Environmental Assessment of Offshore Wind Power Generation: Effect on a Noise Budget

Miller, James H.; Potty, Gopu R.; Vigness‐Raposa, Kathleen J.; Casagrande, David; Miller, Lisa A.; Nystuen, Jeffrey A.; Scheifele, Peter M.; Clark, John G.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-7311-5_118

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 4 publications

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“…Cheesman (2016) recorded offshore wind turbine noise that frequently exceeded background ambient noise in waters with low commercial shipping activity. Miller et al (2012) evaluated the potential impact of 8 operating wind turbines in waters southeast of Block Island, RI (approximately 10 nm west of the RI-MA WEA) prior to operation and concluded that the noise generated by operational wind turbines in Block Island would be less than the noise produced by intense shipping in the overlapping frequencies. At the time of our study, the NARW band in the MA and RI-MA WEAs notably contained noise from commercial ships; therefore, it is probable that the noise from operating turbines will not exceed the median noise levels within NARW frequency band (102 dB re 1 μPa) at distances greater than 1 km from a turbine.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic spatiotemporal acoustic occurrence of North Atlantic right whales in the offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts Wind Energy Areas

Estabrook

Tielens

Rahaman

et al. 2022

Endang. Species. Res.

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As development of offshore wind energy areas (WEAs) progresses along the US Atlantic coast, so will the spatiotemporal overlap and potential space-use conflict with vulnerable or protected wildlife, including Critically Endangered North Atlantic right whales (NARWs). Assessments of potential impacts from construction and operational activities on NARWs are dependent on the spatial, temporal, and acoustic overlaps between those activities and the occurrence of NARWs. Additionally, baseline distribution data of NARWs and data-driven policies are crucial to guide management decisions that minimize risk. The Massachusetts (MA) and Rhode Island-Massachusetts (RI-MA) Offshore WEAs currently comprise some of the largest lease areas and the first industry-scale offshore WEAs in the USA. Continuous passive acoustic data from 2011 through 2015 reveal highly variable seasonal, diel, and spatial NARW occurrence patterns within and near the MA and RI-MA WEAs. Under low (5th percentile) and median (50th percentile) noise conditions in the NARW communication frequency band (upcalls 71-224 Hz), we estimated detection ranges of 22 km (14 inter-quartile ranges [IQR]) and 8 km (5 IQR), respectively. Results underscore the influences of existing noise conditions on NARW communication and detectability within the MA and RI-MA WEAs. These dynamic NARW spatial and temporal occurrence data provide empirical support to enhance monitoring and mitigation strategies for minimizing risk to NARWs during periods of construction and identify time periods when heightened seasonal monitoring throughout the year during operations may be warranted.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic spatiotemporal acoustic occurrence of North Atlantic right whales in the offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts Wind Energy Areas

Estabrook

Tielens

Rahaman

et al. 2022

Endang. Species. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Seafloor Shear Measurement Using Interface Waves

Miller

Potty²

2011

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The long term goal of our research is to improve the estimation of bottom properties by understanding and incorporating the effects produced by shear. OBJECTIVESThe objectives of this proposal are to:• Develop an acoustic/seismic receive system for the estimation of sediment compressional wave speed, compressional wave attenuation and shear wave speed.• Develop new inversion techniques for shear properties: A new inversion scheme is being developed to estimate shear properties of the sediment using interface wave dispersion. Figure 1 shows the conceptual schematic of the system.This shear measurement system consists of the following components: APPROACH1. Sled: The sled houses the data acquisition system. The sled will be connected to a tow cable with appropriate chain and floatation to isolate the wave motion from the geophone/ hydrophone receive array. The termination of the tow cable at the surface will consist of a float and appropriate mechanical connectors to deploy, move, leave, and recover the system.2. Acquisition System: Two Several Hydrophone Receive Systems (SHRUs) serve as the data collection system.3. Receive array: The receive array consists of gimbaled geophones and hydrophones. There will be a float connected to the geophone end of the system as a backup in case the other float is lost. The geophone end will be properly weighed down to filter out the surface wave motions by a chain and/or weight.

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Estimation of Ocean and Seabed Parameters and Processes Using Low Frequency Acoustic Signals

Miller

Potty²

2012

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The long term goals of our research are to: • Understand, model and exploit the acoustic propagation physics in shallow water in the presence of ocean fronts and internal waves. This goal conforms to the major theme of the Shallow Water 06 experiment i.e. 3-D acoustic effects. The effects of oceanographic variability such as frontal meander, and internal solitary waves on 3-D acoustic reflection and refraction will be investigated. • Improve inversion schemes for the estimation of sediment geoacoustic properties using low frequency broadband acoustic signals. The existing inversion method has been shown to successfully map compressional wave speed. The new work will focus on understanding the frequency and depth dependence of compressional wave attenuation and develop new inversion schemes for shear wave properties. We hypothesize that water-borne acoustic arrival properties such as their Airy Phase are sensitive to sediment shear properties. OBJECTIVES We are proposing to address our goals with a series of objectives: A. Characterize 3-D acoustic variability due to internal waves and fronts. The tasks associated with this objective are: 1. Data analysis: Acoustic signals transmitted from the R/V Sharp in the Shallow Water 06 Experiment at various ranges and angles to the WHOI Shark Array and Single Hydrophone Receive Units (SHRU) will be analyzed. 2. Calculate various intensity metrics: Different intensity metrics will be calculated, including scintillation Index (SI), integrated energy over the depth of the array and over the duration of the acoustic signal, temporally integrated energy over the duration of the acoustic signal on a single hydrophone, single hydrophone intensity observations.

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Environmental Assessment of Offshore Wind Power Generation: Effect on a Noise Budget

Cited by 3 publications

References 4 publications

Dynamic spatiotemporal acoustic occurrence of North Atlantic right whales in the offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts Wind Energy Areas

Dynamic spatiotemporal acoustic occurrence of North Atlantic right whales in the offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts Wind Energy Areas

Seafloor Shear Measurement Using Interface Waves

Estimation of Ocean and Seabed Parameters and Processes Using Low Frequency Acoustic Signals

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