North Sea

Particulate total and organic carbon concentrations in the water column; Dissolved organic carbon concentration in the water column; Turbulence in the water column; Particulate total and organic nitrogen concentrations in the water column; Dissolved total and organic nitrogen concentrations in the water column; Salinity of the water column; Temperature of the water column; Nitrate concentration parameters in the water column; Ammonium and ammonia concentration parameters in water bodies; Silicate concentration parameters in the water column; Chlorophyll pigment concentrations in water bodies; Dissolved oxygen parameters in the water column; Electrical conductivity of the water column; Nitrite concentration parameters in the water column; Dissolved total or organic phosphorus concentration in the water column

Optical backscatter sensors; inorganic carbon analysers; high performance liquid chromatographs; nutrient analysers; CTD

The eSWEETS3 project investigates how large floating offshore wind turbine arrays affect shelf sea physics, chemistry, and biology, focusing on stratification, nutrient mixing, oxygen distribution, and phytoplankton productivity. Observations will be conducted in the NW European shelf seas, including existing floating wind farms in the northern North Sea and surrounding regions. Measurements will be taken throughout the stratified season, from spring to autumn, to capture seasonal dynamics in water column structure and biological activity. The project combines in situ observations using autonomous gliders and sensors, seabed temperature monitoring along power cables, and water sampling for nutrient and phytoplankton pigment analysis via HPLC, with data incorporated into computer models to predict impacts of current and future offshore wind deployments. Understanding turbine-induced turbulence and its effects on shelf seas is essential to guide sustainable renewable energy development, inform regulators, support industry, and improve predictive models of ecosystem responses to climate change. The project is led by researchers from the University of Liverpool (Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences), University of Southampton (School of Ocean and Earth Science), University of Plymouth (School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics, SECaM), Bangor University (School of Ocean Sciences), University of Aberdeen (Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences), University of East Anglia (Environmental Sciences), University of Hull (Biology), National Oceanography Centre (Science and Technology), Scottish Association for Marine Science, and Marine Scotland Science (Marine Laboratory), and is supported by the lead NERC grant NE/X004953/1 and child grants NE/X00404X/1, NE/X00418X/1, NE/X004295/1, NE/X004775/1, NE/X004864/1, NE/X004872/1, NE/X004880/1, NE/X005003/1, and NE/X005577/1.

British Oceanographic Data Centre
Joseph Proudman Building 6 Brownlow Street
Liverpool
Merseyside
L3 5DA
United Kingdom