RESEARCH PROJECTS:
Improving scientific knowledge across all aspects of the ecosystem
1,350+
offshore installations operational in the OSPAR maritime area
In May 2013 in response to this situation, Oil & Gas UK facilitated the creation of a scientifically-led, long-term environmental JIP aimed at improving scientific knowledge across all aspects of the ecosystem. In April 2014, eight energy company sponsors signed the JIP Agreement, marking the start of the programme. To demonstrate independence and transparency, the programme sponsors are committed to engage proactively with the broader stakeholder community of the North Sea and to make the findings available in the public domain.
Known as the ‘INSITE’ (INfluence of Structures In The Ecosystem), this JIP is a major initiative, which seeks to provide all stakeholders with the science needed to better understand the effect of man-made structures on the North Sea and hence better inform any decision making process.
Featured Research Projects
INSITE Overall Synthesis Project 2021-2023
Principal Investigator:
Paul Somerfield
Organisation:
Plymouth Marine Laboratory
Autonomous Techniques for anthropogenic Structure Ecological Assessment (ATSEA)
Principal Investigator:
Dr Daniel Jones
Organisation:
National Oceanography Centre
Decommissioning - Relative Effects of Alternative Management Strategies (DREAMS)
Principal Investigator:
Dr Paul Somerfield, Plymouth Marine Laboratory
Organisation:
Plymouth Marine Laboratory
EcoSTAR: Ecosystem level importance of STructures as Artificial Reefs
Principal Investigator:
Dr Debbie Russell
Organisation:
University of St Andrews
Aggregation, production and spillover: the cumulative effect of man-made offshore structures on fish (FISHPAMMS)
Principal Investigator:
Professor Paul Fernandes
Organisation:
University of Aberdeen
Connectivity of Hard Substrate Assemblages in the North Sea (CHASANS)
Principal Investigator:
Dr Joanne Porter
Organisation:
Heriot Watt University
Functionality and Ecological Connectivity of Man-Made Structures (FuECoMMS)
Principal Investigator:
Dr Natalie Hicks
Organisation:
University of Essex
Application of novel 3D imaging techniques to quantify biomass associated with North Sea artificial structures (NS3D)
Principal Investigator:
Dr Thomas Wilding
Organisation:
Scottish Association for Marine Science
The Influence of Man-made Structures in the North Sea (INSITE) Synthesis and Assessment of Phase 1 Prepared by the Independent Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB)
Principal Investigator:
INSITE Independent Scientific Advisory Board
Organisation:
INSITE