Studying and Assessing the Benthic Response to Electrical Stimuli (SABRES)

Description

High voltage submarine cables produce electromagnetic fields (EMF) external to the cable due to current flowing within their metallic components, primarily the main conductor. While the magnitude of these fields decays rapidly with separation from the cables, reducing to background levels within 10's of meters, cable circuits extend continuously across the seabed for 100's of km. Accurately quantifying and understanding the impact of anthropogenic EMF on seafloor organisms is therefore vital. Given the significant volume of new interconnector systems being installed/planned (e.g. For the Eastern Green Link projects (1-4) represent ~1800km of cable circuit), it is important to ensure that this transition to net zero does not result in ecological harm.