Client
AILES MARINES SAS
CALENDAR
2024-2026
LOCALISATION
Saint-Brieuc, FRANCE
Context
As part of the environmental monitoring of wind farm in the sea off the Bay of Saint-Brieuc, A specific monitoring program of the biocolonization and the associated reef effect is implemented within the park area during the exploitation phase.
This monitoring is based on the acquisition of high-definition images of the epifauna by a ROV («remote-operated vehicle»). This protocol aims to enable the monitoring of the assemblages of organisms that attach themselves to or are closely associated with the foundations of wind turbines and the substation.
The planned foundations are tripodal jackets (for the wind turbines) and quadripodal jackets (for the substation (OSS)), they are deployed at a depth of approximately -35 m. The objectives of this study are, among others, to study the evolution of the communities forming the biofouling until reaching the equilibrium state (CLIMAX) and the possible differences related to the nature of the seabed on which the foundations are installed.
DETAILED MISSIONS
The purpose of this protocol is to characterize the reef effect associated with the colonization by sessile organisms, that is, those that are fixed to the foundation or closely associated with it, solely because the imaging was performed at a short distance (less than one meter) from the structures. Our missions consisted of:
- The creation of vertical and horizontal profiles with a ROV;
- The acquisition of photos and video of biofouling;
- The identification and quantification of the species that make up the biofouling.
