Microbial community compositions of steel coupons incubated inside an offshore monopile
In situ incubations of S355 steel coupons were carried out for 3 and 12 months, respectively, inside an offshore monopile in the German North Sea and were accompanied by repeated geochemical measurements in the water column. Steel biofilms were characterized by a suite of analyses, including scanning electron microscopy and RNA-based 16S rRNA gene amplicons. The study results demonstrate that the insides of offshore monopolies are highly dynamic ecosystems with the potential for microbially influenced corrosion.