Microbial Communities Associated with Marine Renewable Energy Structures: From Offshore Wind Farms to Emerging Blue Energy Technologies

The rapid expansion of marine renewable energy is introducing extensive areas of artificial hard substrate into coastal and shelf seas worldwide. Offshore wind foundations, tidal stream turbines, wave energy converters, and moored floating structures alter local hydrodynamics, create novel attachment surfaces, and generate physicochemical gradients that can influence the surrounding water column and sedimentary environment. Despite the growing scale of this development, the microbial dimension of marine renewable energy infrastructure remains poorly characterized. Establishing a stronger understanding of these microbial communities is essential for evaluating the ecological consequences of offshore energy deployment and supporting evidence-based environmental management.Microbial communities underpin marine biogeochemical cycles and contribute to the transformation and transfer of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur. They also initiate biofilm formation, influence the development of macrofouling communities, affect material degradation and biocorrosion, and regulate the movement of energy and matter across trophic levels. However, important knowledge gaps remain regarding microbial diversity, activity, functional potential, and community succession across different infrastructure types, environmental settings, and stages of development. Further research is needed to determine how offshore structures influence microbial processes and how these changes may affect biofouling, biogeochemical fluxes, sediment conditions, and broader ecosystem responses.This Research Topic aims to advance understanding of microbial communities and processes associated with marine renewable energy infrastructure. By bringing together research across different marine renewable energy systems, this collection will help define the current state of knowledge, identify critical data gaps, and establish a methodological foundation for monitoring microbial responses to one of the fastest-growing sectors of ocean use.We welcome submissions covering, but not limited to, the following themes:• Baseline microbial diversity and function: Studies establishing foundational community profiles and functional potential, particularly across understudied habitats, regions, and offshore energy sites.• Functional and ecological impacts: Research linking microbial community dynamics to biogeochemical cycling, biofouling ecology, microbially influenced corrosion (biocorrosion), material integrity, and broader macroecological responses.• Methodological and technical advances: Novel approaches and protocols addressing sampling logistics, long-term monitoring, and data interpretation in challenging offshore environments.• Multidisciplinary and high-resolution methodologies: Contributions employing amplicon sequencing (16S and 18S rRNA genes), metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, single-cell genomics, predictive modelling, and other innovative tools. Topic editors: Carlos Henriquez, Qiuyun Jiang Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84499/microbial-communities-associated-with-marine-renewable-energy-structures-from-offshore-wind-farms-to-emerging-blue-energy-technologies