NOAA- Scientists at the Woods Hole Laboratory used passive acoustics to create a baseline soundscape before wind developers started construction off the coast of southern New England. Their findings were recently published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science.
“This is the first study to collect soundscape data directly related to offshore wind energy development in U.S. waters,” said Sofie Van Parijs, lead author on the study and science center passive acoustic program lead. “Similar baseline data has been collected in European waters, but it focused on harbor porpoises and delphinids—oceanic dolphins—and single species questions.”
Van Parijs and her team used seven bottom-mounted acoustic recorders and high-frequency click recorders. They collected underwater sound data in and around nine separate wind lease areas. These areas spanned state waters from Massachusetts to Rhode Island and into U.S. federal waters. Four locations recorded continuously for more than 2 years, while the others varied from 4 to 9 months. Between January 2020 to November 2022, they collected data on:
- Species’ presence
- Vessel activity
- Ambient sound levels
They found eight species and one taxonomic family (delphinids) of cetaceans (family that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises) were present a minimum of 9 months of the year. The eight species were:
- Harbor porpoise
- Sperm whale
- Humpback whale
- Minke whale
- North Atlantic right whale
- Sei whale
- Fin whale
- Blue whale
“The species showed differences in seasonal presence, with some present in the spring and fall, others in the summer and/or winter. This shows that this area is an important habitat for activities such as feeding and socializing throughout the year. During all of this time these species are exposed to considerable vessel noise.”
Where there’s vessel noise, there’s vessel activity. Vessel strikes are one of the biggest threats to cetaceans, including the endangered North Atlantic right whale. The team will be able to compare the baseline data to future vessel sound data collected during turbine construction and operational periods. This will help identify any increased risk for vessel strikes.
“These standardized baseline data will enable precautionary management decisions to be made by guiding the timing of seasonal closures, risk mitigation measures, and allow future evaluation of potential impacts.”
And meanwhile, back at the ranch:
“The Interior Department is committed to responsibly accelerating our nation’s transition to a clean energy future, and doing so in coordination with our partners, stakeholders, Tribes and ocean users to avoid and reduce potential impacts as much as we can.”
– Biden interior secretary Deb Haaland
The phrase “as much as we can” with regard to reducing potential impacts when uttered by a DEMOCRAT Biden official means doing nothing at all to reduce impacts because Joe Biden wants these projects given the green light and fast track, plus a lot of taxpayer dollars as subsidies.
With respect to the DEMOCRAT IRON CURTAIN falling in America and the DEMOCRAT DICTATORSHIP rising in America, as we see in the FOX News story “Michigan Gov Whitmer signs sweeping green energy bill forcing transition from fossil fuels” by Thomas Catenacci on 30 November 2023, DEMOCRAT Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer just signed a landmark legislative package that requires state power providers to meet some of the most aggressive green energy goals in the country, and in the course of doing so, her Michigan Clean Energy Future plan transfers permitting authority for large-scale green energy projects from local control to Michigan Public Service Commission, which move would ensure such projects move forward over widespread local opposition, which means ordinary American are going to be steamrolled and stripped of their voices in what passes for “government” in DEMOCRAT-controlled areas of what used to be America.