RBINS Open Access Library

Vision paper DECOMMISSIONING OFFSHORE WINDPARKS in the Belgian part of the North Sea.: Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Élaboration d'une vision DÉMANTÈLEMENT DES PARCS ÉOLIENS OFFSHORE dans la partie belge de la mer du Nord.: Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Visievorming ONTMANTELING OFFSHORE WINDPARKEN in het Belgisch deel van de Noordzee.: Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Speciﬁc initial training standards are needed to dive for science in Europe, Occupational vs . Citizen Science Diving: Today, collaboration between scienti ﬁ c research and civil society is growing signi ﬁ cantly. The general public ’ s curiosity drives it to engage with the scienti ﬁ c process and culture and in the search for solutions to complex issues (economic, social, health, environmental, cultural, educational, or ethical). Clari ﬁ cation is needed to differentiate between occupational scienti ﬁ c activity and citizen-based science. They do not require the same scienti ﬁ c and technical skills despite using similar equipment and their legal and administrative frameworks being totally different. The confusion created by the indiscriminate use of the same term “ scienti ﬁ c diving ” to refer to different training courses and activities compromises the quality of existing occupational standards and, ultimately, has a negative impact on the safety of the activity at work. A clear de ﬁ nition of Citizen Scienti ﬁ c Diving and Occupational Scienti ﬁ c Diving makes it possible to differentiate between the objectives and target groups of these two activities and their legal framework. There is a need to establish an accepted and shared standard in the occupational ﬁ eld and to ensure the mobility of scientists. A long process undertaken by a motivated scienti ﬁ c community (late 1980s-2000s) led to the establishment of European initial training standards for Occupational Scienti ﬁ c Diving through the ESDP-European Scienti ﬁ c Diving Panel ( ﬁ rstly under the aegis of the European Marine Board, now of the MARS-European marine stations network). The quality and general acceptance of these standards by a large part of the European scienti ﬁ c community have already adopted them in the occupational health and safety legislation of seven European countries (Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the UK in 2023). Adopting them in other countries ’ health and safety legislation is still desirable. This will increase their recognition, acceptance and use for the bene ﬁ t of scienti ﬁ c work. Building bridges between academic science and non-academic citizen science is possible and this is done by developing coherent projects that produce results that bene ﬁ t both science and society. While distinguishing between the two, as an added value, this approach could better guide the recreational diving training sector in developing a new market.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
The underwater soundscape of the North Sea: As awareness on the impact of anthropogenic underwater noise on marine life grows, underwater noise mea- surement programs are needed to determine the current status of marine areas and monitor long-term trends. The Joint Monitoring Programme for Ambient Noise in the North Sea (JOMOPANS) collaborative project was funded by the EU Interreg to collect a unique dataset of underwater noise levels at 19 sites across the North Sea, spanning many different countries and covering the period from 2019 to 2020. The ambient noise from this dataset has been characterised and compared - setting a benchmark for future measurements in the North Sea area. By identifying clusters with similar sound characteristics in three broadband frequency bands (25 – 160 Hz, 0.2 – 1.6 kHz, and 2 – 10 kHz), geographical areas that are similarly affected by sound have been identified. The measured underwater sound levels show a persistent and spatially uniform correlation with wind speed at high frequencies (above 1 kHz) and a correlation with the distance from ships at mid and high frequencies (between 40 Hz and 4 kHz). Correlation with ocean current velocity at low frequencies (up to 200 Hz), which are sus- ceptible to nonacoustic contamination by flow noise, was also evaluated. These correlations were evaluated and simplified linear scaling laws for wind and current speeds were derived. The presented dataset provides a baseline for underwater noise measurements in the North Sea and shows that spatial variability of the dominant sound sources must be considered to predict the impact of noise reduction measures.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Developing expert scientific consensus on the environmental and societal effects of marine artificial structures prior to decommissioning: Thousands of artificial (‘human-made ’ ) structures are present in the marine environment, many at or approaching end-of-life and requiring urgent decisions regarding their decommissioning. No consensus has been reached on which decommissioning option(s) result in optimal environmental and societal outcomes, in part, owing to a paucity of evidence from real-world decommissioning case studies. To address this significant chal- lenge, we asked a worldwide panel of scientists to provide their expert opinion. They were asked to identify and characterise the ecosystem effects of artificial structures in the sea, their causes and consequences, and to identify which, if any, should be retained following decommissioning. Experts considered that most of the pressures driving ecological and societal effects from marine artificial structures (MAS) were of medium severity, occur frequently, and are dependent on spatial scale with local-scale effects of greater magnitude than regional effects. The duration of many effects following decommissioning were considered to be relatively short, in the order of days. Overall, environmental effects of structures were considered marginally undesirable, while societal effects marginally desirable. Experts therefore indicated that any decision to leave MAS in place at end-of-life to be more beneficial to society than the natural environment. However, some individual environmental effects were considered desirable and worthy of retention, especially in certain geographic locations, where structures can support improved trophic linkages, increases in tourism, habitat provision, and population size, and provide stability in population dynamics. The expert analysis consensus that the effects of MAS are both negative and positive for the environment and society, gives no strong support for policy change whether removal or retention is favoured until further empirical evidence is available to justify change to the status quo. The combination of desirable and undesirable effects associated with MAS present a significant challenge for policy- and decision- makers in their justification to implement decommissioning options. Decisions may need to be decided on a case-by-case basis accounting for the trade-off in costs and benefits at a local level.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Structurally stable but functionally disrupted marine microbial communities under a future climate change scenario: Potential importance for nitrous oxide emissions: The blue mussel Mytilus edulis is a widespread and abundant bivalve species along the North Sea with high economic and ecological importance as an engineer species. The shell of mussels is intensively colonized by microbial organisms that can produce significant quantities of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas. To characterize the impacts of climate change on the composition, structure and functioning of microbial biofilms on the shell surface of M. edulis, we experimentally exposed them to orthogonal combinations of increased seawater temperature (20 vs. 23 ◦ C) and decreased pH (8.0 vs. 7.7) for six weeks. We used amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to characterize the alpha and beta diversity of microbial communities on the mussel shell. The functioning of microbial biofilms was assessed by measuring aerobic respiration and nitrogen emission rates. We did not report any significant impacts of climate change treatments on the diversity of mussel microbiomes nor on the structure of these communities. Lowered pH and increased temperature had antagonistic effects on the functioning of microbial communities with decreased aerobic respiration and N2O emission rates of microbial
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Increased food availability at offshore wind farms affects trophic ecology of plaice Pleuronectes platessa: Offshore wind farms (OWFs) and their associated cables, foundations and scour protection are often constructed in soft- sediment environments. This introduction of hard substrate has been shown to have similar effects as artiﬁcial reefs by providing food resources and offering increased habitat complexity, thereby aggregating ﬁsh around the turbines and foundations. However, as most studies have focused their efforts on ﬁsh species that are typically associated with reef structures, knowledge on how soft sediment species are affected by OWFs is still largely lacking. In this study, we analysed the trophic ecology and condition of plaice, a ﬂatﬁsh species of commercial interest, in relation to a Belgian OWF. The combination of a stomach and intestine content analysis with the use of biomarkers (i.e. fatty acids and stable isotopes) identiﬁed a clear shift in diet with increased occurrences of typical hard-substrate prey species for ﬁsh in the vicinity of the foundations and this both on the short and the long term. Despite some condition indices suggesting that the hard substrate provides increased food availability, no clear increases of overall plaice condition or fecundity were found. Samples from within the wind farm, however, contained larger ﬁsh and had a higher abundance of females compared to control areas, potentially indicating a refuge effect caused by the cessation of ﬁsheries activities within the OWF. These results suggest that soft-sediment species can potentially beneﬁt from the presence of an OWF, which could lead to ﬁsh production. However, more research is still needed to further elucidate the behavioral ecology of plaice within OWFs to make inferences on how they can impact ﬁsh populations on a larger spatial scale.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Northern Europe ’ s suitability for offshore European ﬂ at oyster (Ostrea edulis) habitat restoration based on population dynamics: Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
SEADETECT: developing an automated detection system to reduce whale-vessel collision risk: With the continuous intensification of marine traffic worldwide, whale-vessel collisions at sea (or “ship strikes”) have become one of the primary causes of mortality for cetaceans and a widely recognised cause of concern for human safety and economic losses. The Mediterranean Sea is a global hotspot for whale-vessel collisions, with one of the highest rates involving large cetaceans, especially the endangered fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus). Evidence indicates that both species are experiencing higher chances of a fatal collision than what predictions have estimated so far, with ship strikes being the main human-induced threat in the area. Regional and international organisations have stressed the need to address the issue by investigating the projected impacts of ship strikes on whale populations and by identifying possible mitigation measures to reduce chances of collision. Amongst the most popular and feasible options, there is the improvement of animal detection during navigation. Here, we present SEADETECT, a LIFE project that aims at developing an automated detection system to reduce vessel collision risk with marine mammals and unidentified floating objects (UFOs), combining state-of-the-art and novel technologies with existing approaches in the study of large whale ecology. This detection system consists of three elements; an automated onboard detection system composed of several sensors, a real- time passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) network at sea and a real-time detection-sharing and alert system (REPCET®). In this paper, we propose the development of a mitigation measure framework tailored for the issue of collision with fin and sperm whales in the north-western Mediterranean Sea, but that has the transferability features necessary for its application in other high-risk areas for ship strikes worldwide.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023

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