Publications
Following publications have been announced by our department Hydrodynamics and Data Assimilation. For further information please contact Dr. Johannes Schulz-Stellenfleth, author and co-author of the publications:
She, J., Blauw, A., Laakso, L., Mourre, B., Schulz-Stellenfleth, J., & Wehde, H. (2023): Fit-for-Purpose Information for Offshore Wind Farming Applications – Part-I: Identification of Needs and Solutions. J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2023, 11, 1630, doi:10.3390/jmse11081630
Abstract:
The rapid expansion of offshore wind farms (OWFs) in European seas is accompanied by many challenges, including efficient and safe operation and maintenance, environmental protection, and biodiversity conservation. Effective decision-making for industry and environmental agencies relies on timely, multi-disciplinary marine data to assess the current state and predict the future state of the marine system. Due to high connectivity in space (land–estuarial–coastal sea), socioeconomic (multi-sectoral and cross-board), and environmental and ecological processes in sea areas containing OWFs, marine observations should be fit for purpose in relation to multiple OWF applications. This study represents an effort to map the major observation requirements (Part-I), identify observation gaps, and recommend solutions to fill those gaps (Part-II) in order to address multi-dimension challenges for the OWF industry. In Part-I, six targeted areas are selected, including OWF operation and maintenance, protection of submarine cables, wake and lee effects, transport and security, contamination, and ecological impact assessments. For each application area, key information products are identified, and integrated modeling–monitoring solutions for generating the information products are proposed based on current state-of-the-art methods. The observation requirements for these solutions, in terms of variables and spatial and temporal sampling needs, are therefore identified.
Schulz-Stellenfleth, J., Blauw, A., Laakso, L., Mourre, B., She, J., & Wehde, H. (2023): Fit-for-Purpose Information for Offshore Wind Farming Applications – Part-II: Gap Analysis and Recommendations. J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2023, 11, 1817, doi:10.3390/jmse11091817
Abstract:
Offshore wind energy installations in coastal areas have grown massively over the last decade. This development comes with a large number of technological, environmental, economic, and scientific challenges, which need to be addressed to make the use of offshore wind energy sustainable. One important component in these optimization activities is suitable information from observations and numerical models. The purpose of this study is to analyze the gaps that exist in the present monitoring systems and their respective integration with models. This paper is the second part of two manuscripts and uses results from the first part about the requirements for different application fields. The present solutions to provide measurements for the required information products are described for several European countries with growing offshore wind operations. The gaps are then identified and discussed in different contexts, like technology evolution, trans-European monitoring and modeling initiatives, legal aspects, and cooperation between industry and science. The monitoring gaps are further quantified in terms of missing observed quantities, spatial coverage, accuracy, and continuity. Strategies to fill the gaps are discussed, and respective recommendations are provided. The study shows that there are significant information deficiencies that need to be addressed to ensure the economical and environmentally friendly growth of the offshore wind farm sector. It was also found that many of these gaps are related to insufficient information about connectivities, e.g., concerning the interactions of wind farms from different countries or the coupling between physical and biological processes.
