2019_programme: MARINE ECOSYSTEM ENGINEERS: A CHALLENGE FOR MINE COUNTERMEASURE.

• Session: 23. Mine countermeasures
  Organiser(s): N/A
• Lecture: MARINE ECOSYSTEM ENGINEERS: A CHALLENGE FOR MINE COUNTERMEASURE.
  Paper ID: 952
  Author(s): Papili Sonia
  Presenter: Papili Sonia
  Presentation type: oral
  Abstract: In a world watching to marine environment as new frontier for communication, transportation, blue energy, seabed mining, aquaculture and coastal tourism, also the world of mine countermeasure is facing a deep change in terms of tactics, planning, sea monitoring, recognition and neutralization of threats. Governmental institutions are investing in regulations to regulate the human activities in an efficient, safe and especially sustainable way. In this context, marine ecosystem engineers are recognized be important from a biodiversity perspective for their capability to modify, create or define habitats by altering the habitat’s physical properties (Berke, 2010). As such, they represent an important subject within the Europe’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD; Directive 2008/56/EC) to establish a good environmental status of the marine environment.\nVice versa, on a military perspective, they represent a challenge for mine countermeasure.\nFirst, bio-reefs can hide man-made objects or even built on them. Secondly, they are visualized on a sonar images showing mostly features with comparable dimensions to man-made targets; and lastly, their scattered aerial distribution enhances the difficulties for monitor and detection. \nTherefore, the main idea for this work is to construct a comprehensive table collecting the most recent and significant acoustic images showing the characteristic acoustic signature of a group of structural ecosystem engineers such as Lanice conchilega and Sabellaria spinulosa, understanding the geometry reflecting the biological communities and evaluating the impact for mine countermeasure. \nMoreover, the biological life cycle of those organisms will be discussed in relation to the implication for mine countermeasure showing the disruptive difference between sonar images recorded at the same location with or without ecosystem engineers’ reefs.\n
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• Corresponding author: Ms Papili Sonia
  Affiliation: Belgian Ministry of Defense
  Country: Belgium
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