The EOL-REEF project is set against a backdrop of significant human impact on the English Channel, which is subject to multiple environmental pressures and where the development of offshore wind farms is expanding rapidly, particularly between Courseulles-sur-Mer and Fécamp. This area is strongly influenced by nutrient-rich inflows from the Seine Estuary, which have a significant impact on primary productivity.

The central objective of the project is to assess the reef-like effect induced by submerged wind turbine structures and to analyze its consequences on primary production as well as on the first trophic levels, particularly in this area subject to estuarine influence.

The project’s integrated approach, combining in situ observations and experiments, will make it possible to characterize processes and quantify fluxes that are essential for modeling the ecological impacts of offshore wind farms.

Project funded by the Offshore Wind Biodiversity Funds administered by the Seine-Normandy Water Agency.