Understanding biofouling and contaminant accretion on submerged marine structures

Abstract

Fouling of maritime infrastructure is pervasive due to abundant biological and chemical activity within the oceanic environment. Marine biofilms and their successional growths are prevalent issues in biofouling, but current industrial and research-based analyses often do not provide a holistic view of the fouling biodiversity. Cathodic protection is a longstanding system safeguarding infrastructure from the corrosive marine environment, but limited studies on interactions between biological growth and cathodic activity have been conducted in the context of marine fouling. This review identifies knowledge gaps in the understanding of marine fouling and highlights approaches to better direct development of effective anti-fouling measures.