Pacific Coast Offshore Wind Environmental Research Project Finder

This project is developing a 3D seabird spatial distribution and power generation model to assess tradeoffs between wind farm performance and bird mortality risk. The model will account for flight height at various wind speeds, which will fill a knowledge gap in existing seabird models. The team has developed wind energy scenarios for several test sites with different turbine parameters and configurations. While completing the 3D seabird model, the team is designing a method to conduct the tradeoff analysis between seabird risk and wind performance.

This study will provide up-to-date information on species composition, distribution, abundance, and seasonal variation of seabirds from the southern limit of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to the U.S.-Mexico border. In addition, data will be opportunistically collected on marine mammals that are observed during the surveys. This study will repeat and refine the methodology used in earlier studies to provide up-to-date information and establish a more robust longitudinal data set from which to draw on for environmental analyses. The final project report is expected in 2024.

This study by the U.S. Geological Survey will provide up-to-date information on species composition, distribution, abundance, and seasonal variation of seabirds and marine mammals from the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to the U.S.-Mexico border. Data generated will be used for environmental review of renewable energy projects proposed in this area. Previously collected data will be assessed and analyzed to allow for comparisons with the newly collected data to identify changes in distribution and abundance of seabirds and marine mammals over the last 40 years.

NMFS has conducted large-vessel cetacean and ecosystem assessment surveys in waters off the U.S. West Coast. These line-transect surveys typically occur in summer and fall and span waters out 300 nautical miles offshore, from the US-Canada to US-Mexico border, but sometimes include waters in Canada or Mexico as well. Data types collected principally include visual sightings data for cetaceans and seabirds, passive acoustic (e.g., towed or drifting array) data for cetaceans, tissue biopsy sampling used for genetics analysis, and oceanographic sampling. Survey data have been used to estimate cetacean population size and trends, delineate cetacean population stock structure, describe cetacean and seabird distributions and hotspots, develop species distribution models, and inform marine mammal stock assessment reports pursuant to statutory requirements under the MMPA.

As the regional observing system for Southern California, SCCOOS, has developed the capabilities to support short-term decision-making and long-term assessment by implementing and leveraging biological, chemical, and physical observations and models, many of which are available in near real-time.

In response to the proposed listing of Southern Resident killer whales under the Endangered Species Act, the NMFS Northwest Fisheries Science Center established a dedicated research program in 2003. The program aims to fill data gaps and assess the impact of potential threats to this population. We use various monitoring and survey techniques to study these whales.

This project developed an analytical framework for conducting marine spatial planning through tradeoff analysis, and applied it to prospective offshore wind energy development in Morro Bay, California, USA Wind Energy Area (WEA). The study generated spatial data layers estimating MW power production and impacts on fisheries value and marine wildlife conservation (seabird and cetacean populations) from wind farm development and quantified each sector’s response to plans of development across the WEA and inside three leases. Finally, the study integrated the sector response data into an analytical framework for mitigating sector tradeoffs with novel spatial planning solutions (maps of wind farm size, location, and configuration) that optimally maximize value to the emergent energy sector (MW power) while minimizing impacts to historical (fisheries and wildlife) sectors.

This program of research on benthic habitats and organisms of the Outer Continental Shelf off Washington, Oregon and northern California was designed to provide baseline knowledge of seafloor geology and

marine invertebrate distributions at a regional scale by undertaking new mapping, synthesizing existing mapping data, conducting biological assessments and developing new predictive models. By focusing on the physical properties of the seafloor and species-habitat associations throughout the region, this study has delivered tools and information directly useful for assessing renewable energy development in the

Pacific Northwest and for determining the nature and extent of future seafloor explorations.

We assembled and tabulated information about marine bird and mammal research and monitoring programs that could provide data needed to support environmental risk assessments. This included identifying ongoing or completed research programs that contain information on species and habitats sensitive to offshore energy activities and that could provide baseline and monitoring data to understand and mitigate potential impacts of offshore energy development in the Southern California Planning Area, Washington-Oregon Planning Area, and the Hawaiian Outer Continental Shelf of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)

The purpose of this study is to use existing telemetry data to gain a better understanding of how four large whale species (fin, blue, humpback, and gray whales) that occur off the U.S West Coast use their habitat in the Santa Barbara Channel area and in areas offshore Hawai’i, with specific interest around the island of O’ahu. The importance of this data, presented as spatially and temporally explicit layers, cannot be overstated when considering offshore floating wind development and the identification of potential mitigative strategies to minimize any potential impacts to these species as a result of these activities, as well as the timing of future conventional energy decommissioning activities.

This project mapped current marine wildlife monitoring technology by conducting a literature review, database analysis, and workshop series with the scientific community, academia, and industry. The aim of the project was to improve future development of wildlife monitoring technology and better integrate it with offshore wind operations. The project also conducted a gap analysis to assess what marine monitoring capabilities are needed but not yet offered by current technology and developed targeted recommendations for future innovation to improve monitoring technologies, reduce costs for developers, and enhance wildlife conflict mitigation practices.

Elasmobranchs use electroreceptors to detect bioelectric fields of prey during foraging and likely use them to indirectly detect geomagnetic field (GMF) cues during navigation. The subsea high voltage cables from offshore renewable energy (ORE) infrastructure emit electromagnetic field (EMF) noise that can alter the bioelectric and geomagnetic landscape, which may impair electrically and magnetically mediated behaviors, such as foraging and navigation, in marine wildlife. In Partnership with Oregon Sea Grant, using Longnose skates and Dungeness crab we are developing controlled laboratory validated protocols to fill our knowledge gaps on the acute and cumulative impacts that EMF noise has on the sensory biology, behavioral ecology, movement, and distribution of multiple EMF sensitive species.

This study by the Southern California Marine Institute will use relevant ecological indicators (e.g., biodiversity, biomass, productivity) to improve understanding of how local and/or regional factors influence the variation in environmental status observed in marine infrastructure/facility/obstruction habitats within the Pacific Region, especially offshore California. Study results will assist BOEM in evaluating proposed plans that involve significant amounts of marine infrastructure (which function as de facto artificial reefs) and to gain insight in determining if existing energy infrastructure affects other uses of the outer continental shelf.

At the direction of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Wind Energy Technologies Office, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory are jointly leading a multi-year collaborative effort to facilitate knowledge transfer for offshore wind research around the world. The U.S. Offshore Wind Synthesis of Environmental Effects Research (SEER) effort aims to synthesize key issues and disseminate existing knowledge about environmental effects, inform applicability to U.S. waters, and prioritize future research needs. For the Pacific, SEER's products have included research briefs, webinars, workshops, and databases.

The overall objective of this study is to test hypotheses on biological connectivity among artificial and natural habitats using genetic markers. The team is sampling non-indigenous species and native species on (a) oil and gas platforms, (b) harbors, (c) shipwrecks, and (d) nearby natural reefs for the genetic analysis; estimating biological connectivity among anthropogenic structures and natural reefs using the data; and developing an early detection and rapid-response monitoring plan.

Focusing on how marine animals will respond to shifting ocean conditions caused by climate change and other human activities. In the laboratory, we’ve developed an “Upwelling Simulator” that controls the temperature, oxygen levels, and acidity of waters fed to experimental aquaria. We can mimic the sort of environmental variation that nearshore animals off California experience naturally, and under more severe future conditions, and measure how it affects the reproduction, growth, and survival of organisms (e.g., black abalone).

This study by the University of California, Santa Barbara surveyed the distribution and abundance of a non-native bryozoan on 23 platforms and natural reefs in the Southern California Bight, and elucidated the role that offshore artificial structures may have in linking and affecting biological communities. The study results will inform environmental reviews of conventional energy activities (including decommissioning of platforms) and renewable energy activities (including siting of facilities) offshore southern and central California.

This project provides a time-sensitive update to the 20-year wind resource data set (named “CA20”) produced in 2020 by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of California. Following the deployment of two floating lidars in the region in late 2020, NREL compared the CA20-modeled wind speeds against the lidar measurements using two different approaches, and found a significant bias in the modeled CA20 data in the region. An updated data set has been released.

This study by Mangi Environmental Group compiled and analyzed information generated after 1977 about the coastal and marine environment from Grays Harbor, Washington to San Francisco Bay, and from Santa Barbara County to the U.S.-Mexico border. It identified early information and data gaps about oceanographic resources and potential impacts of offshore renewable energy development.

This study is developing an update to the 2012-2017 BOEM-funded study by USGS, "Developing and Applying a Vulnerability Index for Scaling the Possible Adverse Effects of Offshore Renewable Energy Projects on Seabirds of the Pacific OCS.". The update will incorporate recently published data and methodological improvements.

The goal of this project was to use existing spatial data representing marine species, the marine environment, and human uses of ocean waters to: 1) identify areas for potential offshore wind energy development that balance impacts and benefits; and 2) examine the existing offshore Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) and the sea space for potential future development identified under the AB525 process.

Vertically migrating animals comprise a large and active component of the ocean's biological pump, and when compared with passively sinking detritus, the vertical migrators contribute significantly to the overall flux of particulate organic carbon. Our data obtained directly by MBARI’s ROVs have revealed an abundant and very diverse assemblage of predators confronting the migrators; a group far more complex and dynamic than was previously believed to exist.

Cetacean species distribution models (SDMs) or “habitat models” estimate density as a continuous function of habitat variables (e.g., sea surface temperature, seafloor depth) and within the study area that was modeled, densities can be predicted at all locations where these habitat variables can be measured or estimated. SDMs therefore allow estimates of cetacean densities on finer spatial and temporal scales than traditional line-transect or mark-recapture analyses.

This effort by the Udall Foundation’s John S. McCain III National Center for Environmental Conflict Resolution will work with interested West Coast Tribal Nations to develop cultural landscape assessments along the coast and offshore California, Oregon, and Washington near areas of potential offshore wind energy development. It will improve understanding about cultural and archaeological resources and places of importance, and assist in understanding potential impacts of offshore renewable energy development.

This project tracked four species (Common Murres, Western Gull, Pink-footed Shearwaters, and Pacific Loons) and compiled tracking data into the Oregon Seabird Tracking Inventory. The study also provided a framework for analysis and visualization that combines data from multiple location types (Argos, GPS) and summarized the data within the Oregon Exclusive Economic Zone and the northern California Current System. They also used bootstrapping methods to estimate the percentage of time spent within the Rotor-Sweep Zone for seabird species and applied boosted regression trees to disentangle environmental, bird behavior, and electronic-based influences on seabird flight heights. The project report summarizes at-sea survey efforts for three surveys (2015-2017) in the northern California Current System and compares the species composition and at sea densities to telemetry-derived utilization distributions.

The deep-sea is a diverse habitat, but it is turning out to be even more diverse than we imagined. There are two ways that we are discovering new layers of this diversity: First, using remotely operated submersibles (ROVs) we can collect fragile life forms which have not been studied before. Second, within the species that we think are familiar, we find new genetic diversity.