Oceanographic Responses to Offshore Wind: From First Principles to Potential Effects

The U.S. Offshore Wind Synthesis of Environmental Effects Research (SEER) effort, led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with support from the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Energy Technologies Office, is continuing its free, public webinar series to share the latest research on the potential environmental effects of offshore wind energy development. 

Changes in atmospheric and oceanographic conditions can influence physical and biological processes such as sediment and nutrient transport, primary productivity, and marine food web dynamics. This webinar provided a background on oceanographic systems to describe potential interactions between atmospheric and oceanographic processes and offshore wind energy infrastructure (e.g., foundations, turbines). The webinar then explored how potential shifts in the ocean’s physical environment associated with wind energy infrastructure could affect primary productivity, marine food webs, and marine animals. The speakers described the models and methods used to study interactions between oceanographic processes and offshore wind, highlighting studies from Europe and the United States. 

Speakers: 

• Host: Dr. Katie Morrice, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Intro Slides)
• Dr. Beth Scott, University of Aberdeen (Presentation Slides)
• Dr. Eileen Hofmann, Old Dominion University (Presentation Slides)
• Dr. Kaus Raghukumar, Integral Consulting (Presentation Slides)

Each webinar will feature brief presentations from experts, a panel discussion, and an audience question and answer period. All webinar recordings will be made available on Tethys and emailed to registrants. 

Webinar Recording: