Using the FLOWBEC seabed frame to understand underwater interactions between diving seabirds, prey, hydrodynamics and tidal and wave energy structures

Benjamin J Williamson* (Corresponding Author), Beth E Scott, James J Waggitt, Paul S. Bell, Eric Armstrong, Chris Hall

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingPublished conference contribution

Abstract

The NERC/Defra collaboration FLOWBEC-4D is investigating the environmental and ecological effects of installing and operating arrays of wave and tidal energy devices. The FLOWBEC seabed platform combines a number of instruments to record information at a range of physical and multi-trophic levels at a resolution of several measurements per second, for a duration of 2 weeks to capture an entire spring-neap tidal cycle. An upward-facing multifrequency echosounder is synchronised with an upward-facing multibeam sonar aligned with the tidal flow. An ADV is used for local current measurements and a fluorometer is used to measure chlorophyll (as a proxy for plankton) and turbidity. The platform is self-contained, facilitating rapid deployment and recovery in high-energy sites. Five 2-week deployments have been completed at wave and tidal energy sites at EMEC in Orkney (UK), both in the presence and absence of renewable energy structures. Using multifrequency target identification and multibeam target tracking, the depth preference and interactions of birds, fish schools and marine mammals with renewable energy structures can be tracked. Seabird and mammal dive profiles, predator-prey interactions and the effect of hydrodynamic processes during foraging events throughout the water column can also be analysed. These datasets offer insights into how fish, seabirds and marine mammals successfully forage within dynamic marine habitats and also whether individuals face collision risks with tidal stream turbines. Measurements from the subsea platform are complemented by 3D hydrodynamic model data, concurrent shore-based marine X-band radar and shore-based seabird observations. This range of concurrent fine-scale information across physical and trophic levels will improve our understanding of how the fine-scale physical influence of currents, waves and turbulence at tidal and wave energy sites affect the behaviour of marine wildlife, and how tidal and wave energy devices might alter the behaviour of such wildlife. These results can be used to guide marine spatial planning, device design, licensing and operation, as these individual devices are scaled up to arrays and new sites are considered.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of Environmental Interactions of Marine Renewable Energy Technologies Conference
PublisherTETHYS
Pages1-3
Number of pages3
Publication statusPublished - 30 Apr 2014
EventProceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Environmental Interactions of Marine Renewable Energy Technologies (EIMR2014) - Stornoway, United Kingdom
Duration: 28 Apr 20142 May 2014

Conference

ConferenceProceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Environmental Interactions of Marine Renewable Energy Technologies (EIMR2014)
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityStornoway
Period28/04/142/05/14

Bibliographical note

This work is funded by NERC/Defra (grants
NE/J004308/1, NE/J004200/1 and NE/J004332/1).
We acknowledge the support of D. Mackay (Hydro
Products Ltd.) and J. Patterson (Imagenex) with the
multibeam sonar, N. Collie, P. Copland, J. Hunter,
B. Ritchie and C. Stewart (Marine Scotland
Science), P. Frith and P. Reddish (University of
Bath) and colleagues at EMEC. Hydrodynamic
model data was provided by P. Cazenave and R.
Torres at Plymouth Marine Laboratory.

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