2011, EGS, Lynn and Inner Dowsing, Survey of Benthic Communities within Jack-Up Footprints

An investigative environmental survey was carried out at two jack-up footprint locations within the Lynn and Inner Dowsing (L&ID) wind farms, owned by GLID Wind Farms TopCo Ltd, located off the coast of Skegness (Lincolnshire). These sites were in close proximity to turbines ID25 (locations G and H) and LN19 (locations J and K). The survey was carried out by EGS International from the survey vessel “Wessex Explorer”, assisted by Benthic Solutions Limited. The survey was designed to investigate the differences in the sediments and communities within footprints created by jack-up spud cans during construction. The main aim of the survey was to establish if there were any perturbation to the sediments and associated degradation of the macro-invertebrate communities. The presence or absence of potential Annex I habitats at these locations was also investigated. Operations were based on seabed sampling at two footprint centres in addition to reference locations located 250m west of each. Field operations were based on a combination of seabed photography and triplicate benthic samples at each survey location. Please note the bathymetry and side-scan sonar data referenced in the report is only present within the "2012, EGS, Lynn and Inner Dowsing Offshore Wind Farms, Post Construction Hydrographic and Geophysical Survey" series.