SEA Wave and WESE have launched an online platform, MARENDATA, to share environmental monitoring data collected within the marine energy industry.
Co-funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, both SEA Wave and WESE are undertaking environmental research campaigns to better understand the potential environmental effects associated with deploying and operating marine energy technologies.
MARENDATA is a dedicated data sharing platform which will host a range of compiled data collected from a range of marine energy test sites, including the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland; BiMEP in the Basque Country; and Peniche, in Portugal.
Data derived from the test sites will include resource characterisation, underwater noise, and video capturing seabed ecology and species behaviour. Data uploaded on the platform will be relevant in evaluating the potential positive and negative environmental effects of wave and tidal energy devices.
Data acquired from the former SOWFIA project , funded by EU Intelligent Energy Europe, has been amalgamated with the data collected through SEA Wave and WESE and will also be uploaded to MARENDATA.
Marine energy experts are filtering the raw data collected from the test sites as it becomes available to ensure it has been quality checked, is compatible and coherent and follows existing standards. This is achieved through links to existing databases such as EMODnet, SeaDataNet and Copernicus.
Secondary data will also be available through the platform to better serve the needs of various stakeholders including academia, industry and the general public, whom may require access to this nature of data.