Environmental benefits of leaving offshore infrastructure in the ocean

Fowler, AM; Jørgensen, AM; Svendsen, JC; Macreadie, PI; Jones, DOB; Boon, AR; Booth, DJ; Brabant, R; Callahan, E; Claisse, JT; Dahlgren, TG; Degraer, S; Dokken, QR; Gill, AB; Johns, DG; Leewis, RJ; Lindeboom, HJ; Linden, O; May, R; Murk, AJ; Ottersen, G; Schroeder, DM; Shastri, SM; Teilmann, J; Todd, V; Van Hoey, G; Vanaverbeke, J; Coolen, JWP

Environmental benefits of leaving offshore infrastructure in the ocean

Fowler, AM

Jørgensen, AM Svendsen, JC Macreadie, PI

Jones, DOB Boon, AR Booth, DJ

Brabant, R Callahan, E Claisse, JT Dahlgren, TG Degraer, S Dokken, QR Gill, AB Johns, DG Leewis, RJ Lindeboom, HJ Linden, O May, R Murk, AJ Ottersen, G Schroeder, DM Shastri, SM Teilmann, J Todd, V Van Hoey, G Vanaverbeke, J Coolen, JWP

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2018, 16 (10), pp. 571 - 578
Issue Date:: 2018-12-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Fowler, AM https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3075-7066	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Jørgensen, AM	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Svendsen, JC	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Macreadie, PI https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7362-0882	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Jones, DOB	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Boon, AR	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Booth, DJ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8256-1412	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Brabant, R	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Callahan, E	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Claisse, JT	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Dahlgren, TG	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Degraer, S	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Dokken, QR	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Gill, AB	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Johns, DG	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Leewis, RJ	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Lindeboom, HJ	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Linden, O	en_US
dc.contributor.author	May, R	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Murk, AJ	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Ottersen, G	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Schroeder, DM	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Shastri, SM	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Teilmann, J	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Todd, V	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Van Hoey, G	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Vanaverbeke, J	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Coolen, JWP	en_US
dc.date.issued	2018-12-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2018, 16 (10), pp. 571 - 578	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1540-9295	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/130296
dc.description.abstract	© The Ecological Society of America The removal of thousands of structures associated with oil and gas development from the world's oceans is well underway, yet the environmental impacts of this decommissioning practice remain unknown. Similar impacts will be associated with the eventual removal of offshore wind turbines. We conducted a global survey of environmental experts to guide best decommissioning practices in the North Sea, a region with a substantial removal burden. In contrast to current regulations, 94.7% of experts (36 out of 38) agreed that a more flexible case-by-case approach to decommissioning could benefit the North Sea environment. Partial removal options were considered to deliver better environmental outcomes than complete removal for platforms, but both approaches were equally supported for wind turbines. Key considerations identified for decommissioning were biodiversity enhancement, provision of reef habitat, and protection from bottom trawling, all of which are negatively affected by complete removal. We provide recommendations to guide the revision of offshore decommissioning policy, including a temporary suspension of obligatory removal.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1002/fee.1827	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Ecology	en_US
dc.title	Environmental benefits of leaving offshore infrastructure in the ocean	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	10	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	16	en_US
utslib.for	0502 Environmental Science and Management	en_US
utslib.for	0405 Oceanography	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	10	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	16	en_US

Abstract:

© The Ecological Society of America The removal of thousands of structures associated with oil and gas development from the world's oceans is well underway, yet the environmental impacts of this decommissioning practice remain unknown. Similar impacts will be associated with the eventual removal of offshore wind turbines. We conducted a global survey of environmental experts to guide best decommissioning practices in the North Sea, a region with a substantial removal burden. In contrast to current regulations, 94.7% of experts (36 out of 38) agreed that a more flexible case-by-case approach to decommissioning could benefit the North Sea environment. Partial removal options were considered to deliver better environmental outcomes than complete removal for platforms, but both approaches were equally supported for wind turbines. Key considerations identified for decommissioning were biodiversity enhancement, provision of reef habitat, and protection from bottom trawling, all of which are negatively affected by complete removal. We provide recommendations to guide the revision of offshore decommissioning policy, including a temporary suspension of obligatory removal.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/130296