Oceanographic Results of Two Years Operation of the First Offshore Wind Research Platform in the German Bight - FINO1

In 2003, the first research platform within the framework of the FINO programme was erected in the North Sea, about 45 km off the island of Borkum. The purpose of the measurements carried out by the BSH (Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany) in co-operation with DEWI (Deutsches WindEnergie Institut) is the determination of physical conditions in the marine environment and of meteorological conditions in the lower atmospheric boundary layer. The oceanographic measurements carried out by the BSH include sea state, currents, and physical properties of sea water. On the basis of the data collected during a 2.5-year period, we report in detail about marine environmental conditions and their seasonal changes, and about the occurrence of extreme events. The observed phenomena are compared to available long-term data series for the North Sea.