Spatial and temporal analysis of cumulative environmental effects of offshore wind farms in the North Sea basin.

ABSTRACT: The North Sea basin is one of the busiest maritime areas globally with a considerable number of anthropogenic pressures impacting the functioning of the marine ecosystem. Due to growing EU ambitions for the deployment of large offshore wind farm projects (OWF), as part of the 2050 renewable energy roadmap, there is a key need for a holistic understanding of OWF potential impacts on the marine ecosystem. We propose a holistic Cumulative Effect Assessment methodology, applied using a geo-spatial open-source software, to assess impacts of OWF related pressures on selected seabed habitats, fish, seabird and mammal species. We take into account pressures specific to the three OWF development phases, spanning 1999-2050, for the entire North Sea basin. Our results underline 2022 as the peak year

SUBMITTER: Gusatu LF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8115305 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature