Data from: Vessel noise prior to pile driving at offshore windfarm sites deters harbour porpoises from potential injury zones
Efforts to meet climate change targets are resulting in rapid and global expansion of offshore windfarms. In many regions, development areas are also used by protected marine mammals, requiring the assessment and mitigation of any risk of injury during construction and operation. For small cetaceans...
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ftzenodo:oai:zenodo.org:7308543 2023-10-09T21:52:09+02:00 Data from: Vessel noise prior to pile driving at offshore windfarm sites deters harbour porpoises from potential injury zones Benhemma-Le Gall, Aude 2023-09-11 https://zenodo.org/record/7308543 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7308543 unknown doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2023.107271 doi:10.5061/dryad.tdz08kq37 doi:10.5281/zenodo.7308542 https://zenodo.org/communities/dryad https://zenodo.org/record/7308543 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7308543 oai:zenodo.org:7308543 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess https://opensource.org/licenses/AGPL-3.0 offshore windfarm Cumulative effects underwater noise anthropogenic disturbance environmental impact assessment Passive Acoustic Monitoring info:eu-repo/semantics/other software 2023 ftzenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.730854310.1016/j.eiar.2023.10727110.5061/dryad.tdz08kq3710.5281/zenodo.7308542 2023-09-19T22:58:43Z Efforts to meet climate change targets are resulting in rapid and global expansion of offshore windfarms. In many regions, development areas are also used by protected marine mammals, requiring the assessment and mitigation of any risk of injury during construction and operation. For small cetaceans such as the harbour porpoise, there is particular concern over the risk of injury from impulsive noise should individuals remain within near-field injury zones during the installation of pile driven turbine foundations. Currently, this risk is assessed by comparing predicted noise levels at the start of piling with baseline estimates of animal density, which are, in turn, based on data collected at least one year earlier. However, vessel-based preparation work immediately prior to piling may displace animals, thus reducing any risk of injury when pile-driving begins. We investigated the effects of pre-piling activities on local soundscapes and harbour porpoise occurrence during the construction of two deep-water offshore windfarms in NE Scotland. Arrays of echolocation click detectors deployed at a sub-set of turbine sites were used to assess porpoise occurrence within a 5 km buffer during a 48-h period prior to the initiation of piling. In parallel, we characterised local vessel activity using AIS data and underwater broadband noise levels. We then used daily engineering records to characterise variation in construction activities and explore how porpoise occurrence varied during the 48 hours prior to piling. On average, vessels arrived onsite 11-15 h before the start of pile-driving activities at both windfarms. In both installation campaigns, harbour porpoise occurrence gradually declined by up to 33% during the 48 h prior to piling. This decrease in detections was associated with increased levels of vessel and pre-piling installation activities, and increased local underwater broadband noise levels. These results provide strong evidence of porpoise displacement prior to active mitigation activities, highlighting ... Software Harbour porpoise Zenodo |
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offshore windfarm Cumulative effects underwater noise anthropogenic disturbance environmental impact assessment Passive Acoustic Monitoring |
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offshore windfarm Cumulative effects underwater noise anthropogenic disturbance environmental impact assessment Passive Acoustic Monitoring Benhemma-Le Gall, Aude Data from: Vessel noise prior to pile driving at offshore windfarm sites deters harbour porpoises from potential injury zones |
topic_facet |
offshore windfarm Cumulative effects underwater noise anthropogenic disturbance environmental impact assessment Passive Acoustic Monitoring |
description |
Efforts to meet climate change targets are resulting in rapid and global expansion of offshore windfarms. In many regions, development areas are also used by protected marine mammals, requiring the assessment and mitigation of any risk of injury during construction and operation. For small cetaceans such as the harbour porpoise, there is particular concern over the risk of injury from impulsive noise should individuals remain within near-field injury zones during the installation of pile driven turbine foundations. Currently, this risk is assessed by comparing predicted noise levels at the start of piling with baseline estimates of animal density, which are, in turn, based on data collected at least one year earlier. However, vessel-based preparation work immediately prior to piling may displace animals, thus reducing any risk of injury when pile-driving begins. We investigated the effects of pre-piling activities on local soundscapes and harbour porpoise occurrence during the construction of two deep-water offshore windfarms in NE Scotland. Arrays of echolocation click detectors deployed at a sub-set of turbine sites were used to assess porpoise occurrence within a 5 km buffer during a 48-h period prior to the initiation of piling. In parallel, we characterised local vessel activity using AIS data and underwater broadband noise levels. We then used daily engineering records to characterise variation in construction activities and explore how porpoise occurrence varied during the 48 hours prior to piling. On average, vessels arrived onsite 11-15 h before the start of pile-driving activities at both windfarms. In both installation campaigns, harbour porpoise occurrence gradually declined by up to 33% during the 48 h prior to piling. This decrease in detections was associated with increased levels of vessel and pre-piling installation activities, and increased local underwater broadband noise levels. These results provide strong evidence of porpoise displacement prior to active mitigation activities, highlighting ... |
format |
Software |
author |
Benhemma-Le Gall, Aude |
author_facet |
Benhemma-Le Gall, Aude |
author_sort |
Benhemma-Le Gall, Aude |
title |
Data from: Vessel noise prior to pile driving at offshore windfarm sites deters harbour porpoises from potential injury zones |
title_short |
Data from: Vessel noise prior to pile driving at offshore windfarm sites deters harbour porpoises from potential injury zones |
title_full |
Data from: Vessel noise prior to pile driving at offshore windfarm sites deters harbour porpoises from potential injury zones |
title_fullStr |
Data from: Vessel noise prior to pile driving at offshore windfarm sites deters harbour porpoises from potential injury zones |
title_full_unstemmed |
Data from: Vessel noise prior to pile driving at offshore windfarm sites deters harbour porpoises from potential injury zones |
title_sort |
data from: vessel noise prior to pile driving at offshore windfarm sites deters harbour porpoises from potential injury zones |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://zenodo.org/record/7308543 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7308543 |
genre |
Harbour porpoise |
genre_facet |
Harbour porpoise |
op_relation |
doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2023.107271 doi:10.5061/dryad.tdz08kq37 doi:10.5281/zenodo.7308542 https://zenodo.org/communities/dryad https://zenodo.org/record/7308543 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7308543 oai:zenodo.org:7308543 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess https://opensource.org/licenses/AGPL-3.0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.730854310.1016/j.eiar.2023.10727110.5061/dryad.tdz08kq3710.5281/zenodo.7308542 |
_version_ |
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