Barth, A.

Capet, A.

Delhez, E.

Grégoire, M.

Ivanov, E.

Soetaert, S.

Open Marine Archive

18 
Oral presentation Pre-doc level 
Impact assessment of offshore dredging activities and wind farms on 
sediment dynamics using a coupled ocean-wave-sediment transport 
model  
Ivanov Evgeny1, Capet Arthur1, Barth Alexander2, Delhez Eric3, Soetaert Karline4 and Grégoire 
Marilaure 1 
1  University of Liège: Modelling for Aquatic SysTems (ULg-MAST), Quartier Agora Allée du 6 
Août, 19 - Bât. B5a, 4000 Liège 1 Sart-Tilman, Belgium  
E-mail: evgeny.ivanov@uliege.be  
2  Université de Liège,  GeoHydrodynamics and Environmental Research group (ULG-GHER), 
Allée du 6 Août 17, Sart Tilman, B5, 4000 Liège, Belgium 
3  Université de Liège, Modélisation et Méthodes Mathématiques, B37 - Institut de 
Mathématiques Quartier POLYTECH, 1 Allée de la Découverte 12, 4000 Liège, Belgium  
4  Koninklijk Nederlands Instituut voor Onderzoek der Zee: Estuarine and Delta Systems (NIOZ-
EDS), Korringaweg 7, Postbus 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, The Netherlands 
 
Intensification of offshore human activities, i.e. aggregate extraction and wind farms operation, 
in the Belgian Coastal Zone (BCZ) leaves an imprint on biodiversity and biogeochemical cycles 
via changes in sediment dynamics. This impact requires a quantitative assessment in order to 
develop indicators for management policies. The FaCE-IT project (Functional biodiversity in a 
Changing sedimentary Environment: Implications for biogeochemistry and food webs in a 
managerial setting) funded by the Belgian Science Policy Office (BelSPo) was created to assess 
the local impact of an individual wind farm and upscale it over the BCZ using numerical 
modelling. 
The coupled Ocean-Wave-Sediment transport (COAWST) modelling system (Warner, 2010) was 
implemented for the BCZ on the fine resolution grid (i.e. 1 km2), which is connected with the 
coarse resolution grid (5 km2) set for the English Channel and the Southern Bight of the North 
Sea in two-way nesting. The sediment model was initialized with several classes for both 
cohesive and non-cohesive sediments provided by the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ). The full 
validation using VLIZ in-situ data and satellite products from Copernicus Marine Environment 
Monitoring Service was conducted with a specific target to solve various processes important for 
sediment dynamics, such as freshwater plume dynamics and patterns of residual currents, as 
well as a system response to different meteorological events. 
 
Scenarios have been designed to represent aggregate extraction and the turbid wake issued 
from wind farm flow perturbation and epifaunal activity in terms of sediment source, sinks and 
redistribution. Preliminary results showing the influence of those local perturbations on 
seafloor integrity and suspended particulate matter are presented at the regional scale of the 
BCZ. 
 
Reference 
- Warner, John C., et al. "Development of a coupled ocean–atmosphere–wave–sediment 
transport (COAWST) modeling system." Ocean modelling 35.3 (2010): 230-244. 
 
Keywords: Ocean modelling; Belgian coastal zone; Offshore wind farms; Sediment transport  


Impact assessment of offshore dredging activities and wind farms on sediment dynamics using a coupled ocean-wave-sediment transport model

http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/324916.pdf

Impact assessment of offshore dredging activities and wind farms on sediment dynamics using a coupled ocean-wave-sediment transport model

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