CAFEINE investigates how offshore structures reshape marine carbon cycling in the Belgian part of the North Sea. By adding hard structures to soft-sediment seas, these structures create habitats for filter-feeding fauna such as mussels, which remove phytoplankton, alter particle dynamics, and redirect energy from the water column to the seafloor. CAFEINE develops an integrated numerical modelling framework linking plankton, suspended particles, marine gels, and filter-feeding activity, supported by Belgian monitoring data and targeted experiments. The project quantifies how artificial structures influence organic matter fluxes, trophic transfer, and local carbon storage, providing a transferable framework for assessing ecosystem functioning in human-impacted shelf seas.

MARECO investigates how mussel physiology shapes the marine environment through seasonal experiments using both nearshore and offshore seawater.