INSITE North Sea

Academics, stakeholders, industry and government representatives and interested parties are invited to come together for talks, posters, networking and discussion about the environmental effects of artificial structures already within the marine ecosystem, and the rapid expansion of new infrastructure over the coming decades.

In response to our societal need to generate energy, artificial structures have been placed into our coastal and marine environments. The structures range from oil and gas installations, associated pipelines and seabed infrastructure, as well as offshore wind farms and other renewables that, as part of an energy transition, are rapidly scaling up to meet the needs of the Government’s Energy Strategy as well as tackling the world’s climate crisis. Inevitably, these structures host communities by providing habitat and shelter, and potentially serve as stepping-stones for the spread of some species. In addition to deliberately placed structures, shipwrecks can also serve a similar function. In turn, the biodiversity that develops on these structures can affect biological, hydrodynamic and biogeochemical processes from the water column to the seafloor, either directly (e.g. food-webs, scouring) or indirectly (e.g. biorefugia, displacement of fisheries) and, hence, ecosystem functioning, ecosystem services and benefits to society are also affected at various spatial and temporal scales.