary: An object based image analysis approach'. Geomorphology, [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2023) | 'Fully convolutional neural networks applied to large-scale marine morphology mapping' Riccardo Arosio, Brandon Hobley, A. Wheeler, Fabio Sacchetti, Luis Conti, Thomas Furey, Aaron Lim (2023) 'Fully convolutional neural networks applied to large-scale marine morphology mapping'. Frontiers in Marine Science, [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2022) | 'High-resolution 3D mapping of cold-water coral reefs using machine learning' de Oliveira, LMC;Lim, A;Conti, LA;Wheeler, AJ (2022) 'High-resolution 3D mapping of cold-water coral reefs using machine learning'. Frontiers In Environmental Science, 10 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2022) | 'A Characterisation of Benthic Currents from Seabed Bathymetry: An Object-Based Image Analysis of Cold-Water Coral Mounds' Summers, G; Lim, A; Wheeler, A. J (2022) 'A Characterisation of Benthic Currents from Seabed Bathymetry: An Object-Based Image Analysis of Cold-Water Coral Mounds'. Remote Sensing, 14 (19) [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2022) | 'Environmental forcing by submarine canyons: Evidence between two closely situated cold-water coral mounds (Porcupine Bank Canyon and Western Porcupine Bank, NE Atlantic)' O'Reilly L.;Fentimen R.;Butschek F.;Titschack J.;Lim A.;Moore N.;O'Connor O.J.;Appah J.;Harris K.;Vennemann T.;Wheeler A.J. (2022) 'Environmental forcing by submarine canyons: Evidence between two closely situated cold-water coral mounds (Porcupine Bank Canyon and Western Porcupine Bank, NE Atlantic)'. Marine Geology, 454 [DOI] [Full Text] [Details] | |
| (2022) | 'Developing Mobile Applications with Augmented Reality and 3D Photogrammetry for Visualisation of Cold-Water Coral Reefs and Deep-Water Habitats' de Oliveira, Larissa Macedo Cruz and Oliveira, Priscila Almeida de and Lim, Aaron and Wheeler, Andrew J. and Conti, Luis Americo (2022) 'Developing Mobile Applications with Augmented Reality and 3D Photogrammetry for Visualisation of Cold-Water Coral Reefs and Deep-Water Habitats'. Geosciences, 12 (10) [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2022) | 'Accumulation of marine litter in cold-water coral habitats: A comparative study of two Irish Special Areas of Conservation, NE Atlantic' Appah JKM;Killeen O;Lim A;O'Riordan R;O'Reilly L;Wheeler AJ; (2022) 'Accumulation of marine litter in cold-water coral habitats: A comparative study of two Irish Special Areas of Conservation, NE Atlantic'. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 180 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2022) | 'A health survey of the reef forming scleractinian cold-water corals Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata in a remote submarine canyon on the European continental margin, NE Atlantic' Appah JKM;Lynch SA;Lim A;O' Riordan R;O'Reilly L;de Oliveira L;Wheeler AJ; (2022) 'A health survey of the reef forming scleractinian cold-water corals Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata in a remote submarine canyon on the European continental margin, NE Atlantic'. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 192 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2022) | 'Using novel methods to track British and Irish Ice Sheet dynamics since the Late Pleistocene, along the west Porcupine Bank, NE Atlantic' Luke O.R.;Aaron L.;Jürgen T.;Niamh M.;O'Connor O.J.;John A.;Fentimen R.;Butschek F.;Kimberley H.;Torsten V.;Wheeler A.J. (2022) 'Using novel methods to track British and Irish Ice Sheet dynamics since the Late Pleistocene, along the west Porcupine Bank, NE Atlantic'. Quaternary Science Reviews, 284 [DOI] [Full Text] [Details] | |
| (2021) | 'Cold-Water Coral Habitat Mapping: Trends and Developments in Acquisition and Processing Methods' Lim, A;Wheeler, AJ;Conti, L (2021) 'Cold-Water Coral Habitat Mapping: Trends and Developments in Acquisition and Processing Methods'. Geosciences, 11 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2021) | '3D Classification of Cold-Water Coral Reefs: A Comparison of Classification Techniques for 3D Reconstructions of Cold-Water Coral Reefs and Seabed' de Oliveira, LMC;Lim, A;Conti, LA;Wheeler, AJ (2021) '3D Classification of Cold-Water Coral Reefs: A Comparison of Classification Techniques for 3D Reconstructions of Cold-Water Coral Reefs and Seabed'. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2021) | 'The "Little MonSta" Deep-Sea Benthic, Precision Deployable, Multi-Sensor and Sampling Lander Array' Wheeler, AJ;Lim, A;Butschek, F;O'Reilly, L;Harris, K;O'Driscoll, P (2021) 'The "Little MonSta" Deep-Sea Benthic, Precision Deployable, Multi-Sensor and Sampling Lander Array'. Sensors, 21 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2021) | 'A Scalable, Supervised Classification of Seabed Sediment Waves Using an Object-Based Image Analysis Approach' Summers, G;Lim, A;Wheeler, AJ (2021) 'A Scalable, Supervised Classification of Seabed Sediment Waves Using an Object-Based Image Analysis Approach'. Remote Sensing, 13 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2021) | 'Fine-Scale Heterogeneity of a Cold-Water Coral Reef and Its Influence on the Distribution of Associated Taxa' Price, DM;Lim, A;Callaway, A;Eichhorn, MP;Wheeler, AJ;Lo Iacono, C;Huvenne, VAI (2021) 'Fine-Scale Heterogeneity of a Cold-Water Coral Reef and Its Influence on the Distribution of Associated Taxa'. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2020) | 'Impact of bottom water currents on benthic foraminiferal assemblages in a cold-water coral environment: The Moira Mounds (NE Atlantic)' Fentimen R.;Lim A.;Rüggeberg A.;Wheeler A.;Van Rooij D.;Foubert A. (2020) 'Impact of bottom water currents on benthic foraminiferal assemblages in a cold-water coral environment: The Moira Mounds (NE Atlantic)'. Marine Micropaleontology, 154 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2020) | 'Influence of benthic currents on cold-water coral habitats: a combined benthic monitoring and 3D photogrammetric investigation' Lim, A;Wheeler, AJ;Price, DM;O'Reilly, L;Harris, K;Conti, L (2020) 'Influence of benthic currents on cold-water coral habitats: a combined benthic monitoring and 3D photogrammetric investigation'. Scientific Reports, 10 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2020) | 'Are Non-reef Habitats as Important to Benthic Diversity and Composition as Coral Reef and Rubble Habitats in Submarine Canyons? Analysis of Controls on Benthic Megafauna Distribution in the Porcupine Bank Canyon, NE Atlantic' Appah, JKM;Lim, A;Harris, K;O'Riordan, R;O'Reilly, L;Wheeler, AJ (2020) 'Are Non-reef Habitats as Important to Benthic Diversity and Composition as Coral Reef and Rubble Habitats in Submarine Canyons? Analysis of Controls on Benthic Megafauna Distribution in the Porcupine Bank Canyon, NE Atlantic'. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2020) | 'Geomorphological and seismostratigraphic evidence for multidirectional polyphase glaciation of the northern Celtic Sea' Toth, Z;Mccarron, S;Wheeler, AJ;Wenau, S;Davis, S;Lim, A;Spiess, V (2020) 'Geomorphological and seismostratigraphic evidence for multidirectional polyphase glaciation of the northern Celtic Sea'. Journal Of Quaternary Science, [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2019) | 'Cold-water corals in decline - A temporal (4 year) species abundance and biodiversity appraisal of complete photomosaiced cold-water coral reef on the Irish Margin' Boolukos, CM;Lim, A;O'Riordan, RM;Wheeler, AJ (2019) 'Cold-water corals in decline - A temporal (4 year) species abundance and biodiversity appraisal of complete photomosaiced cold-water coral reef on the Irish Margin'. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 146 :44-54 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2019) | 'High resolution mapping of a cold water coral mound' Conti, LA;Lim, A;Wheeler, AJ (2019) 'High resolution mapping of a cold water coral mound'. Scientific Reports, 9 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2018) | 'Benthic foraminifera in a deep-sea high-energy environment: the Moira Mounds (Porcupine Seabight, SW of Ireland)' Fentimen, R;Ruggeberg, A;Lim, A;El Kateb, A;Foubert, A;Wheeler, AJ;Spezzaferri, S (2018) 'Benthic foraminifera in a deep-sea high-energy environment: the Moira Mounds (Porcupine Seabight, SW of Ireland)'. Swiss Journal Of Geosciences, 111 :533-544 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2018) | 'Seabed image acquisition and survey design for cold water coral mound characterisation' Lim, A;Kane, A;Arnaubec, A;Wheeler, AJ (2018) 'Seabed image acquisition and survey design for cold water coral mound characterisation'. Marine Geology, 395 :22-32 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2018) | 'New insights on coral mound development from groundtruthed high-resolution ROV-mounted multibeam imaging' Lim, Aaron; Huvenne, Veerle A. I.; Vertino, Agostina; Spezzaferri, Silvia; Wheeler, Andrew J. (2018) 'New insights on coral mound development from groundtruthed high-resolution ROV-mounted multibeam imaging'. Marine Geology, 403 :225-237 [DOI] [Full Text] [Details] | |
| (2017) | 'High-resolution facies zonation within a cold-water coral mound: The case of the Piddington Mound, Porcupine Seabight, NE Atlantic' Lim, A;Wheeler, AJ;Arnaubec, A (2017) 'High-resolution facies zonation within a cold-water coral mound: The case of the Piddington Mound, Porcupine Seabight, NE Atlantic'. Marine Geology, 390 :120-130 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2013) | 'Moytirra: Discovery of the first known deep-sea hydrothermal vent field on the slow-spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge north of the Azores' Wheeler, AJ;Murton, B;Copley, J;Lim, A;Carlsson, J;Collins, P;Dorschel, B;Green, D;Judge, M;Nye, V;Benzie, J;Antoniacomi, A;Coughlan, M;Morris, K (2013) 'Moytirra: Discovery of the first known deep-sea hydrothermal vent field on the slow-spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge north of the Azores'. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 14 :4170-4184 [DOI] [Details] |
Book Chapters
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2023) | 'The North-east Atlantic Margin: A Review of the Geology, Geography, Oceanography, and Vulnerable Megabenthic Ecosystems of the Continental Slope of Ireland and the United Kingdom' Declan Morrissey, Aaron Lim, Kerry L. Howell, Martin White, Andrew J. Wheeler, A. Louise Allcock (2023) 'The North-east Atlantic Margin: A Review of the Geology, Geography, Oceanography, and Vulnerable Megabenthic Ecosystems of the Continental Slope of Ireland and the United Kingdom' In: S. J. Hawkins, P. A. Todd, B. D. Russell, A. J. Lemasson, A. L. Allcock, M. Byrne, L. B. Firth, C. H. Lucas, E. M. Marzinelli, P. J. Mumby, J. Sharples, I. P. Smith, and S. E. Swearer (eds). Oceanography and Marine Biology. London: Taylor and Francis. [DOI] [Details] |
Published Reports
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2019) | CE19014 Cruise Report: Monitoring Changes in Submarine Canyon Coral Habitats - Leg 2 (MoCha_Scan II). Lim, Aaron; O' Reilly, Luke; Summers, Gerard; Harris, Kim; Macedo, Larissa; O' Hanlon, Zoe; Appah, John; O' Mahony, Evan; Strachan, Ruaihri; Walsh, Phoebe; Wheeler, Andy; (2019) CE19014 Cruise Report: Monitoring Changes in Submarine Canyon Coral Habitats - Leg 2 (MoCha_Scan II). Zenodo, Online. [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2019) | Monitoring changes in submarine canyon coral habitats - Leg 1 (MoCha_SCan). Lim, Aaron; O’Reilly, Luke; Summers, Gerard; Harris, Kim; Shine, Andrew; Harman, Luke; Appah, John; Macedo, Larissa; Boyd, John; Anders, Bebhinn; Killeen, Orla; Conti, Luis; O’Brien, Martina (2019) Monitoring changes in submarine canyon coral habitats - Leg 1 (MoCha_SCan). University College Cork, Cork. [DOI] [Full Text] [Details] |
Professional Activities
Honours and Awards
| Year | Title | Awarding Body | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Delap Gold Prize | University College Cork | |
| 2015 | President’s Award for Research into Innovative Forms of Teaching | University College Cork | |
| 2012 | Devoy Prize | University College Cork |
Employment
| Employer | Position | From / To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Rebel | Senior Analytics Manager | 01-JAN-22 / 30-JUN-22 | |
| Green Rebel | Lead Data Scientist | 01-JAN-21 / 31-DEC-21 | |
| University College Cork | Senior Postdoctoral Researcher | 01-JAN-19 / 31-DEC-20 | |
| University College Cork | Postdoctoral Researcher | 01-FEB-17 / 01-JAN-19 |
Education
| Year | Institution | Qualification | Subject | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | University College Cork | PhD | Marine Geosciences | |
| 2012 | University College Cork | BSc (Hons) Earth Science | Earth Science |
Journal Activities
| Journal | Role | To / From | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frontiers In Marine Science | Member of Editorial Board | - | |
| Isprs International Journal Of Geo-Information | Peer Reviewer | - | |
| Geosciences | Peer Reviewer | - | |
| Frontiers In Marine Science | Peer Reviewer | - |
Teaching Activities
Teaching Interests
Module co-ordinator:GG3007: Coastal and Marine Geomorphology
GG2005: Quaternary Environments and Geomorphology
GG6532: Coastal and Marine Resource Use Practices
GG1013: Environmental Geography
GG6540: Applied Seafloor Mapping
Contributes to:
GG1015: Applied Geography
GG2022: Fieldwork
GG2038: Geographical Research Methods
GG3006: Research Methods and Dissertation
ER4005: Frontiers in Earth Science
ER4001: Research Project
AM6021: Dissertation in Mathematical Modelling and Machine Learning
Recent Postgraduates
| Graduation Year | Student Name | Institution | Degree Type | Thesis Title | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Luke O' Reilly | University College Cork | PHD | Understanding Key Geological Processes and Controls on Cold-water Coral Habitat Development in Submarine Canyons | |
| 2023 | Larissa Macedo | University College Cork | PHD | ||
| 2023 | Ger Summers | University College Cork | PHD | ||
| 2021 | Ruaihri Strachan | University College Cork | Master of Research | Bedrock target analysis for ROV rockdrill sampling and existing sample stratigraphic and mineralogical verification (BeTar_drill) | |
| 2021 | Evan O' Mahony | University College Cork | Master of Research | Aggregate potential of marine sediments off the South coast of Ireland |
Current Postgraduate Students
| Student | Degree Type | |
|---|---|---|
| Summers Gerard | Doctoral Degree | |
| Brennan Cara Beth | Masters Degree by Research | |
| Loriga Irene | Masters Degree by Research | |
| Walsh Kevin | Masters Degree by Research |
Research Information
Internal Collaborators
| Name | Institute | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pat Meere | University College Cork | IRELAND | |
| Andrew Wheeler | University College Cork | IRELAND | |
| Ken Higgs | University College Cork | IRELAND |
External Collaborators
| Name | Organisation / Institute | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jared Peters | Green Rebel | IRELAND | |
| Dr Laurance De Clipelle | University of Glasgow | UNITED KINGDOM | |
| Stacey Felgate | Heriot-Watt University | SCOTLAND | |
| Antonio Cano | University of Belize | BELIZE | |
| David Price | Institute of Marine Research (IMAR) - University of Azores | PORTUGAL | |
| Luis Conti | University of Sao Paolo | BRAZIL | |
| Mohit Tunwal | Pennsylvania State University | U.S.A. | |
| Fabio Sachetti | Marine Institute | IRELAND |
Contact details
- Aaron Lim
Lecturer - aaron.lim@ucc.ie
- Geography Building
UCC Campus
UCC
Cork City - +353 21 490 3842