Flow, Water column & Benthic Ecology 4D (FLOWBEC)

FLOWBEC aims at measuring FLOW, Water Column and Benthic ECology in 4 dimensions to assess the potential effects of Marine Renewable Energy Devices (MREDs) on the environment. It addresses clear knowledge gaps identified by NERC, DEFRA and UKERC in the effects of MREDs on flow conditions, habitats and ecological interactions. It will use a wealth of observation techniques above and under water, ranging from radar to sonar and in situ measurements, to be deployed over 2 years at 3 key sites around the UK. These measurements will feed into models of ecological interactions and habitat preferences, allowing predictions of the multiple effects of large MRED arrays.
Being fully cross-disciplinary, this project will engage different academic beneficiaries at each stage. Researchers in the field of instrument design (in the laboratory and at sea) will benefit from our experience in building the different systems and adapting them to long-term deployments on the seabed, in extremely challenging environments. This will be done by carefully planned Knowledge Exchange activities and open-access publication of our results, as well as exchange of personnel. The avenues opened for continuous imaging of complex and dynamic 3-D structures will be useful to researchers in other fields associated with ecological systems and marine structures, but also in medical 4-D imaging.

From the start of the project we would invite a number of representatives from stakeholder bodies to form a science project board who would review progress and influence scientific focus and outputs. (e.g. Ashley Holt (MMO); Ian Davies (Marine Scotland); Jenny Norris (EMEC) ; CCW, others to be identified once the project begins). This group would be in a position to provide both direct and indirect lines of communication between the project and industry/regulators, potentially acting as an informal filter and conduit for information that will be valued by all parties.

Liaise closely with the hosts of the study sites (EMEC, Wave Hub, Strangford Lough) to explore the most appropriate methods of engaging with developers, regulators and other key stakeholders involved with those sites. In particular we would extend the invitation to observe, comment and influence our research activities as an ongoing process, and potentially adjust our approach based on such feedback.

Where appropriate we would liaise with instrument manufacturers to highlight techniques and data analyses that could have wider market potential. For example Oceanwaves GMBH (radar), Simrad (sonar) etc.

We will liaise closely with NERC's KE Team who we hope will provide a further conduit to a wider stakeholder community and take on the role of coordinating larger cross-project events to showcase the outputs of the projects. In particular an annual mini-conference for marine renewable related research ought to be considered. The wider stakeholder community could include international regulators, media and the planned NERC KE Marine Renewable Energy Portal.

We will take advantage of opportunistic events where appropriate to raise the profile of the project and engage with stakeholders. Possible opportunistic events at which the project could be showcased include PRIMaRE Science Meetings & SOWFIA (EU wave energy project) stakeholder engagement events.

We will explore the merits of a standardized publications policy for project related outputs that may involve allowing stakeholders, with whom we are cooperating, an early sight of any draft publications and sufficient time to respond to results prior to publication if necessary. In addition we will consider a fixed term moratorium on making project data and results available outside the project to account for commercially sensitive issues that may surround prototype device related data. This is already a practice adopted by researchers working in this area and has been found to be a pragmatic approach by all concerned (U. Queens & MCT for example), and a way of minimizing the risk of misinterpretation of results and their potential to damage either party or the industry as a whole.

We will liaise closely with the other NERC funded projects and develop synergistic approaches to KE to maximize impact for all projects and minimize duplication of effort and the potential for stakeholder 'event fatigue'. We aim to begin as we mean to go on in cooperating with the other funded project by proposing an initial joint workshop between the projects to gain a clear understanding of each other's aims and plans and approaches to KE. A combined joint newsletter might be worth investigating, as might be a standard set of introductory slides available for powerpoint presentations illustrating the three projects areas and how they interrelate. The projects already have overlaps in participants - Ian Bryden and George Smith are in both EBAO and FLOWBEC, Beth Scott is in both FLOWBEC and RESPONSE, which will make communications between projects inherent.

We will also liaise with marine renewable energy initiatives in other research councils, such as the upcoming EPSRC-funded SuperGen 3 (decision imminent): Robin Wallace Co-ordinator).