A new project is set to explore the impact of offshore windfarms across the marine food chain.
Led by Dr Benjamin Williamson from UHI North Highland’s Environmental Research Institute, the ‘Physics-to-Ecosystem Level Assessment of Impacts of Offshore Windfarms’ (PELAgIO) research will cover all aspects of the food chain, from plankton productivity to prey availability for predators.
It is one of three projects which are part of the Ecological Consequences of Offshore Wind research programme (ECOWind) which will investigate effects of offshore wind on the marine environment. The findings from the programme, which is bringing together experts from science and policy, will inform policy measures designed to minimise negative impacts on marine life while tackling climate change.
In response to concerns over climate change and energy security, the UK Government has made ambitious targets for offshore renewable energy. To meet its goal of 50 GW of offshore wind power by 2050, the UK’s marine landscape will need to change considerably – which could impact the marine environment, alongside other marine users including the fishing industry. However, the cumulative effects of building offshore wind farms at such a scale, coupled with the consequences of other human activities on marine life, are not well understood, particularly when also considering the future effects of climate change on the sea.
Dr Benjamin Williamson said: “We will develop and deploy state-of-the-art platforms and ocean robots, combined with satellite observations and cutting-edge numerical modelling, to demonstrate new low-carbon methods to provide the data and evidence needed to understand how plankton, fish and seabirds are interacting with offshore wind. Preliminary studies indicate that windfarms may influence food production at the base of the marine food chain. We will take this new understanding, from physics to fish to ecosystems, to help ensure we make the most efficient use of our marine spaces.”
For further details please contact Dr Benjamin Williamson or see the PELaGIO project page.
PELAgIO is part of the ‘The Ecological Consequences of Offshore Wind’ (ECOWind) programme, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), The Crown Estate through its Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme and is also supported by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra). Overall funding for the programme totals around £7.5 million. The ECOWind programme aims to address gaps in knowledge and provide policy-ready research outcomes that ensure offshore wind can be expanded in line with biodiversity priorities.
The PELAgIO consortium comprises:
- Environmental Research Institute, UHI North Highland
- University of Aberdeen
- Bangor University
- Marine Scotland Science
- National Oceanography Centre (NOC)
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory
- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
PELAgIO partners:
