Understanding the relationship between mobile bedforms and cable installations in the North Sea

A recurring issue for cable installations within territorial and offshore waters is the exposure of cables post installation and the subsequent need for external cable protection (e.g. Race Bank, BritNed, IFA2, Nemo, London Array). Mobile sediment bedforms (such as sandwaves and megaripples), which actively migrate across the seabed, have the potential to expose cables. In turn, cable exposure could result in scour (or secondary scour) and the removal of seabed sediments. Uncertainty regarding cable burial success...