The Effect of Burial Depth of Offshore Wind Turbine Power Cables to the Magnetic Field Levels on Marine Life Safe Zones

The proliferation of offshore wind farms in recent years as well as an increase in proposals for future ones is a result of transition to renewable energy sources. The electric power generated by wind turbines (WTs) is most often transferred to mainland via submarine power cables typically laid over the sea bed or buried beneath it, resulting in electromagnetic fields (EMFs) generated in their vicinity. There is significant interest in assessing the potential environmental impact of these fields on the marine wildlife since many species are known to use naturally occurring fields for essential life functions. The present work deals with the assessment of extremely low frequency EMFs due to buried power cables and the effect of different burial depth to ascertain the levels at which these can potentially affect the marine life.