EMECO

Netherlands-UK Joint Oyster Grounds SmartBuoy

The Netherlands Rijkwaterstaat (RWS) and Deltares institute and the UK Cefas laboratory agreed to establish a new collaborative monitoring initiative in the Dutch sector of the North Sea. By deploying a SmartBuoy in the Dutch Oyster Grounds Cefas and the Dutch partners are obtaining new observations that will be used to improve assessments of trophic status of this sector of the North Sea. This collaborative programme illustrates how the synergy between EMECO partners can lead to new initiatives to mutual advantage.  

By deploying an additional SmartBuoy at this important site the SmartBuoy network has been extended providing a location that contrasts sharply with other sites in the vicinity of the Thames and in the southern Bight of the North Sea. As the Oyster Grounds is in deeper waters than the more southerly sites, summer-time heating of the surface water leads to formation of a distinct warm surface layer that overlays a deeper cooler layer. This so-called stratification usually last till autumn storms and cooler air temperatures causes the waters to mix and breakdown any stratification. This physical process of heating, stratification and cooling has lots of consequences for the plankton and potentially the animals that feed on plankton in deeper waters such as these.