Scientists of the Institute of Natural Sciences have concluded the first sampling campaign of the littoral modules within the EcoMPV project (Eco-designing Marine Photovoltaic Installations). This sampling event, conducted on October 23, 2023, aims to investigate the habitat provisioning effect of artificial floating structures for marine fouling fauna and fish, one of EcoMPV’s objectives.
For this purpose, three littoral modules were designed and developed by Jan De Nul Group, in collaboration with the Institute of Natural Sciences and EMBRC Belgium (European Marine Biological Resource Centre). These floating modules act as the foundation for various settlement plates, constructed out of materials interesting for marine offshore installations. The littoral modules were deployed in May/June 2023 in the safety zone of Mermaid offshore wind farm by the RV Belgica and the Zeetijger. This test site closely resembles the water mass present in the Princess Elizabeth Zone (PEZ), a newly designated zone for offshore energy production.
During the campaign, the scientific diving team of the Institute of Natural Sciences retrieved the first batch of settlement plates from each littoral module. On board of the RV Belgica, each plate was photographed for quantitative coverage image analysis and subsequently preserved for taxonomic analysis. The data collected from the littoral modules will provide a comprehensive understanding of early colonization processes, offering crucial insights for the development of eco-friendly marine photovoltaic installations. The EcoMPV project is financed by the Energy Transition Fund of the FPS Economy, GD Energy.
After the completion of the EcoMPV project, the littoral modules will be integrated as scientific equipment in the Artificial Hard Substrate Garden. This is an innovative in-situ experimental platform, managed by the Institute of Natural Sciences, that consists of flexible and modular artificial hard substrate devices. It is designed to study the impacts of man-made structures, including mariculture installations, renewable energy devices, antifouling treatments, coastal protection structures, and more, on marine environments. Graphic designer Hendrik Gheerardyn has recently crafted an informative infographic providing an overview of the devices and their respective sampling range.
The Artificial Hard Substrate Garden is offered as an EMBRC research service to both the scientific community and the industry. For further details, please visit the MARECO website or contact Wannes De Clercq (wdeclercq@naturalsciences.be).
This news item was originally published on the EMBRC website on Nov 9th, 2023.
Text: Wannes De Clercq, MARECO, Institute of Natural Sciences