APEM will carry out detailed marine benthic surveys for the Beatrice offshore wind farm and export cable route in the Moray Firth after being awarded a contract by developer Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd (BOWL).
The surveys comprise an array of field work, sample analysis and technical reporting.
The company recently began gathering seafloor grab samples at sites in the wind farm development area, as well as using a remotely operated vehicle to assess geophysical features on the seabed and sites of potential archaeological interest. A drop down video system will also be used to investigate potential cobble reef and pockmark habitats on the seabed.
The marine team used the outputs of site-specific geophysical surveys including water depth, topography and composition of the seabed to design the sampling strategy and plan the field work.
The benthic faunal samples and underwater footage will be analysed by APEM’s laboratories team. In particular the seabed footage and images will be used to assess the condition and extent of any habitats and species of potential conservation interest.
APEM will produce detailed technical reports for BOWL covering the benthic marine ecological and archaeological surveys. The surveys will provide pre-construction baseline data, which will be used to inform assessments of potential impacts during construction and operation and form a basis for post-construction monitoring.
The Beatrice offshore windfarm development was granted consent in March 2014 would be located 13.5km off the Caithness coast with a capacity of up to 664MW. Construction is planned to begin in 2016 subject to a positive final investment decision.
APEM director, Dr Adrian Williams , said: “Our experienced marine team will lead the work to provide benthic ecological and archaeological assessments of the development area, with the capability to carry out everything from gathering samples at sea to laboratory analysis and writing of the pre-construction baseline report.”