The Tellus project, a unique initiative conducted from 2004-2007, involved a land-based geochemical survey and a separate airborne geophysical survey of the earth’s surface and subsurface throughout Northern Ireland.
The project’s initial findings will be announced at the Tellus conference on 17 and 18 October at W5 in the Odyssey. The audience will have the opportunity to see geological results that are needed to plan and manage the sustainable development and management of our natural resources and environment.
Economy Minister Nigel Dodds welcomed the initial results of the Tellus Project which will illustrate a wide range of potential applications: “The geological data generated from the Tellus project will provide real scientific and social benefits for Northern Ireland. The project will have a major impact on Northern Ireland’s economic, environmental, agricultural and health sectors for years to come.
“Similar surveys in other countries have resulted in significant increases in inward investment to those economies. The survey will increase scientists’ understanding of our natural resources, for example, aggregates like sand and gravel, which are vital to our construction industries, or precious metals like gold and platinum. The data will also provide baselines against which to measure any future environmental change.”
Director of the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland (GSNI), Garth Earls, is confident that the Tellus conference will be of interest to everyone concerned with the strategic management of the environment and natural resources in Northern Ireland.
He said: “The results, which will be unveiled at the Tellus conference, will be of interest to a range of audiences including planners, regulators and policy makers; central and local government officers; earth and environmental scientists and mangers; environmental health officers; the agricultural industry and extractive and energy industries.
“The information gathered by Tellus will refine existing data to provide new perspectives on the physical and chemical contexts of our surface environment; on natural resources, concealed geology and surface soils, and on the quality of streams.
“Volumes of new data have been collected that will inform our understanding and management of the natural environment and the impact of human activities. As research findings are analysed, GSNI will be engaging with interested parties, including the farming and business communities, to inform them of the significance of the project’s data, which will help shape decisions on various aspects of Northern Ireland’s future.”
Dr Iain Stewart, presenter of ‘Journeys from the Centre of the Earth’ and ‘Rough Science’ and academic contributor to several other programmes, all of which have widened the popular understanding of geology, is one of many distinguished speakers attending the conference to tell us more about the ‘Power of the Planet’.
The Tellus conference will include a series of presentations and workshops. It will also be a valuable networking opportunity for specialists, planners and managers in this field. A new exhibit on the natural resources of Northern Ireland and their importance to the economy will be officially opened during the conference.
The survey results will be processed and published as maps and images on the tellus website 
and will be available to interested parties. For further information and to register your interest in the Tellus conference visit tellus website , telephone 028 9038 8462 or email tellusconference@detini.gov.uk.
Notes to Editors:
1. Scientists from GSNI, the British Geological Survey and other organisations will present the first results of various applications of Tellus data in the fields of natural resources exploration and development, agriculture and environmental management.
2. GSNI was established in 1947 and, as part of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment provides geological expertise for government, industry and the public.
3. “Tellus” was the Roman goddess of the earth also called Terra Mater.
4. The aircraft being used in the survey was a white twin-engined De Havilland Twin Otter (3) with a distinctive red and white striped tail-plane and the registration letter OH-KOG.
5. It flew:
In daylight hours between Mondays and Saturdays;
Mostly in a north or north-west or south south-east direction
Along lines spaced 200m apart at an altitude of 55-90metres over rural areas and higher over towns
At a speed of approximately 130mph, with a noise similar to that of a passing lorry.
6. The land based geochemical field-sampling programme ran between 2004 -2006. The programme comprised of trained teams collecting soil, water and stream gravel samples every two square kilometres over Northern Ireland.
7. The airborne geophysical survey ran during the summer seasons of 2005 and 2006. It used a small aeroplane fitted with instruments to collect data on the magnetic and electrical properties of the earth.
8. An extensive awareness-raising campaign, involving schools, farming and equine organisations and other relevant parties was conducted.
9. Tellus is co-funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and the EU Building Sustainable Prosperity programme.
10. For media enquiries, please contact the DETI press office on 028 9052 9297. Outside office hours, please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.
