Predictive jellyfish bloom dispersal maps for UK coastal electricity generating facilities

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The sudden 'en masse' appearance of jellyfish has serious consequences for coastal power stations through biofouling of cooling water systems. The reduction in water flow caused by jellyfish has forced power plants to run at reduced efficiency or temporarily shut down as a precautionary measure to prevent overheating, which impacts the provision of electricity to customers at a significant financial cost to the electricity supplier. A persistent difficulty lies in identifying the origin of blooms and when they will appear at a coastal facility and water intake. The main project partner for this proposal is EDF (nuclear), however the methodology is intentionally generic to allow adaptation to other sensitive coastal sites and therefore our project has the support of both SSE (gas energy) and SSPO (Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation). The aim of this proposal is to provide a robust tool for rapid evaluation of the likelihood and scale of jellyfish ingress at EDF's Torness Nuclear Power Station based on simulated patterns of historic bloom dispersal within the North Sea from the last 20 years. To achieve this we will translate our previously NERC-funded research with the state-of-the-art marine Connectivity Modelling System to simulate dispersal of individuals within blooms incorporating specific biological behaviours of jellyfish (e.g. vertical migration, rough surface conditions avoidance and buoyancy-related effects of aging). We have two objectives which will be completed within 18 months at a cost of £161,618 (80% fEC):(1) to provide gridded maps, specific to the time of the year or oceanographic conditions, giving the probability of jellyfish arriving at Torness, as well as minimum and peak arrival times, for blooms arising at any given source location within the North Sea.(2) to test the suitability of the tool for providing an early warning of potential ingress threat from jellyfish blooms, including validation with historic and satellite-based observational data.This tool will allow rapid risk evaluation and inform operational response by EDF when a jellyfish bloom is located in the future or during specific weather events. The tool will also identify critical locations in the North Sea where ongoing monitoring is essential for an early warning system for Torness Nuclear Facility.