A collaborative project in France focused on measuring subsea dune ecosystems in the area of a future offshore wind farm off Dunkirk has completed initial studies.
Eight bathymetric surveys and a current measurement campaign were carried out in the DUNES R&D project.
Partners in the project include EDF Renewables, France Energies Marines and Shom.
Underwater dunes are relatively common in France off Dunkirk and Le Treport.
They are formed by the combined action of marine currents and swell, to create sedimentary structures, a few metres high, which are highly variable in morphology and can also shift.
In parallel with the development of a future offshore wind farm off Dunkirk and its electrical connection, the DUNES project has been running since 2019 to improve knowledge of the sedimentary and biological dynamics of these ecosystems in the area.
The data collected is being analysed, but the initial results of morphological monitoring suggest that the underwater dunes in the Dunkirk area are very dynamic.
They have moved continuously eastwards over the period studied, with variable migration speeds.
Modelling these movements can optimise the installation and maintenance of offshore wind farms and their electrical connections.
To build on the work initiated within the framework of DUNES, the collaborative R&D project MODULLES will start at the end of 2021.
It will focus in on the modelling of long‐term interactions between underwater dunes and the components of future offshore wind farms.