Abstract
Proposed development of offshore wind energy areas in the Mid-Atlantic Bight has raised concerns among stakeholders about potential changes to coastal and oceanic environmental conditions. To build on two previous BOEM studies, this project developed a validated modeling system that incorporates individual wind turbines and wind energy resource facilities for the U.S. North Atlantic Ocean from North Carolina to New York and used it to generate detailed simulations that enable more accurate assessments of possible impacts of proposed wind energy facilities. The objective of the study was to determine the effects of offshore wind energy facilities on coastal and oceanic environmental conditions and habitat by examining how oceanic characteristics will change after turbine installation, particularly for bottom stress, turbulent mixing, along and cross-shelf currents, wind wave interactions, and larval transport.