Effects of Electromagnetic Fields on Fish and Invertebrates Task 2.1.3: Effects on Aquatic Organisms Fiscal Year 2012 Progress Report Environmental Effects of Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy

Abstract

Energy generated by the world's oceans and rivers offers the potential to make substantial contributions to the domestic and global renewable energy supply. However, the marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) energy industry faces challenges related to siting, permitting, construction, and operation of pilotand commercial-scale facilities. One of the challenges is to understand the potential effects to marine organisms from electromagnetic fields, which are produced as a by-product of transmitting power from offshore to onshore locations through underwater transmission cables. This report documents the progress of the third year of research (fiscal year 2012) to investigate environmental issues associated with marine and hydrokinetic energy (MHK) generation. This work was conducted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Wind and Water Technologies Office. The report addresses the effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on selected marine species where significant knowledge gaps exist. The species studied this fiscal year included one fish and two crustacean species: the Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus), Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister), and American lobster (Homarus americanus). DE-AC05-76RL01830 with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). We thank Jocelyn Brown-Saracino and the DOE Water Power team for their comments and suggestions on an early version of this report. We thank Dr. Ralph Elston with AquaTechnics Inc. for providing the health and pathology report of the American lobsters prior to experimental work, and Dr. Carl Wilson with the Maine Department of Natural Resources for providing advice and support in securing a source of live lobsters for experimental purposes. We also thank PNNL staff for their review and comments (Jeff Ward, Dr. Charles Brandt, and Simon Geerlofs), editorial support (Susan Ennor) and technical staff who participated in these studies, including

A current synthesis on the effects of electric and magnetic fields emitted by submarine power cables on invertebrates

“…In contrast,Woodruff et al, 2013 found no significant effect of magnetic exposure on the activity rhythm (i.e., frequency of changes between stationary and active behaviours) of the Dungeness crab (M. magister) after 72 h of exposure to a magnetic field gradient (1100 µT DC decaying to approximately 330 µT). Similarly, Scott et al (2018) did not detect any modification of the time spent in movement under a 3 mT exposure (7 h) for juveniles of the edible crab (C. pagurus).…”

“…Supporting these results, Bochert and Zettler (2006) found no changes in the spatial distribution of the North Sea prawn (Crangon crangon), the isopod (Saduria entomon), the round crab (Rhithropanopeus harrisii), and the common starfish (Asturia rubens) in response to the unilateral magnetic field exposure of their tank (2.8 mT DC for 1.5 h). Likewise, neither the Dungeness crab (M. magister) nor the American lobster (Homarus americanus) modified their use of space after exposure to a magnetic field gradient (single Helmholtz coil located centrally and producing a maximal DC magnetic field of 1.01 mT, decaying to 0.05 mT at both ends of the tank, over 24 h) (Woodruff et al, 2013(Woodruff et al, , 2012. In a similar design (i.e AC and DC magnetic field gradients with a maximal intensity of 200 µT decaying to GMF values), juvenile European lobsters (Homarus gammarus) did not alter neither their exploratory behaviour (defined by mean velocity, total distance travelled and activity ratio) nor their shelter seeking behaviour (i.e time to find shelter, time spent in exposed vs control shelter) compared to control individuals (Taormina et al, 2020).…”

A Review of the Environmental Impacts for Marine and Hydrokinetic Projects to Inform Regulatory Permitting: Summary Findings from the 2015 Workshop on Marine and Hydrokinetic Technologies, Washington, D.C.

“…• Laboratory studies have shown that exposure to EMFs of 3 milli Teslas has documented impact on a number of marine species, including Atlantic halibut, rainbow trout eggs, and coho salmon. It should be noted that 3 milli Teslas EMF levels are much higher that what would be expected for the deployment of single-unit or small-array MHK systems (Woodruff et al 2013).…”

“…• Behavioral responses, such as attraction to EMFs from subsea electric transmission cables, have been demonstrated through limited field and lab studies, but extrapolation to impacts of marine renewable energy power cables on critical behaviors of sensitive species or their populations would be speculative (Öhman, Sigray, and Westerberg 2007;Woodruff et al 2013;Gill et al 2014).…”

“…• Since the source of EMFs is the cable on the sea floor, benthic and demersal species, which are closer to the source, are considered to be more likely to be exposed to higher field strengths than pelagic species (Woodruff et al 2013;Gill et al 2014).…”