Offshore Renewables

This review presents recent concepts, understanding and experience of the restoration, recovery and human-mediated modification of estuarine, coastal and marine ecosystems. It shows that these can be divided into four categories: natural recovery from a natural or anthropogenic change (whether adverse or otherwise); anthropogenic interventions in response to a degraded or anthropogenically changed environment; anthropogenic responses to a single stressor; and habitat enhancement or creation. A conceptual framework for restoration and recovery of marine marginal and semi-enclosed areas is presented after exploring and refining the plethora of terms used in restoration science and management. Examples of management action are given including managed realignment and the restoration of docks, biogenic reefs, saltmarsh, seagrass, beaches and upper estuarine water quality. We emphasise that although recovery techniques are worthwhile if they can be carried out, they rarely (if ever) fully replace lost habitat. Moreover, while they may have some success in marginal or semi-enclosed areas such as coastal bays, estuaries and fringing habitats, they are less relevant to open coastal and marine habitats. Therefore the best option available in the latter can only be to remove the stressor, as the cause of any change, to prevent other stressors from operating and to allow the conditions suitable for natural recovery. This review emphasises that whereas some ecological concepts related to restoration are well understood, for example, the nature of ecosystem structure and functioning, others such as carrying capacity, resilience and ecosystem goods and services are still poorly quantified for the marine and estuarine environments. The linking between these ecological concepts and the management framework is also relatively recent but is required to give a holistic approach to understanding, managing and manipulating these environments.

This paper reviews various issues related to wind-power generation, one of the more popular forms of renewable energy, including attractions and challenges of electric power generation through onshore and offshore resources.
Significant increases in wind-turbine dimensions, rated power-generation capacity and size of wind farm developments over the past two decades are projected to continue. Offshore wind-power generation presents many engineering challenges including: limited guidelines available for analysis and design of foundation/support structures; inadequate logistics for construction/fabrication; and comparatively expensive  operation and maintenance costs, which combined result in current levelised cost of energy approximately double that for onshore wind-power generation. Different offshore foundation options are discussed in terms of general layout, loading characteristics and related fundamental natural frequency. Outlooks for some new approaches/developments and areas for further research are identified that may go towards reducing the levelised cost of energy for wind-power generation more in line with that from other energy resources, thereby enhancing the attractiveness of this industry for potential investors.

Although West Papua is rich in natural resources, over 40% of people living there fall below the poverty line. Many local residents rely on coastal resources, particularly fisheries for income and food security. Although ecosystems here are relatively healthy compared to many other areas of Southeast Asia, they are no longer pristine and the fishery stocks of some areas are severely depleted. Furthermore, unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, poor development practices, and rapid human population growth threaten these ecosystems and the local communities who depend on them.

If offshore wind (OSW) is to contribute to California’s renewable
energy goals, government agencies, developers, and the public must
first understand the industry’s feasibility in all coastal regions. Out of
mutual interest in locally reducing fossil fuel use and expanding 
renewable energy production, the clients proposed this project 
to explore the potential of OSW off San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, 
and Ventura Counties (the region of interest, or ROI). The ‘CalWind’ 
team has spent the last year working toward this objective. The 
breadth of topics associated with wind energy development in 
California’s marine environment is substantial, and performing 
robust studies of all OSW feasibility variables was beyond the scope
of a one-year project. Therefore, CalWind focused on three facets of
feasibility:  
 
1) Stakeholder perceptions
2) Spatial analysis of wind resources and conflicting uses 
3) Permitting pathways  
 
Interviews and a public survey identify key stakeholders and show 
that the majority of survey respondents are supportive of OSW. 
However, concerns arise around possible viewshed and avian 
impacts. Next, commercially exploitable wind resources exist in the 
ROI, but spatial analyses indicate that conflicts will likely occur 
between OSW development and current uses of the marine 
environment. Lastly, the permitting process for OSW is complex 
and untested. The team mapped this process and concludes that 
regulatory synergies could be enhanced through inter-agency 
cooperation.Limiting consideration to the factors analyzed in this 
project, OSW development in the ROI is theoretically feasible, but 
significant development barriers currently restrict industry 
advancement.

Good jobs and economic sustainability for coastal communities across the UK through a healthy marine environment. UK coastal communities rely on the ocean for food, jobs, and recreation. But as environmental and economic pressures grow, natural ecosystems are being pushed to their limit. We need a new vision for coastal communities, one that delivers good jobs and economic prosperity now and for future generations.

In this paper a Methodology for Integrated Socio-Economic Assessment (MISEA) of the viability and sustainability of different designs of Multi-Use Offshore Platforms (MUOPs) is presented. MUOPs are designed for multi-use of ocean space for energy extraction (wind power production and wave energy), aquaculture and transport maritime services. The developed methodology allows identification, valuation and assessment of: the potential range of impacts of a number of feasible designs of MUOP investments, and the likely responses of those impacted by the investment project. This methodology provides decision-makers with a valuable decision tool to assess whether a MUOP project increases the overall social welfare and hence should be undertaken, under alternative specifications regarding its design, the discount rate and the stream of net benefits, if a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) is to be followed or sensitivity analysis of selected criteria in a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) f...

Spatial management, including setting aside conservation areas, is central to curbing the global decline of biodiversity, but many threats originate from beyond the boundaries of conservation areas. This is a particular problem in marine systems, which are influenced by many activities on land. In addition, connections between land and sea support many species and ecological processes valued for conservation. Integrated land and sea conservation planning is therefore of utmost importance. We review the literature describing connections between land and sea and how they have been incorporated into conservation planning. Land-sea connections include land-sea processes, the natural flows occurring between realms; cross-system threats, which originate in one realm and affect another; and socioeconomic interactions associated with management decisions to maintain or restore land-sea processes and to prevent or mitigate cross-system threats. We highlight the need to explicitly incorporate land-sea connections in conservation planning and suggest ways of doing this through the use of a novel operational framework for integrated land-sea planning. On the basis of expert surveys and a literature review, we also identify those aspects of conservation planning for which improved integration between land and sea is most needed.

Over the last few years, enormous efforts have been made to improve the energy sector by enhancing sustainability. The application of sustainable design approaches, the selection of low-impact materials, waste recycling and reuse, among others, are all factors in the construction of offshore platforms. The examination of offshore platform sustainability performance, including the creation of quantification methodologies, indicators, and other metrics, has also been extensively researched around the world. We welcome articles that examine the design and analysis of offshore structures, sustainable development, wind turbine design, oil and gas platform design, market reviews, literature reviews and research papers on the asset standpoint to be submitted to this special issue. We encourage research into the characteristics of different components of the oil and gas industry, from design, exploration and transfer, and related issues like oil spillage, oil recovery, carbon capture and geotechnical survey. The main goal of this special issue is to address the key challenges, thereby promoting research on offshore structures. You are encouraged to contribute a research or comprehensive review article for consideration for publication in Sustainability, an international Open Access journal which provides an advanced forum for research findings in areas related to sustainability and sustainable development. The journal publishes original research articles, reviews, conference proceedings (peer-reviewed full articles) and communications. It is confidently expressed that you will find the journal contributes to enhancing understanding of sustainability and fostering initiatives and applications of sustainability-based measures and activities. The submission deadline is 15th December, 2022.

L'objectif de ce travail est de représenter correctement dans un modèle numérique l'impact des fondations d'éoliennes offshore de type monopile sur la circulation et le transport sédimentaireà l'échelle régionale. Le modèle de circulation régionale MARS3D est appliqué sur la zone du futur siteéolien de Courseulles-sur-Mer (Calvados, France). Leś eoliennes sont prises en compte dans le modèle en utilisant deux approches. La première méthode consisteà tenir compte directement deséoliennes dans le maillage et la secondè a paramétrer cet impact en ajoutant des termes sources dans leséquations du moment et dans leséquations du modèle de turbulence k-epsilon. Les résultats issus des deux techniques sont comparées. Les deux méthodes montrent l'impact attendu sur la circulation. Une zone de décélération est observée en amont et en aval de la pile alors que les courants sont accélérés sur les côtés. Le lit sédimentaire estérodé dans les zones où le courant est accéléré par la présence de la monopile, entraînant une augmentation de la concentration de sédiment en suspension.

This review presents recent concepts, understanding and experience of the restoration, recovery and human-mediated modification of estuarine,
coastal and marine ecosystems. It shows that these can be divided into four categories: natural recovery from a natural or anthropogenic
change (whether adverse or otherwise); anthropogenic interventions in response to a degraded or anthropogenically changed environment; anthropogenic
responses to a single stressor; and habitat enhancement or creation. A conceptual framework for restoration and recovery of marine
marginal and semi-enclosed areas is presented after exploring and refining the plethora of terms used in restoration science and management.
Examples of management action are given including managed realignment and the restoration of docks, biogenic reefs, saltmarsh, seagrass,
beaches and upper estuarine water quality. We emphasise that although recovery techniques are worthwhile if they can be carried out, they rarely
(if ever) fully replace lost habitat. Moreover, while they may have some success in marginal or semi-enclosed areas such as coastal bays, estuaries
and fringing habitats, they are less relevant to open coastal and marine habitats. Therefore the best option available in the latter can only
be to remove the stressor, as the cause of any change, to prevent other stressors from operating and to allow the conditions suitable for natural
recovery. This review emphasises that whereas some ecological concepts related to restoration are well understood, for example, the nature of
ecosystem structure and functioning, others such as carrying capacity, resilience and ecosystem goods and services are still poorly quantified for
the marine and estuarine environments. The linking between these ecological concepts and the management framework is also relatively recent
but is required to give a holistic approach to understanding, managing and manipulating these environments.

40% of people living there fall below the poverty line. Many local residents rely on coastal resources, particularly fisheries for income and food security. Although ecosystems here are relatively healthy compared to many other areas of Southeast Asia, they are no longer pristine and the fishery stocks of some areas are severely depleted. Furthermore, unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, poor development practices, and rapid human population growth threaten these ecosystems and the local communities who depend on them. Given its high biodiversity, good habitat condition, presence of rare and threatened species, and importance to fisheries, the Bird's Head Seascape (BHS) is a regional, national, and global priority for marine conservation. The West Papua government agencies have developed a network of 12 Marine Protected Areas (MPA) protecting over 3.6 million hectares of islands and coastal waters. These MPAs include Cendrawasih Bay National Marine Park, Abun, 7 MPAs in Raja Ampat, and a large MPA in Kaimana. Ecosystem-based management (EBM) aims to maintain healthy, productive, and resilient environments that provide humans with the ecosystem services they need today and in the future. To assist the governments of the BHS in adopting an EBM approach, three environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) [The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Conservation International (CI) Indonesia and World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-Indonesia] have worked with local partners since 2001 to help establish EBM and inform policy decisions related to: MPA MANAGEMENT FISHERIES MANAGEMENT SPATIAL PLANNING THREATENED SPECIES MANAGEMENT MPA management for the BHS MPA network Fisheries management at Regency, Provincial and Regional scales Spatial Planning for marine and coastal areas at Regency, Provincial and National Government levels Species management for endangered species such as turtles, dugongs, cetaceans, and whale sharks.

Determining the geographic scale at which to apply ecosystem-based management (EBM) has proven to be an obstacle for many marine conservation programs. Generalizations based on geographic proximity, taxonomy, or life history characteristics provide little predictive power in determining overall patterns of connectivity, and therefore offer little in terms of delineating boundaries for marine spatial management areas. Here, we provide a case study of 27 taxonomically and ecologically diverse species (including reef fishes, marine mammals, gastropods, echinoderms, cnidarians, crustaceans, and an elasmobranch) that reveal four concordant barriers to dispersal within the Hawaiian Archipelago which are not detected in single-species exemplar studies. We contend that this multispecies approach to determine concordant patterns of connectivity is an objective and logical way in which to define the minimum number of management units and that EBM in the Hawaiian Archipelago requires at least five spatially managed regions.

An ecosystem-based management research partnership between the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology and Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, specifically with the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve and, later, the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, provides a case study to analyze integration of scientific research into management plans through collaborative communications. Ecosystem-based management seeks input from disparate stakeholders and requires effective communication systems for the public, science, and management partners that bypass differences in organizational culture and communication styles. Here, we examine a successful partnership within the framework of ecosystem-based management to survey and evaluate cultural differences, understand what facilitates collaborative communication, highlight factors that impede a successful partnership, and identify areas for improvement. Effective communication has been achieved through an analysis ...

This paper analyses the degree to which lifetime production and availability figures are subject to variation due to inherent inter annual climate variations. This is achieved by performing operational simulations based on different measurement periods chosen from 10 years of historic wind and wave data in the North Sea, establishing the financial implications this has for the industry. The investigation is carried out using a robust Monte Carlo simulation climate and lifetime operational expenditure model. Significant variations are observed with regards to availability, power production and OPEX costs with OPEX costs varying by 15% above and below the average value when a single year is used for the simulation input. It has also been demonstrated that results with similar availability predictions can have divergent power production and OPEX results. This is explained by the correlations between wind speed, wave height, accessibility and power production. The best practice to minimize uncertainty in cost projections from short term measurement campaigns has been identified.

The North Sea Regional Advisory Council (NSRAC) is the main forum through which fisheries interests are involved in Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) on the North Sea. The NSRAC is a relatively new and fragile forum involving various stakeholders. MSP confronts this group with a series of broader issues such as inter alia wind farms, transportation, and marine protected areas. The spatial focus involves both a reduction and a multiplication of the levels of geographical scale at which information for management must be resolved. The ongoing development of these institutions provides lessons about facilitating the evolution of cross-scale institutional linkages that strengthen adaptive, eco-system-based management

Spatial management, including setting aside conservation areas, is central to curbing the global decline of biodiversity, but many threats originate from beyond the boundaries of conservation areas. This is a particular problem in marine systems, which are influenced by many activities on land. In addition, connections between land and sea support many species and ecological processes valued for conservation. Integrated land and sea conservation planning is therefore of utmost importance. We review the literature describing connections between land and sea and how they have been incorporated into conservation planning. Land-sea connections include land-sea processes, the natural flows occurring between realms; cross-system threats, which originate in one realm and affect another; and socioeconomic interactions associated with management decisions to maintain or restore land-sea processes and to prevent or mitigate cross-system threats. We highlight the need to explicitly incorporate land-sea connections in conservation planning and suggest ways of doing this through the use of a novel operational framework for integrated land-sea planning. On the basis of expert surveys and a literature review, we also identify those aspects of conservation planning for which improved integration between land and sea is most needed.

Comprehensive, but not overly technical, this book provides a legal-policy framework to the discussion of how coastal managers can best approach the problem of sea level rise. It identifies legal barriers and offers proposed solutions to mitigate the impact of those barriers. The book introduces the issue, delves into the science behind sea level rise, discusses policy complexities and options, followed by an overview of related legalities, then, bringing it all together, the author applies the principles offered in the book, concluding with strategies and solutions and a perspective on the future.

An ecosystem-based management research partnership between the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology and Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, specifically with the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve and, later, the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, provides a case study to analyze integration of scientific research into management plans through collaborative communications. Ecosystem-based management seeks input from disparate stakeholders and requires effective communication systems for the public, science, and management partners that bypass differences in organizational culture and communication styles. Here, we examine a successful partnership within the framework of ecosystem-based management to survey and evaluate cultural differences, understand what facilitates collaborative communication, highlight factors that impede a successful partnership, and identify areas for improvement. Effective communication has been achieved through an analysis of the organizations cultures and structures to better define communication links. Although specific differences were noted in organization and style, successful integration was accomplished through techniques such as the development of symposia and semiannual reports. This paper will explore the organizational culture analysis and structure evaluation, which are components of a larger study. This science management integration project is an example of how organizational analysis can lead to recommendations for improved communication and integration of science and management.

An ecosystem-based management research partnership between the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology and Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, specifically with the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve and, later, the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, provides a case study to analyze integration of scientific research into management plans through collaborative communications. Ecosystem-based management seeks input from disparate stakeholders and requires effective communication systems for the public, science, and management partners that bypass differences in organizational culture and communication styles. Here, we examine a successful partnership within the framework of ecosystem-based management to survey and evaluate cultural differences, understand what facilitates collaborative communication, highlight factors that impede a successful partnership, and identify areas for improvement. Effective communication has been achieved through an analysis ...

Tourism related to bathing has a growing economic importance in the Guadiana Estuary in southern Spain and Portugal. Polls of local public opinion showed an awareness of potential and current threats to the aquatic environment posed by regulation of river flow and untreated/poorly-treated urban sewage discharge. Because of this strong concern for water quality, it was selected as the policy issue for our application of the Systems Approach Framework (SAF). We developed an integrated simulation model of the Guadiana estuarine system in which the ecological system and socioeconomic components are linked by means of beach eco-label (Blue Flag Award) through its dependence on fecal bacterial thresholds. We quantified the socioeconomic impacts of water quality through an Economic Base Model that is used to portray the effect of increasing employment on resident population as a result of change in coastal water quality. A Cost-Benefit Analysis provides monetary indicators for scenario evaluation. It includes a monetary valuation of changes in water quality on human welfare using a Contingent Valuation Method. Because the population has a strong seasonal influence on the wastewater discharge into the estuary, we were able to simulate the feedback loop between the human activities that control water quality and those that benefit from it. We organized a critical evaluation of our efforts with the stakeholders, which allowed us to better understand their perceptions of the strengths, limitations, and opportunities for future SAF applications. Here we describe several aspects of our efforts that demonstrate the potential value of the SAF to environmental managers and stakeholders in clarifying some of the causal mechanisms, management options, and costs for resolution of the conflictual problem between water quality and tourism in the Guadiana estuary.

In this paper a Methodology for Integrated Socio-Economic Assessment (MISEA) of the viability and sustainability of different designs of Multi-Use Offshore Platforms (MUOPs) is presented. MUOPs are designed for multi-use of ocean space for energy extraction (wind power production and wave energy), aquaculture and transport maritime services. The developed methodology allows identification, valuation and assessment of: the potential range of impacts of a number of feasible designs of MUOP investments, and the likely responses of those impacted by the investment project. This methodology provides decision-makers with a valuable decision tool to assess whether a MUOP project increases the overall social welfare and hence should be undertaken, under alternative specifications regarding its design, the discount rate and the stream of net benefits, if a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) is to be followed or sensitivity analysis of selected criteria in a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) framework. Such a methodology is also crucial for facilitating of the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD adopted in June 2008) that aims to achieve good environmental status of the EU's marine waters by 2020 and to protect the resource base upon which marine-related economic and social activities depend. According to the MSFD each member state must draw up a program of cost-effective measures, while prior to any new measure an impact assessment which contains a detailed cost-benefit analysis of the proposed measures is required.