The Ocean of Tomorrow

This book develops and applies an integrated socio-economic assessment of multi-use offshore platforms in European marine locations. The sites assessed regard infrastructures in the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic coast. The assessment uses the results from the natural and engineering sciences as inputs, boundaries and constraints to the socio-economic analysis. The content of the book develops in a step-by-step, coherent and integrated manner. The presentation and the discussion on the methodology are followed by the detailed assessment of specific multi-use offshore platforms. A detailed risk analysis follows in which the results of the socio-economic assessment are integrated. This is complemented with sensitivity analysis. The book, offers insights that result from a multi-disciplinary approach which combines a broad range of expertise in hydraulics, wind engineering, aquaculture, renewable energy, marine environment, project management, socio-economics and governance. The analysis follows views and assessment of world experts from all relevant disciplines from academia, big companies and potential investors that have joined forces in the MERMAID project (vliz.be/projects/mermaidproject). The book is a valuable reading for academics, technicians, policy-makers and relevant stakeholders.

First book on offshore platforms and major technology for the implementation of Marine Strategy Framework Directive and sustainable Marine Spatial Planning

Chapter1: Introduction to the MERMAID Project.- Part I: Socio-economic Assessment of Multi-use Offshore Platforms.- Chapter 2: Methodology for Integrated Socio-economic Assessment of Multi-use Offshore Platforms.- Chapter 3: Socio-economic Assessment of a Selected Multi-use Offshore Site in the Baltic Sea.- Chapter 4: Socio-economic Assessment of a Selected Multi-use Offshore Site in the North Sea.- Chapter 5: Socio-economic Assessment of a Selected Multi-use Offshore Site in the Atlantic Sea.- Chapter 6: Socio-economic Assessment of a Selected Multi-use Offshore Site in the Mediterranean Sea.- Part II: Risk Analysis.- Chapter 7: Risk Analysis for the selected MERMAID final designs.- Chapter 8: Conclusions and Recommendations