Marine science is rapidly entering the digital age. Expansions in the scope and scale of ocean observations, as well as automated sampling and ‘smart sensors’, are leading to a continuous flood of data. This leads marine science to enter the world of big data, where we are faced with large volumes of high variety data collected at high velocity. Big data offer the potential to transform the way we study and understand the ocean through more complex and transdisciplinary analyses and offers novel approaches for the management of human use of marine resources. However, more data do not necessarily mean we have the right data to answer many critical scientific questions and to make well-informed, data-driven management decisions. To increase the value of marine big data, it must be openly shared, interoperable, and available for complex analyses that can be based on artificial intelligence.
Future Science Brief on ‘Big Data in Marine Science’
The European Marine Board’s (EMB) 6th Future Science Brief on ‘Big Data in Marine Science’ presents recent advances, challenges and opportunities for big data to support marine science and covers topics including climate and marine biogeochemistry, habitat mapping for marine conservation, marine biological observations, and food provision from seas and the ocean. The document was launched on 28 April 2020 during a dedicated webinar, with over 400 participants, and is the outcome of the work of the EMB Working Group on Big Data, which kicked-off in May 2019. The Future Science Brief and infographic summaries are available on the EMB website and video recordings of the presentations are available on the EMB YouTube channel.
Recommendations
During the webinar Sheila Heymans, EMB Executive Director, presented an overview of the document and the key recommendations needed to fully bring marine science into the world of big data. These include open data sharing; data interoperability; availability of cloud computing infrastructures; continued development of ‘smart’ sensors to enhance data collection; specialized training programmes for marine scientists to adopt artificial intelligence in their work; and increased collaborations between marine scientists, computer scientists, data scientists and data managers.
Detailed examples
The webinar included four TED-style talks from selected co-authors of the document. Jerry Tjiputra (NORCE Norwegian Research Centre) illustrated how big data can improve climate modelling and forecasting that feeds into global climate negotiations and helps to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. Federica Foglini (Institute of Marine Science – Italian National Research Council) presented how big data can be used to create high resolution, multidisciplinary habitat maps for planning a new marine protected area in the Bari Canyon in Italy. Matthias Obst (University of Gothenburg) demonstrated how machines are drastically changing the way we observe biological processes in the ocean, and Ketil Malde (University of Bergen and Institute of Marine Research) presented on advances in machine learning and the data driven future of marine science.
EMB Forum on Big Data in Marine Science
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 7th Forum has been postponed to Friday 23 October 2020. The focus of the Forum will be Big Data in Marine Science, given its essential role during the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainability. You are invited to engage in the conversation and contribute ideas to feed into the Forum via the EMB LinkedIn page and Twitter (using #EMBForum). The registration for the 7th Forum will open soon on the EMB website.
For more information please contact: Dr. Britt Alexander, Science Officer, European Marine Board Email: balexander@marineboard.eu
The European Marine Board (EMB) is a leading European think tank in marine science policy. EMB is a network with a membership comprising over 10,000 marine scientists and technical staff from the major national marine/oceanographic institutes, research funding agencies and national networks of universities from countries across Europe. The Board provides a platform for its member organizations to develop common priorities, to advance marine research, and to bridge the gap between science and policy to meet future marine science challenges and opportunities. The Belgian Federal State is represented in the EMB by the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO) and in the EMB Communications Panel by the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS). The long-term storage, scientific processing and publication of Belgian marine big datasets at RBINS is taken care of by the Belgian Marine Data Centre (BMDC). Both RBINS datasets and datasets of partners and projects are eligible.
The Belgian Coast Guard continues to invest in the international fight against air pollution over sea using the so-called ‘sniffer’ sensor. This sensor makes it possible to measure sulphur compounds in the emissions from ships at sea, and to check to what extent these ships comply with the applicable sulphur standards. In order to be prepared for the restrictions that will apply on nitrogen emissions from ships in the North Sea from 2021 onwards, and to be able to monitor these too, the sniffer technology was expanded in the spring of 2020 to also detect nitrogen compounds. The results of the first test flights are promising.
Since 2016, the Belgian Coast Guard has been using a so-called ‘sniffer’ sensor on board of MUMM’s aircraft (Britten-Norman Islander, registration number OO-MMM), which is used above sea to check for environmental and nautical violations. This sensor is an important instrument in the fight against air pollution, which in particular allows to deduce the sulphur content in the fuel from measurements of sulphur dioxide (SO2) in the emissions of ships at sea. This puts Belgium in the international spotlight with regard to the enforcement of the sulphur legislation. In 2020, the ‘sniffer’ sensor was extended to also enable the measurement of nitrogen compounds (so-called NOx emissions) from ships at sea.
Nitrogen Emission Control Area
As of 1 January 2020, the maximum permitted sulphur content of marine fuel was reduced from 3.5% to 0.5%. In the SECA zone (Sulphur Emission Control Area), of which Belgium has been part since 2015, the standard is even stricter with only 0.1% allowed.
On 1 January 2021, an emission control area for nitrogen oxides will also come into operation in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, in short the NECA (Nitrogen Emmission Control Area). Regulation 13 of MARPOL Annex VI sets NOx emission limits for marine diesel engines. Ships built from 2021 onwards will have to comply with the strictest NOx standards in the NECA area. The aim is to achieve a gradual reduction of NOx emissions from ships sailing in this and other NECA areas by 2040. Different standards apply to older ships and these must also be respected.
For the North Sea and Baltic Sea, the NECA area corresponds geographically to the SECA area. From 2021 onwards, therefore, it will simply be referred to as the North Sea and Baltic Sea ECA area (see map).
The North Sea and Baltic Sea ECA (Emission Control Area)
Nitrogen Monitoring Needs
NOx emissions play an important role in the formation of particulate matter (fine dust) and the eutrophication of the marine and terrestrial environment. Near the earth’s surface, they also play a role in the formation of ozone, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming and can also lead to significant respiratory problems. Both SOx and NOx from ships also contribute to the acidification of heavily navigated coastal areas.
North Sea Minister Philippe De Backer: “Air pollution at sea not only affects our marine environment but also damages the health of our population. That’s why we continue to invest in better measuring instruments to map out air pollution. This is the only way we can improve enforcement and ensure healthy air for people and the environment”.
The NOx Sensor
However, until recently, there was no precise mechanism for the enforcement of NOx regulations allowing the detection of non-complying vessels. Enforcement could only be carried out by checking the possession of a valid international certificate for the prevention of air pollution, and was therefore not based on measurements or sampling. Such a certificate is then regarded as prima facie evidence to establish compliance. Many ships also use emission reduction techniques (e.g. a catalyst) to ensure compliance with nitrogen requirements. Again, there is no method yet in place to verify with certainty that ships have activated this emission reduction equipment in good time before entering a NECA.
In order to be able to extend the monitoring of ship emissions at sea with the measuring of nitrogen compounds, a modified NOx sensor was purchased and integrated into the airborne sniffer system. For this purchase, North Sea Minister Philippe De Backer made a budget of € 70,000 available to the Scientific Service Management Unit of the North Sea Mathematical Model (MUMM) of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) in 2019.
“Using the new sensor, we are able to carry out NOx checks above sea, which is very valuable because there is no empirical method of monitoring these substances to carry out enforcement in the port”. clarifies Ward Van Roy, one of MUMM’s air operators. “In addition, the new sensor also increases the accuracy of our sulphur measurements. The light sensitivity of the sulphur sensor to nitrogen monoxide (NO) can be corrected with the nitrogen measurements”.
Promising
Early July 2020 the first test flights with the nitrogen sensor were carried out. These can be referred to as a great success, and give confidence that an enormous amount of information on the nitrogen emission of ships at sea will be collected. This should lead to a better understanding of how effective offshore NECA monitoring can be developed to improve enforcement in cooperation with port inspection authorities. In this way, MUMM and the Coast Guard will further develop Belgium’s pioneering role in the monitoring of ship emissions at sea, and Belgium will be ready to fulfil its enforcement role in the field of nitrogen emissions as from 1 January 2021.
Also check out the recent video that focuses on the sulphur emission monitoring, with at the end already a brief preview on the inclusion of the monitoring of nitrogen emissions in the task package.
In order to monitor the eutrophication status of the Belgian coastal zone, detect potentially critical situations as quickly as possible, and comply with the EU Water Framework and Marine Strategy Framework Directives, permanent surveillance of the coastal waters is essential. Remote sensing using optical sensors and satellite imagery can provide a spatial overview of the eutrophication status of this area. In the MULTI-SYNC project, researchers (led by the RBINS REMSEM team) aim to improve this service by developing new methods for using typical low-resolution ocean color data in synergy with high-resolution satellite data as provided by Sentinel-2.
At the start of the school holidays, many of us have started dreaming of spreading a towel on the beach, letting our gaze wander where the waves touch the sky after enjoying some delicious seafood on the boardwalk.
Covering more than two-thirds of the earth’s surface, the seas and oceans are complex ecosystems that provide essential services for the maintenance of life on Earth. At the heart of the climate system, the marine environment is our greatest source of biodiversity and also contributes significantly to economic prosperity, social well-being and quality of life.
An environment to protect
The protection of the marine environment is therefore crucial. To acquire the legal tools essential for this protection, the EU adopted in 2000 the European Water Framework Directive and in 2008 the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
Belgium, like the other EU member states, is required to comply with these directives, to maintain the “good ecological status” of its waters (surface, underground and coastal) and to ensure regular reporting of water quality to the European bodies.
Sentinel-2 image in true colours of the study area (10 m resolution) and Suspended Particulate Matter product (SPM)
To monitor the eutrophication status of the Belgian coastal zone and to detect potentially critical situations as quickly as possible, permanent operational surveillance is essential.
Traditional seaborne monitoring is still considered the main monitoring tool today. But this only provides point information and is very expensive.
Satellites to see better
Remote sensing offers solutions that have been explored by the MULTI-SYNC project (Multi-scale synergy products for advanced coastal water quality monitoring) led by the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) and financed by the STEREO programme of the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO). The use of satellite images for monitoring combines many advantages. In addition to reduced cost, they provide information over the entire stretch of the Belgian territory of the North Sea and this with great temporal and spatial resolution. In addition, the image processing benefits from a technique called DINEOF that interpolates values in cloudy zones (regions where data of the ocean cannot be detected) developed by the ULg-GHER, partner of the project.
From scientific research to application
The degree of water eutrophication can be determined by their chlorophyll-a concentration, an indicator of phytoplankton biomass.
Using daily data from optical sensors specifically dedicated to ocean colouring (SeaWiFS, MODIS, MERIS, VIIRS, Sentinel-3), the researchers of the MULTI-SYNC project have developed an approach to map chlorophyll-a concentrations and other products like total suspended matter at high resolution.Eutrophication of the Belgian coastal zone. Regions with the highest concentrations (Chl P90 > 15µg L-1) are indicated in red. This map is made using MERIS satellite products with a spatial resolution of 1 km.
Thanks to these products, they can provide a spatial overview of the eutrophication status of the Belgian coastal area, where the problem areas are directly visible in red. These maps are integrated in the eutrophication assessment report provided by Belgium within the framework of European directives and therefore make it possible to directly support the actions necessary to achieve its objectives in terms of water quality.
Sentinel-2 image of May 1st, 2016 (true colour image on top, and chlorophyll-a product below) showing a near-shore algal bloom near Ostend
In MULTI-SYNC, researchers aim to improve this service by developing new methods for using typical low-resolution ocean color data in synergy with high-resolution satellite data as provided by Sentinel-2. This type of satellite is able to provide chlorophyll-a products with a spatial resolution of up to 10 m, which allows the detection of near-shore algal blooms, undetectable by traditional ‘ocean color’ satellites or by in situ monitoring by boat.
Update 9 September 2020: Unfortunately, corona forced the organisation to postpone this study day to the autumn of 2021. We will inform you as soon as possible about the new date.
This year, the Continental Shelf Service of the FPS Economy is again organizing a study day on sand extraction in the Belgian part of the North Sea.
We look forward to welcome you on Friday 20 November 2020 at our study day “A 360° perspective on sea sand” in the Zwin Nature Park in Knokke-Heist.
In the morning, we will discuss the results of the monitoring and some innovations, as well as the new reference level for sand extraction and the impact of the Marine Spatial Plan 2020-2026. In the afternoon, recycling of sea sand and possible alternatives are considered. We conclude with the applications of sea sand in the industry and in the context of coastal safety.
One of the objectives of the JERICO-S3 project is to develop an e-infrastructure that will enable users to have direct, easy access to data, tools and information that they need on coastal seas. To achieve this, developers need to understand who you are, what you are doing, what you need to do it and what the task outcomes are. To this end, JERICO-S3 launches a call for user stories that will provide developers with exactly that information.
JERICO-S3
The EU Horizon2020 project JERICO-S3 will provide a state-of-the-art, fit-for-purpose and visionary observational Research Infrastructure (RI), expertise and high-quality data on European coastal and shelf seas. The project will support world-class research, high-impact innovation and a window of European excellence worldwide.
It will be structured regionally around four Pilot Super Sites (PSS) and five Integrated Regional Sites (IRS). Through this innovative structure, JERICO-S3 is targeting a more integrative approach to better observe the coastal ecosystem, raising up the scientific excellence and developing the potential of the different sites, with consideration of the regional and local ecosystems. The preliminary development of an e-infrastructure (VRE, Virtual Research Environment) will support scientists and users by offering access to dedicated services and help progress on the design of the Research Infrastructure and its strategy for sustainability.
In JERICO-S3, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences is represented by the Marine Forecasting Centre.
Request for user stories
To build an e-infrastructure that will enable you (stakeholders and end users) to have direct, easy access to the data, tools and information that you need, the developers need to understand how they can help you in your work. To reach such understanding, user stories are being collected.
What is meant by a User Story? A User Story is a very high level and informal record of who you are, what you are doing (job or task title/description), what you need to do it (what sort of tools, data, knowledge you need for that job or task) and what the task outcomes are. It could also mention any special needs – in quantity or quality of the data and information.
You may just have one user story, or you may have several. Please complete a form for each of your stories. Also, forward this survey to your colleagues. You could also add additional user stories on behalf of other people or your own stakeholders and end users.
The JERICO-RI, a Pan European Sustainable Research Infrastructure
JERICO-S3 follows 2 previous EU funded projects: JERICO-FP7 (2011-2014) and JERICO-NEXT (2015-2019). All were coordinated by IFREMER, and JERICO-S3 was officially launched on 1 February 2020 and kicked off in San Sebastian, Spain, on 17-21 February 2020.
The JERICO-RI is a long-term framework providing high-quality marine data, expertise and infrastructures for Europe’s coastal seas. The data are multidisciplinary, standardised, quality controlled, sustained, interoperable and free to access and use.
The vision is to improve and innovate the cooperation in coastal observatories in Europe by implementing the coastal part of a European Ocean Observing System, to cooperate with other European initiatives as ESFRI (EURO-ARGO, EMSO, EMBRC), Integrated Infrastructures (FIXO3 etc.), OCEAN OF TOMORROW sensors innovation project (SenseNET, NEXOS), the emerging European biological network (EMBRC) and EMODnet to contribute to provide services to the research community and the society.
The Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) has joined the EU4Ocean Platform as a founding member. As research, monitoring and communication on the marine world are important activities of RBINS, this was a logical step. In the EU4Ocean Platform, RBINS will engage and collaborate with organisations and initiatives of various kinds and mobilise its efforts in the field of ocean literacy. The founders of the EU4Ocean Platform met for the first time on 18 June 2020 and were officially presented on 2 July 2020.
The ocean is a source of life for human beings. It gives us food, oxygen and energy. It is home to many species and acts as climate regulator. Understanding how we influence the ocean and how the ocean influences us is at the core of ocean literacy. This understanding allows us to make responsible choices to better protect our ocean and to use the opportunities it offers in a sustainable manner. This is what we are striving for in Europe, contributing to the improvement of the well-being of Europeans, as envisioned and recently confirmed in the European Green Deal.
The European Ocean Coalition (EU4Ocean) connects diverse organisations, projects and people that contribute to ocean literacy and the sustainable management of the ocean. Supported by the European Commission, this bottom-up inclusive initiative aims at uniting the voices of Europeans to make the ocean a concern of everyone!
The EU4Ocean Platform will be a focal point for organizations and initiatives to connect, collaborate and mobilize efforts on ocean literacy. It will offer a dynamic topic-oriented working environment that stimulates collaboration, exchange of practices and dialogue across the many different target groups leading to the creation of new ocean literacy partnerships and innovative actions, co-designed by organizations and youth.
The EU4Ocean Platform objectives
Consolidate and build on existing initiatives in ocean literacy spanning different stakeholder sectors;
Connect disparate and diverse stakeholders acting in ocean literacy to form an inclusive ocean literacy community network that stimulates an environment of concrete actions and commitments to create an ‘ocean-literate generation’;
Jointly identify in topic-oriented groups best opportunities in ocean literacy activities that can be scaled up to larger campaigns to raise awareness in wider society (the first working groups will focus on ‘Climate and Ocean’, ‘Food from the Ocean’ and ‘Healthy and Clean Ocean’);
Ensure the Youth are an integral and active part of ocean literacy activities;
Act as a focal point for the European Ocean Literacy community for the preparatory planning to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, and in particular its ocean literacy components; and
Build momentum for EU4Ocean to ensure growth and spreading of the initiative beyond the project lifetime.
Members of the EU4Ocean platform can expect to gain visibility, added value and impact for their existing activities. Activities can also be increasingly connected and contribute to the growing European movement in ocean literacy. Members also get the chance to contribute to the central focal point for collaborative dialogue and action in Ocean Literacy in Europe (the EU4Ocean Coalition), and to work with other organisations and individuals. This could potentially lead to the formation of new partnerships and/or innovative methods, the exploration of diverse funding opportunities and the upscaling of ocean literacy activities into campaigns.
Launch of the EU4Ocean Coalition
On June 8th, 2020, the first Virtual Ocean Literacy Summit was organised on the occasion of the World Oceans Day. There was no better chance to officially launch and celebrate the EU4Ocean coalition and its dedication to ocean literacy, together with Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, and IOC-UNESCO. Because of the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting took place virtually to officially announce and celebrate this launch and share ideas and perspective for the protection of our blue planet.
Founding Members of the EU4Ocean Platform
The founding members of the EU4Ocean Platform, including the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, met a first time in an online meeting on 18 June. In this meeting, the participants expressed their motivation to work with each other to advance ocean literacy and develop concrete activities that will create real awareness, engagement and momentum across society for action and change. The EU4Ocean Platform brings together a wide diversity of stakeholders spanning the areas of marine research, science-policy, blue economy industry and the private sector, civil society, arts, education, youth and media. This includes multiple scales from local and national organisations to regional sea and European initiatives. In the next step, the members will be co-designing EU4Ocean events coming up on 24-25 September.
The final list of founding members of the EU4Ocean Platform – no less than 76 of them – was officially announced on July 2nd, 2020.
On Monday 29 June 2020, four new young white storks were equipped with transmitters in the Zwin Nature Park in Knokke-Heist. As such they follow in the footsteps of the three juvenile stork who were equipped with transmitters here in 2019, in collaboration with the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. Thanks to the transmitters, the scientists are able to continuously monitor the storks and obtain information about the migration routes, the wintering areas and the dangers the storks face. The research also makes it possible to estimate the consequences of changing conditions during the storks’ migration and wintering.
For information on the history of white storks in the Zwin Nature Park, in Belgium and in Europe, and for details on the design and technical aspects of the Belgian transmitter research, we refer to the article that was published in 2019. In this contribution the focus is on what the transmitter-storks from 2019 have taught us in the meantime, and on the continuation of the research.
Winter Adventures
The route followed by the three young Zwin-storks (Emily = red, Reinout = green, Hadewijch = blue) after being equipped with a transmitter on 26 June 2019 is summarised in the following animation, and commented upon in the text underneath.
After installing the transmitters, the young storks stayed in their nests for another two weeks. On 10 July the first flights were registered, the following weeks the area around the Zwin was extensively explored. The big departure took place on 21 August. The three birds departed together (no doubt in the company of other birds of the same species, but not their parents – it is known that they spend the winter in the Zwin Nature Park) and crossed France in no less than 6 days. On 30 August, meanwhile in northern Spain, they separated their ways.
Emily turned out to be in the biggest hurry. On September 1st she was already near Gibraltar, and on September 23rd she crossed ‘the Strait’ to Morocco. After some wandering around in the north of that country she finally settled in a fixed winter area around mid-November. But things didn’t end well for her: on 20 February she flew into a high-voltage pylon and got electrocuted.
Reinout, Emily’s sibling, on the other hand, was the least hurried of the trio. He stayed near Madrid until the beginning of October, before descending further to the south of Spain. And there he stayed, the winter was spent in the region of Seville. Mid-March he started his return journey, passing Belgium (where he spent one night) on 12-13 April, and then flying back and forth in the central Netherlands and the neighbouring part of Germany.
Hadewijch (from another nest) stayed in N-Spain until mid-September, but finally made the crossing to Africa on September 30th. There she also wandered around, to settle in a fixed area in the north of Morocco at the end of November (though another area than Emily). At the end of March 2020 she left this area again, and started heading north. After a long stop in central France (mid-April – end of May) she then flew straight back to the Zwin Nature Park, where she arrived on 3 June and is still present today.
So far only three storks were followed during one year, so we are talking about a small sample and have to be cautious about linking strong conclusions to the results. But there are certainly some interesting observations:
the three birds left together and stayed together for a considerable distance (as far as N-Spain)
even after the split-up, they repeatedly visited the same areas, but at different times → points towards potentially exceptional importance of certain areas
visits to landfill sites are a striking feature → interesting in relation to the important question of the impact of the European ban on open landfill sites (soon to be applied in the Iberian Peninsula) on species that have learned to look for food here
American crayfish, an introduced exotic species, are a sought-after snack in the Spanish rice fields.
one bird stayed in Europe, but the two that reached Africa didn’t cross the Sahara either
when the birds settle for the winter, the range suddenly becomes very small
electrocution is a real danger to large birds (confirmation)
young birds show a great lust for wandering and start the return journey rather late, but a return to the region of birth is already possible in the first year
Due to the small sample and the limited time span of the investigation so far, the above findings should not yet be considered to be significant conclusions. That is why the 2019 storks are still being monitored, and on 29 June 2020 four more storks were equipped with transmitters at the Zwin Nature Park (watch the video!). This time they originate from three different nests. The intention is to further increase the number of storks in the next few years. By the way, the transmitters remained unchanged compared to 2019. They weigh only 25 grams (less than one percent of the body weight) and are very sustainable. Working on solar energy, they transmit the accurate data collected by their GPS via the GSM network. When there is no range, everything is stored in an internal memory, and transmitted when possible. And there is also communication with the transmitters in both directions, e.g. the frequency of the transmission of location details can be adjusted.
Also the traditional ringing research remains important for building insights and formulating answers to the challenge of protecting storks, and migratory birds in general. After all, it is not enough to protect migratory birds in their breeding areas, this is also necessary in the winter quarters and along the entire migration route.
The results of the research can be followed on the website of the Zwin Nature Park – Operatie Ooievaar.
We are still looking for names for the four newly-equipped storks. Proposals can be submitted until 10 July, accompanied by a short justification for the proposed names. On 15 July the chosen names will be announced.
Interesting to know is that the sex of storks is almost impossible to determine externally. Only during mating can it be seen with certainty which position is taken by the two partners. Therefore, the sex of the young birds from 2019 is not yet known. It is quite possible that Reinout is the only female, and that the names Emily and Hadewijch were assigned to males. Maybe choose gender-neutral names? For the birds from 2020, however, the sex will soon be known, as some feathers have been collected for DNA analysis.
As an international airport for birds, the Zwin Nature Park is a knowledge and expertise centre for bird migration. In addition to ringing storks and installing transmitters, the Zwin Nature Park also focuses on ringing of other bird species. From 1 August to 7 November 2020, ringing will take place almost every day, and the public will also be able to observe this activity. In Belgium, the scientific ringing of birds is coordinated by the BeBIRDS group of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS).
A new report has been published (only available in Dutchand French) with information on strandings and sightings of marine mammals in Belgium in 2019. Also some remarkable fish and the observations of sea turtles in our waters are discussed. Furthermore, the report contains information about marine mammals in exhibitions and the excavation of Sperm Whale Valentine in Koksijde.
The Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) has been responsible for coordinating research into the strandings and cause of death of marine mammals in Belgium since the early 1990s. Information on observations at sea is also collected. With the collaboration of SEALIFE Blankenberge and the Universities of Liège and Ghent, RBINS has, as it does every year, brought together the available data in a report.
Relatively Few Strandings of Harbour Porpoises
In 2019 51 harbour porpoises washed ashore: a low number compared to previous years. More than half of these animals were in a far state of decomposition, and often the cause of death could no longer be determined. Four porpoises had ended their lives as bycatch, four others as a result of predation by a grey seal. The estimated density of harbour porpoises at sea in June and August was about the average of previous years. The only other cetacean found stranded was a highly decomposed common dolphin.
Like last year, a solitary, social bottlenose dolphin was present for months in the area bordering French waters. In addition, a group of bottlenose dolphins was observed twice. More exceptional were the sightings of a humpback and a minke whale.
More Seals and Strange Guests
The presence of seals on our coast is still on the rise; in the port of Nieuwpoort there is now a permanent resting place which is often used by more than 10 harbour seals. Grey seals also seem to be becoming more common. This translates into increasing numbers of dead and dying seals on the beach: 47, the highest number ever recorded. SeaLife took care of 11 Grey and 15 Common Seals.
In 2019, two leatherback turtles and some sunfish were observed. Their presence was possibly related to an unusual influx of Atlantic water. The exact species to which a stranded sunfish belonged is still under investigation.
Marine Mammals in Expositions
Marine mammals are very popular: some temporary or permanent exhibitions were opened in 2019, and the skeleton of a sperm whale that was washed ashore in 1989 was excavated with the aim of preparing and exhibiting it.
Finally, the report also contains editorials on underwater noise and porpoises, the international dimension of marine mammal research, some well-known seals in Nieuwpoort, and extreme fluctuations in the weight of seals.
For information about recent sightings of marine mammals in Belgium and instructions on what to do when stranded, please visit the website marinemammals.be. The complete report for 2019, as well as the older marine mammal reports, can be consulted here.
By the end of 2020, 399 offshore wind turbines will have been installed in the Belgian part of the North Sea. During the past decade, scientists have monitored their impact on the marine environment. For the occasion of Global Wind Day 2020, the scientific partners and the Belgian Offshore Platform summarize what we have learned so far about the longer-term effects onto a variety of ecosystem components, from seafloor invertebrates over fish to birds and marine mammals. The environmental impacts of offshore wind farms prove not to be black or white: turbine foundations do initiate diverse ‘reefs’ of seafloor invertebrates around the turbines but are no equivalent alternatives for species-rich natural hard substrates, wind farms attract some seabird species but deter others, piling sound impact on harbour porpoises exists but is short-lived, offshore wind farms locally benefit the fish fauna and do not influence fisheries in a negative way. These nuanced insights allow to further trigger mitigation of the unwanted impacts and to promote the impacts deemed good towards a maximum environment-friendly development of offshore wind farms.
Belgium is a world leader in the offshore wind industry. In the ‘first offshore wind phase’, a zone of 238 km² was reserved for wind farm construction along the border with the Netherlands. From 2008 onwards, 341 wind turbines with a total production capacity of 1775 MW were constructed in this zone, grouped in seven wind farms. The six first wind farms have produced 4.6 TWh of electricity in 2019, representing about 6% of Belgium’s total electricity consumption. The seventh wind farm is operational since May 2020, and an eighth wind farm will begin to produce energy in the second half of 2020, bringing the total number of turbines to 399. The production capacity will then increase to 2262 MW and the production of an average of 8 TWh or approximately 10 % of Belgium’s total electricity demand. A second wind zone of 281 km² close to the French border (the ‘second offshore wind phase’) is established in the new Belgian Marine Spatial Plan for the period 2020-2026. This zone intends to add a minimum of 2,000 MW to the total Belgian offshore wind energy production capacity.
Zones reserved for offshore wind farms in the Belgian part of the North Sea. Eastern shaded area = first phase, western shaded areas = second phase, dotted lines demarcate areas for cables (and pipelines). (Source: Marien Ruimtelijk Plan 2020-2026, Bijlage 4: Kaarten)
During the past decade of offshore wind farm construction, the technology and construction practices have changed drastically. Changes include an evolution in foundation types (from gravity-based and jacket foundations to XL monopile wind turbines), an expansion of the construction area towards more offshore waters and an increase in the size and capacity of the wind turbines (from 3 MW turbines with a 90 m rotor diameter to 9.5 MW turbines with a 164 m rotor diameter).
As the installation of wind turbines at sea inevitably has a certain ecological impact, developers do not only need domain concessions but also an environmental permit. These are only issued if an assessment based on current insights shows that the impact of a wind farm on the marine environment is likely to be acceptable. They also impose a monitoring programme that assesses whether the predictions were accurate and whether certain environmental effects were overlooked or should become subject to adjusted environmental conditions.
Annemie Vermeylen, secretary-general of the Belgian Offshore Platform, the (non-profit) association of investors and owners of wind farms in the Belgian part of the North Sea, explains why and how the sector is involved: “The generation of wind energy at sea is part of the ongoing transition to the production of sustainable, green energy, which is widely supported by society. In order to be entitled to rightfully use the term ‘sustainable’, wind farm operators are contributing to the funding of scientific research on the impact of wind farms on the marine environment.”
The monitoring programme WinMon.BE has evaluated the environmental impact of both the construction and operational phases of the Belgian offshore wind farms from the start. “With this programme, we develop a proper understanding of the impact of the offshore wind industry on different scales. We learn to distinguish between shorter- and longer-term effects, and gain insight into the impact of individual wind turbines as well as of all wind farms combined“, says Steven Degraer of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, coordinator of WinMon.BE. “In order to understand the cumulative impact of wind farms in the southern North Sea we also need to look beyond our borders. For example, 344 km² are set apart for wind farm construction in the adjacent Dutch Borssele area, and 122 km² in the French Dunkerque zone, while marine fauna doesn’t know national borders” Degraer adds.
Effects are Diverse
As WinMon.BE evolved to be the basis for the understanding of effects of offshore wind farms on different spatial and temporal scales, onto a variety of ecosystem components (from seafloor invertebrates over fish to birds and marine mammals) and also on the seabed itself, it is difficult to summarise the impact as ‘positive’ or ‘negative’. The series of WinMon.BE reports describe all the results of ten years of monitoring of offshore wind farms in the Belgian part of the North Sea in detail. Main lessons learnt include:
Impact is oftenspecific to sites, foundation-types or even individual turbines
This highlights the importance of a continued monitoring at the different sites and turbine types.
Foundationsare not a long-term alternative for species-rich natural hard substrates
There are three succession stages in the fouling communities on wind turbine foundations. Earlier reports describing these as biodiversity hotspots generally refer to the species-rich second stage (characterized by large numbers of suspension feeders, such as the small amphipod crustacean Jassa herdmani), but continued monitoring now shows that a third, possibly climax stage follows. This has a lower species diversity, with frilled anemone and blue mussel as the dominant species.
Sediment fining and higher densities (biomass) and diversity (species richness) of seafloor communities (e.g. worms, shellfish, crustaceans and starfish) are consistently observed in closer vicinity of the wind turbines. Species associated with hard substrates also appear and increase in abundance in the surrounding soft sediments. Over time, the ‘reef effect’ of a single turbine may expand to the level of wind farms.
Effects of wind farms can differ substantially between species within the same species group
Monitoring showed avoidance of the wind farm area by northern gannet, common guillemot and razorbill. In contrast, great cormorant, herring gull and greater black-backed gull are attracted to the wind farms. Apart from birds, it is also clear that differences in attraction exist among invertebrate and fish species.
The direct sound impact from turbine installation is short-lived
The high impulsive sound levels produced during offshore wind farm construction (pile driving) result in displacement and disturbance of harbour porpoises, the most common cetacean in the southern North Sea. During pile driving, detections decrease in areas up to 20 km around the construction sites, but this is no longer the case once the wind turbines have been installed.
New habitats attract some unexpected visitors
Some species that were only rarely observed in the Belgian part of the North Sea, are now more regularly found in association with the wind farms. These include at least four rock-loving species of fish that dwell around the base of the foundations, but also a number of non-indigenous invertebrates that occur in the zones near the water surface (intertidal and splash zones). The latter habitats are largely new to the offshore part of the Belgian North Sea. It was also demonstrated that the offshore wind farms are visited by migrating Nathusius’ pipistrelles, a species of bat.
Fisheries are not negatively affected by the presence of the Belgian offshore wind farms
The exclusion of fisheries from the Belgian offshore wind farms, probably in combination with increased food availability near the turbines, leads to a refugium effect for some fish species. An analysis of the fishing activity and efficiency showed that fishing had only subtly changed over the years, and that fishermen have adapted to the new situation by increasing their fishing effort at the edges of the wind farms. Catch rates of sole remained comparable to those in the wider area, catch rates of plaice were even higher around some wind farms.
“The current cooperation model, in which the offshore wind industry and scientists document the impact of both the construction and operational phases, also allows us to design, test and improve mitigation measures to directly manage unwanted effects on the marine ecosystem” says Degraer. A selection of impact mitigation techniques is also presented in the WinMon.BE reports. An obvious example is the sound mitigation, e.g. by means of Big Bubble Curtains and acoustic deterrent devices, that mitigate the impact of impulsive sound on marine mammals and potentially also on other marine organisms. But mitigating solutions don’t necessarily have to be high tech, e.g. curtailing the activity of turbines when bird migration or bat activity is high, can lower the risk on collisions. Offshore wind farms, on the other hand, also offer great opportunities for strengthening positive impacts like the reef effect attracting fish and increasing biodiversity. This knowledge may be used to take action to further promote biodiversity inside wind farms.
Although our understanding of the effects of wind turbines on the marine environment and its inhabitants has grown significantly over the past 10 years, there is still much scope for future research. The modelling of bird and bat collision risks and the monitoring of the impact of continuous underwater sound that is generated by operational turbines are examples of fields that we have started to explore but cannot yet report on. Also what the longer-term effects on fish populations are, and how the observed behavioral changes impact individual fitness, reproductive success and survival of animals remains yet unknown. In addition, it is also important to further extend the time series of all variables that we have monitored to see if the patterns that we have seen so far are perpetuated.
The Monitoring Programme WinMon.BE is a cooperation between the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), the Research Institute Nature and Forest (INBO), the Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO) and the Marine Biology Research Group of Ghent University, and is coordinated by the Marine Ecology and Management team (MARECO) of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.
Global Wind Day is a worldwide event that occurs annually on 15 June. It is a day for discovering wind energy, its power and the possibilities it holds to reshape our energy systems, decarbonise our economies and boost jobs and growth.
In the morning of Sunday June 7th, 2020, the police of Middelkerke was contacted about the stranding of a live young porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). Experts from RBINS also went to the spot and found out that it was a recently born individual, a female with a length of 82 cm. Not only the limited length indicates a very young animal, also the fetal folds on the flanks and the hairs on the snout are characteristics that are only found in ‘neonates’. Fetal folds are due to the fact that cetaceans are bent dorso-laterally in the womb, and the hairs on the snout are a reminder that they are mammals. Both characteristics disappear soon after birth.
Porpoises of such a young age are fully dependent on their mother, it is impossible to keep them alive in a shelter without that mother. After consultation with the specialized veterinarians of Sea Life Blankenberge and the Bouddewijn Seapark of Bruges, it was therefore decided to put the animal back into the sea. A policeman and an RBINS expert needed several attempts to get the porpoise past the surf without it quickly returning to the beach.
Even though a return to the sea was the only option, those involved knew that the survival of the animal was by no means guaranteed. After all, the young porpoise was already very weakened, no mother could be identified in the area with certainty, and the strong surf also made a possible reunion of mother and child difficult. The fear came true: on Monday 8 June 2020, the young porpoise was found dead on the beach.
The European Marine Board’s (EMB) 6th Future Science Brief on ‘Big Data in Marine Science’ presents recent advances, challenges and opportunities for big data to support marine science and covers topics including climate and marine biogeochemistry, habitat mapping for marine conservation, marine biological observations, and food provision from seas and the ocean. The document was launched on 28 April 2020 during a dedicated webinar, with over 400 participants, and is the outcome of the work of the EMB Working Group on Big Data, which kicked-off in May 2019. The Future Science Brief and infographic summaries are available on the EMB website and video recordings of the presentations are available on the EMB YouTube channel.
Sentinel-2 image in true colours of the study area (10 m resolution) and Suspended Particulate Matter product (SPM)
Sentinel-2 image of May 1st, 2016 (true colour image on top, and chlorophyll-a product below) showing a near-shore algal bloom near Ostend
