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Laying out the foundations: Assessing the spatial extent and drivers of offshore wind turbine artificial reef effects on soft sediments
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With the rapid expansion of offshore energy, numerous artificial structures are being installed on the seabed, including wind turbine foundations. This study investigates the “artificial reef” (AR) effect of bottom-fixed offshore wind farms (OWFs) on soft sediment benthic communities. While previous studies have focused on distances ≥30 m from turbines, in this study, sediment and macrobenthic samples were collected at shorter distances (1 m, 7 m, 15 m and 25 m) from the scour protection layer (SPL) around a monopile and a gravitybased foundation in two Belgian OWFs, 10–13 years post-installation. Results show a localized AR footprint for both turbine foundations, with enriched benthic communities within 15 m of the SPL. In comparison to communities 25 m distanced away from the SPL, a higher average species richness (+100 %), abundance (+117 %), functional richness (+438 %), and bioturbation potential (+86 %) was prevalent, whereas the magnitude of enriched structural and functional diversity in the footprint varied respectively between 16 and 80 % and 15–110 % depending on the OWF. Beyond the AR footprint, communities resembled those at reference sites (240–570 m), with less surface dwellers, suspension feeders and a prevalence of burrowing biodiffusors that contribute little to bioturbation. While the AR effect’s magnitude depends on local conditions and foundation design, our trait-based analysis indicates that sediment fining, biofouling drop-offs and organic enrichment are consistent drivers shaping the AR footprint.
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The impact of offshore wind turbine foundations on local hydrodynamics and stratification in the Southern North Sea
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The development of offshore wind farms (OWFs) in the North Sea is a crucial component for the transition to renewable energy. However, local hydrodynamics in the vicinity of OWF turbine foundations may be affected due to their interaction with tidal currents. This study investigates the impact of offshore wind turbine foundations on local hydrodynamics and stratification in the southern North Sea. We conducted a series of measurements around a single monopile in the Belgian part of the North Sea, focusing on hydrodynamics, salinity and temperature both near the surface and over the water column, and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE). Our results indicate that the foundation-induced wake significantly affects local hydrodynamics, leading to a well-defined band of colder, more saline water at the surface and warmer, less saline water near the seabed. This is quantified through the Potential Energy Anomaly (PEA), which shows a marked decrease in the wake-affected area. The wake is spatially confined, with a width of approximately 70 meters and a length of less than 400 meters downstream of the monopile. Additionally, our measurements reveal an increase in TKE within the wake, indicating enhanced turbulent mixing. This mixing reduces vertical gradients in salinity and temperature, leading to a more homogeneous water column. The findings highlight the importance of considering monopile-induced mixing in large-scale hydrodynamic and ecosystem models, as these effects can influence nutrient transport, primary production, and overall ecosystem dynamics. Furthermore, our research provides valuable data for validating and improving the models used to predict the ecological impact of OWFs.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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BioTIME 2.0: Expanding and Improving a Database of Biodiversity Time Series
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Motivation: Here, we make available a second version of the BioTIME database, which compiles records of abundance estimates for species in sample events of ecological assemblages through time. The updated version expands version 1.0 of the database by doubling the number of studies and includes substantial additional curation to the taxonomic accuracy of the records, as well as the metadata. Moreover, we now provide an R package (BioTIMEr) to facilitate use of the database. Main Types of Variables Included: The database is composed of one main data table containing the abundance records and 11 metadata tables. The data are organised in a hierarchy of scales where 11,989,233 records are nested in 1,603,067 sample events, from 553,253 sampling locations, which are nested in 708 studies. A study is defined as a sampling methodology applied to an assemblage for a minimum of 2 years. Spatial Location and Grain: Sampling locations in BioTIME are distributed across the planet, including marine, terrestrial and freshwater realms. Spatial grain size and extent vary across studies depending on sampling methodology. We recommend gridding of sampling locations into areas of consistent size. Time Period and Grain: The earliest time series in BioTIME start in 1874, and the most recent records are from 2023. Temporal grain and duration vary across studies. We recommend doing sample-level rarefaction to ensure consistent sampling effort through time before calculating any diversity metric. Major Taxa and Level of Measurement: The database includes any eukaryotic taxa, with a combined total of 56,400 taxa. Software Format: csv and. SQL.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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Offshore wind turbines constitute benthic secondary production hotspots on and around constructions
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In response to climate change, the expansion of renewable energies leads to an increasing number of offshore wind farms in the North Sea. This comes along with an increase in (artificial) hard substrates in a mainly softbottom dominated marine area with so far largely unknown consequences for the underlying ecosystem functioning. We used a large combined dataset (both hard- and soft-substrate data) to model the secondary production of fouling communities on turbine foundations and of soft-bottom fauna inside and outside offshore wind farms (OWF) in the southern North Sea (Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany). We demonstrate that (1) a large amount of energy is channelled through fouling fauna on turbines (i.e., secondary production of fouling communities was on average 80 times higher than of soft-substrate communities), (2) 71 % of fouling production on turbines is released to the surrounding sediment (annual release: 221 ± 825 gC m 2 y 1 (SD)), and that (3) local production of soft-bottom communities is elevated up to a distance of 150–250 m from turbines. Production impacted area (PIA) was determined from hard- and soft-substrate data independently: mechanistic modelling of hard-substrate production export showed a production increase of 5 % up to 150 m from the turbine and generalised additive mixed models (GAMMs) based on soft-bottom fauna data suggested an elevated production up to 250 m from turbines. Accordingly, on the scale of an OWF (distance between turbines ~1000 m), the local production “halo” effect around turbines affects about 11 % of an OWF area (dependent on OWF configuration). The observed changes in benthic energy flow may lead to so far unknown changes at the ecosystem level from plankton communities to apex predators.
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An exceptional concentration of marine fossils associated with wood-fall in the Terhagen Member (Boom Formation; Schelle, Belgium), Rupelian of the southern North Sea Basin
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
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The Pliocene–Pleistocene transition in the subsurface of the Dutch-Belgian border region: insights from borehole Huijbergen
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
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Granulometry, carbonate and glauconite content as stratigraphic tools to distinguish the Kiel Member and lower Antwerpen Member (Berchem Formation) in the City of Antwerp area (Belgium)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
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Characterization of the Miocene successions in the Schoten borehole (southern North Sea Basin, northern Belgium) and regional correlation with the Netherlands
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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Early Quaternary channel incisions at the base of the Merksplas Formation at the southern margin of the North Sea Basin
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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Effects of electromagnetic fields from an alternating current power cable on the embryogenesis of three benthic associated marine species
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The global expansion in offshore renewable energy, primarily through offshore wind, is associated with the proliferation of subsea power cables (SPCs) throughout marine and coastal benthic environments. The transmission of electrical power through these SPCs will introduce electromagnetic fields (EMFs) into the seabed and the adjacent water column, which raises questions regarding the potential impact on benthic fauna, particularly during critical developmental early-life stages for which research considering the effects of both the electric and magnetic components of SPC EMFs is lacking. We conducted an experiment on three benthic egg-laying species, – the elasmobranch Scyliorhinus canicula, the cephalopod Loligo vulgaris, and the cephalopod Sepia officinalis – found in areas under consideration for the routing of SPCs. We exposed the embryos to realistic EMF levels (magnetic field 4–6 μT) recreated in the laboratory using an AC power cable set-up that simulated the EMF conditions, and examined the morphological, physiological, and behavioural responses. Our findings indicate subtle responses to EMF exposure in S. canicula and L. vulgaris with faster growth rates and morphometric differences, but no responses in S. officinalis. Our results highlight the value of a multiple end point approach to determine the potential influence of chronic exposure to EMFs on embryogenesis in benthic fauna and provide a baseline for future studies to build upon. Although our study cannot extrapolate the consequences of individuallevel effects to population-level impacts, it does underscore the necessity of realistic and longer-term studies to assess the potential consequences of EMFs to marine fauna.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
