Short Science Summary: Underwater Noise

Dolphin

Potential Environmental Effects on Animals from Marine Renewable Energy: Underwater Noise

Animals use sound in the marine environment like humans and animals use light (sight) on land. Underwater sound allows animals to communicate, navigate, interact, forage, and avoid predation. The extent to which marine animals detect and produce sound varies by species and may range across frequencies and sound levels. Marine animals are already subject to sources of anthropogenic noise under water; the addition of sound from marine renewable energy (MRE) devices could induce stress, behavioral changes (such as avoidance), a range of physical injuries, and a temporary or permanent reduction in hearing ability that can mask other sounds. The propagation of sound from MRE devices dissipates with distance from the device, depending on specific ocean conditions and the level of sound generated by each device. Construction activities at sea can create loud underwater noise, while noise from operational MRE devices is much quieter.

This Short Science Summary was developed based on the OES-Environmental 2020 State of the Science Report: Environmental Effects of Marine Renewable Energy Development Around the World, specifically Chapter 4: Risk to Marine Animals from Underwater Noise Generated by Marine Renewable Energy Devices.

The table below contains the literature relevant to this summary document and will continue to be updated as new literature is added to Tethys.

Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Improving Understanding of Environmental Effects from Single MRE Devices to Arrays Hasselman, D., Hemery, L., Copping, A., Fulton, E., Fox, J., Gill, A., Polagye, B. Conference Paper Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise
From Science to Consenting: Applying Environmental Effects Information to Support Regulatory Decision-Making Freeman, M., Copping, A., Rose, D. Presentation Marine Energy Collision, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Investigating displacement of marine animals as a potential effect of marine renewable energy development Hemery, L., Garavelli, L., Copping, A., Farr, H., Jones, K. Conference Paper Marine Energy Displacement, Habitat Change, Noise Fish, Marine Mammals
‘Scaling up’ our understanding of environmental effects of marine renewable energy development from single devices to large-scale commercial arrays Hasselman, D., Hemery, L., Copping, A., Fulton, E., Fox, J., Gill, A., Polagye, B. Journal Article Marine Energy Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise
Underwater Noise of Two Operational Tidal Stream Turbines: A Comparison Risch, D., Marmo, B., van Geel, N., Gillespie, D., Hastie, G., Sparling, C., Onoufriou, J., Wilson, B. Book Chapter Marine Energy, Tidal Noise
Underwater noise impact assessment of a wave energy converter in the northern Atlantic (Spain) Madrid, E., Felis, I., Garcia, J., Clementino, L., Ruiz Molina, P., Vinagre, P., Bald, J. Conference Paper Marine Energy, Wave Noise
Acoustic Characterization around the CalWave Wave Energy Converter Raghukumar, K., Heal, K., Chang, G., Spada, F. Conference Paper Marine Energy, Wave Noise
Assessment of the impact of tidal power extraction from the Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier through the evaluation of a pilot plant Fockert, A., Bijlsma, A., O'Mahoney, T., Verbruggen, W., Scheijgrond, P., Wang, Z. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision, Habitat Change, Noise Fish
Towards assessing the impact of anthropogenic sound on fishes: Gaps, perspectives, and a case study of a large floating bridge Zang, X., Carlson, T., Martinez, J., Lu, J., Deng, D. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Noise Fish
Noise Monitoring Report Wave Swell Energy King Island Project – UniWave200 Giudici, C. Report Marine Energy, Wave Noise
Marine energy converters: Potential acoustic effects on fishes and aquatic invertebrates Popper, A., Haxel, J., Staines, G., Guan, S., Nedelec, S., Roberts, L., Deng, Z. Journal Article Marine Energy Noise Fish, Invertebrates
Modeling the acoustic noise from a wave energy converter farm and its impact on marine mammals at the PacWave South site, offshore Newport Oregon Harding, J., Preston, L., Johnson, E., Roberts, J., Jones, C., Raghukumar, K., Hafla, E. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wave Noise Marine Mammals
European offshore renewable energy, towards a sustainable future Soukissian, T., O’Hagan, A-M., Azzellino, A., Boero, F., Brito e Melo, A., Comiskey, P., Gao, Z., Howell, D., Le Boulluec, M., Maisondieu, C., Scott, B., Tedeschi, E., Maheri, A., Pennock, S. Report Marine Energy, Ocean Current, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, EMF, Noise Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data
Safe passage for fish: The case for in-stream turbines Brown, E., Sulaeman, S., Quispe-Abad, R., Müller, N., Moran, E. Journal Article Marine Energy, Riverine Changes in Flow, Collision, Noise Fish
Managing human activity and marine mammals: A biologically based, relativistic risk assessment framework Southall, B., Tollit, D., Amaral, J., Clark, C., Ellison, W. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Assessing the impacts of anthropogenic sounds on early stages of benthic invertebrates: The “Larvosonic system” Olivier, F., Gigot, M, Mathias, D., Jézéquel, Y., Meziane, T., L'Her, C., Chauvaud, L., Bonnel, J. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy Noise Invertebrates
Insights from the management of offshore energy resources: Toward an ecosystem-services based management approach for deep-ocean industries Bravo, M., Brandt, M., van der Grient, J., Dahlgren, T., Esquete, P., Gollner, S., Jones, D., Levin, L., McClain, C., Narayanaswamy, B., Sutton, T., Victorero, L., Cordes, E. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Avoidance, Changes in Flow, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Social & Economic Data
Rapidly Deployable Acoustic Monitoring and Localization System Based on a Low-Cost Wave Buoy Platform Raghukumar, K., Chang, G., Spada, F., Roberts, J., Spence, J., Kramer, S. Report Marine Energy, Wave Noise Human Dimensions
Commercial cuttlefish exposed to noise from offshore windmill construction show short-range acoustic trauma Solé, M., De Vreese, S., Fortuno, J-M., Van der Schaar, M., Sánchez, A., André, M. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy Noise Invertebrates
Clean Energy from the Ocean: Measuring the Environmental Footprint of Devices Rose, D., Gunn, C., Hemery, L. Magazine Article Marine Energy Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions
Acoustic Characterization around the CalWave Wave Energy Converter Raghukumar, K., Chang, G., Spada, F., Petcovic, D., Boerner, T. Presentation Marine Energy, Wave Noise
Implementation of the Spatial Environmental Assessment Toolkit McWilliams, S., Jones, C., Roberts, J., Pendleton, E. Presentation Marine Energy, Riverine, Tidal, Wave Habitat Change, Noise
Operation of a tidal turbine from a moored vessel in Agate Pass, WA Bassett, C. Presentation Marine Energy, Tidal Collision, Noise Fish, Invertebrates, Human Dimensions
Categorizing Active Marine Acoustic Sources Based on Their Potential to Affect Marine Animals Ruppel, C., Weber, T., Staaterman, E., Labak, S., Hart, P. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Drifting acoustic measurements of tidal turbine radiated noise in an urban waterway Jones, L., Crisp, C., Haxel, J., Polagye, B., Bassett, C. Presentation Marine Energy, Tidal Noise Human Dimensions
Acoustic characteristics of a horizontal axis micro hydrokinetic turbine Wang, X., Hu, Z., Yan, Y., Pei, Y., Wang, W. Journal Article Marine Energy, Riverine, Tidal Noise
Workshop Summary on Passive Acoustic Monitoring Data Standards and Management BOEM Office of Renewable Energy Programs Workshop Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy Noise Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Review of fish and fisheries research to inform ScotMER evidence gaps and future strategic research in the UK Xoubanova, S., Lawrence, Z. Report Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Noise Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Stakeholder Engagement
Environmental impact of renewable energy source based electrical power plants: Solar, wind, hydroelectric, biomass, geothermal, tidal, ocean, and osmotic Rahman, A., Farrok, O., Haque, M. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy Attraction, Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions
Underwater Noise Measurements around a Tidal Turbine in a Busy Port Setting Haxel, J., Zang, X., Martinez, J., Polagye, B., Staines, G., Deng, Z., Wosnik, M., O'Byrne, P. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Noise
Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) in the Tropics: An Overview of MRE Potential in Oaxaca, Mexico Oman, J. Report Marine Energy, Ocean Current, OTEC, Wave Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Pelagic Fish, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Legal & Policy, Recreation & Tourism, Social & Economic Data
Project Summary of Outcomes and Results of Wave Energy in Southern Europe (WESE) Project Bald, J., Uyarra, M., Menchaca, I., Pouso, S., Uriarte, A., Garlsparsoro, I., de Santiago, I., Muxika, I., Simas, T., Vinagre, P., Machado, I., Apolonia, M., Cruz E., Chainho, P., Gonçalvez, J., Enciso, Y., Marina, D., Zubiate, L., Etxaniz, P., de Miguel, B., Madrid, E., Felis, I., Martinez, R., Chambel, J., Moitinho, L., Bartolomeu, S., Santos, H., Galvão, P., Basos, N., Moura, T., Nyman, M., Pech, M. Report Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
ORJIP Ocean Energy Information Note: Underwater Noise Offshore Renewables Joint Industry Programme (ORJIP) Report Marine Energy Noise Fish, Marine Mammals
Wave-Energy Devices Might Affect the Natural Environment: Scientists plan research to better understand effects Oregon State University, Pacific Marine Energy Center (PMEC), Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC), University of Washington Magazine Article Marine Energy, Wave EMF, Entanglement, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Marine Mammals
Triton Field Trials: Promoting Consistent Environmental Monitoring Methodologies for Marine Energy Sites Eaves, S., Staines, G., Harker-Klimes, G., Pinza, M., Geerlofs, S. Journal Article Marine Energy Collision, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Human Dimensions
SafeWAVE Deliverable 4.4 Use cases and profiles Leitão, J., Cardoso, S., Santos, H. Report Marine Energy, Wave Noise Birds, Invertebrates, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
A Review of Modeling Approaches for Understanding and Monitoring the Environmental Effects of Marine Renewable Energy Buenau, K., Garavelli, L., Hemery, L., Garcia Medina, G. Journal Article Marine Energy, Ocean Current, Tidal, Wave Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise
The Impacts of Climate Change on Underwater Sound Propagation from Tidal Turbines Zimmerman, C. Thesis Marine Energy, Tidal Noise Human Dimensions, Climate Change
Biological Consequences of Marine Energy Development on Marine Animals Hemery, L., Copping, A., Overhus, D. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Seabirds, Pelagic Fish, Invertebrates, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds
Environmental Information for Siting and Operation of Floating Tidal Turbines in U.S. Waters Copping, A., Garavelli, L., Overhus, D., Tugade, L. Report Marine Energy, Tidal Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Marine Mammals
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