Scientists from the University of Plymouth will play a key role in an ambitious new project exploring the consequences of floating offshore wind farms (FLOW) on life throughout the marine food chain.
The FRONTLINE project will employ state-of-the-art technologies - including autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), satellite remote sensing, digital video aerial surveys and seabird and fisheries tracking - to investigate how the rapid expansion of FLOW and climate warming is likely to affect oceanographic processes and marine life.
The study will gather data from the Celtic Sea, identified by the UK Government - alongside the North Sea - as a prime location for accelerating offshore wind infrastructure.
The aim will be to reveal if and how the rapid expansion of FLOW installations in these new sites may directly or indirectly impact on marine processes and biodiversity via ocean fronts.
The £3.5million project - funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) via the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and The Crown Estate - is being led by Heriot-Watt University, working with a consortium of experts from universities and other scientific organisations across the UK.
That includes researchers from the University of Plymouth, who will contribute extensive experience in monitoring the oceanographic impacts of ocean structures and using autonomous technologies to study the marine environment.
Within the project, the University and the Marine Biological Association (MBA) are jointly leading AUV deployments in the Celtic Sea. These will be used to investigate key ecosystem drivers, from physical ocean features such as fronts to biological hotspots like plankton blooms and foraging fish at the bottom of the ocean food web.
Leveraging NERC's Autosub Long Range 1500 - famously known as Boaty McBoatface and unique in its ability to operate in strong tidal flows for weeks at a time - they will enhance its capabilities with digital plankton imaging technology developed at the University of Plymouth.
This innovation will complement a comprehensive suite of environmental sensors, providing a more mechanistic understanding of ocean ecosystem change.
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