Skip to main content

Marine Mammals

Breaching humpback whale
A broad term that encompasses cetaceans, pinnipeds, and others.

Marine mammals include pinnipeds (seals, sea lions), cetaceans (dolphins and whales), and sea otters. Because these organisms have fairly advanced cognitive abilities, it is fairly difficult to gauge how offshore renewable energy devices will affect marine mammals. Some of these organisms use echolocation to communicate and navigate themselves through the marine environment, which poses a concern as noise emitted from offshore renewable energy devices can have the potential to mask or hide echolocation of marine mammals. Some marine mammals also have very sensitive hearing, which makes these organisms vulnerable to loud noises generated underwater (i.e. pile driving/construction). With these issues in mind, the stressors that pose the greatest risks to marine mammals are collision, habitat change, and displacement, as well as noise.

Marine and Wind Energy Environmental Documents

Tethys is a knowledge hub that contains documents on the environmental effects of wind and marine energy. The table below contains all of the documents in the Tethys Knowledge Base associated with Marine Mammals.

Total: 1661

Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life IV Popper, A., Sisneros, J., Lepper, P. Book Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Reptiles
Baleen Whale Occurrence in the Waters Off Virginia and North Carolina, U.S.A. From 2001 to 2019 Mallette, S., McLellan, W., Pabst, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Entanglement, Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Entanglement risk of marine animals in the mooring lines of marine energy devices and oceanographic instruments Hemery, L., Copping, A., Jones, K. Report Marine Energy Entanglement Fish, Marine Mammals, Sea Turtles
Empire Wind: Enhancing Marine Mammal Monitoring in Offshore Wind Construction Aniceto, A., Kriesell, H., Carduner, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning, Stakeholder Engagement
Store Middelgrund Monopile Removal: How Far Can Sound Emissions from Decommissioning Impact on the Harbour Porpoise? Pace, F., Sarnocinska-Kot, J., Yubero, R. Book Chapter Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Integrating biodiversity conservation into renewable energy development under the European Green Deal: A comparative analysis of national policies in France, Italy and Spain Hajdukovic, I., Jessel, B. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Avoidance, Displacement, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Marine Mammals, Marine Spatial Planning, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement
Localized and temporary vessel traffic changes from offshore wind development on the US East Coast pose limited risk to large whales Bishop, A., Meyer-Gutbrod, E., Nowacek, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Noise, Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Navigation
A call to standardize metrics for monitoring baleen whales near marine construction activities Szesciorka, A., Severy, M., Ampela, K. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
A coupled LES–aeroacoustic framework for predicting hydrodynamic noise from tidal-stream turbines Botero-Bolívar, L., Ouro, P., Ferrer, E. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Noise Fish, Marine Mammals
Mooring Sensors for Environmental Awareness (MoorSEA)—Environmental Data Memo H.T. Harvey & Associates, Schatz Energy Research Center Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, Entanglement Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Infrasonic acoustic energy produced by offshore wind turbine energy generation may interfere with bird and cetacean navigation cues Stocker, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Birds, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Sound Source Characterization for the World’s Largest Floating Offshore Wind Farm Hywind Tampen Kriesell, H., Aniceto, A., Burns, R. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Fish, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Progressing Tidal Energy Through Organized Data Approaches Copping, A., Hemery, L., Garavelli, L. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Effects of Concurrent Pile Driving on Marine Mammal Acoustic Range Tripathy, A., Fowler, K., Fowler, K. Book Chapter Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals
The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Offshore Energy and Environmental Research Ryu, S., Dempsey, L., Ampela, K. Summary Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Bats, Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Human Dimensions
Acoustic Impact of a Floating Wind Turbine Prototype in the Mediterranean Sea Buscaino, G., Papale, E., Ceraulo, M. Book Chapter Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Fish, Marine Mammals
Near Real-Time Passive Acoustic Mitigation Monitoring: Three Case Studies Malinka, C., Tabbutt, S., Matei, M. Book Chapter Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals
Near Real-Time Passive Acoustic Mitigation Monitoring: Three Case Studies Malinka, C., Tabbutt, S., Matei, M. Book Chapter Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals
Underwater Radiated Noise Levels along the California Coast for Participating Vessels in the 2025 Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program Conti, M., Reeves, L., Haver, S. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Final report of marine species monitoring for the population consequences of disturbance (MSM4CoD): An integrated approach to robustly monitoring marine mammal populations Booth, C., Ryder, M., Chudzinska, M. Report Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Analysis and control of acoustic emissions from marine energy converters He, J., Malyi, M., Shek, J. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Noise Marine Mammals
Evaluating the Risk of Collision of Seals Swimming Within Metres of Operating Tidal Turbines Montabaranom, J., Gillespie, D., Sparling, C. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
PrePARED Annual Report 2025 Marine Scotland, University of Aberdeen, SMRU Consulting Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Marine Mammals
Harbour porpoise population response to windfarm construction, service traffic, and changes in prey availability Weller, F., Cordier, A., Frankish, C. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Underwater Noise in Offshore Wind Farms: Monitoring Technologies, Acoustic Characteristics, and Long-Term Adaptive Management Zhu, P., Hu, Z., Li, H. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
Observations of marine animal interactions with a small tidal turbine Cotter, E., Bassett, C., Murphy, P. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Avoidance, Collision Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
Cumulative impacts of offshore wind and commercial vessels on harbour porpoise populations in Danish waters Gallagher, C., Frankish, C., Teilmann, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Avoidance, Displacement, Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Environmental Effects Monitoring Program Annual Report 2025 Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) Report Marine Energy, Tidal Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
Protecting marine ecosystems from offshore wind noise: a Taiwan cetacean observer enforcement study Chiang, N., Kao, R., Huang, C. Journal Article Wind Energy Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions
Floating Offshore Wind Dynamic Cable EMF Environmental Review ORE Catapult, Evolv Energies, St Abbs Marine Station Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind EMF Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
A Modeling Approach to Aggregated Noise Effects of Offshore Wind Farms in the Canary and North Seas Urtiaga-Chasco, I., Hernández-Guerra, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals
Technical brief – update of harbour porpoise summer distribution in the Belt Sea Gilles, A., Pigeault, R., Benoit, V. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
A Porpoise-Driven Approach: Using Agent-Based Models to Predict Population Consequences of Offshore Wind Noises on Gulf of Maine Harbor Porpoises Pridonoff, B. Thesis Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Offshore Wind Technical Assistance for Sri Lanka Pustjens, W., Dong, L., Le, T. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Bats, Birds, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Stakeholder Engagement
North Atlantic right whale localization and source level estimation using two coherently beamformed linear arrays Abbot, T., Granite, E., Premus, V. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Managing the effects of offshore wind farm noise on marine animals: Lessons learned after 25 years of research in Europe and beyond Thomsen, F. Conference Paper Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Noise Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
North Atlantic right whale detection range performance quantification on a bottom-mounted linear hydrophone array using a calibrated acoustic source Premus, V., Abbot, P., Illich, E. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Robust real-time detection of right whale upcalls using neural networks on the edge Hyer, M., Anderson, A., Mann, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise, Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Overview of the potential ecological impacts of three offshore locations for wind farms in Aotearoa New Zealand McKinlay, B., van Helden, A., Taylor, G. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Noise, Vessel Strike Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Threat Assessment for the Critically Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis) Vanderlaan, A., Lang, S., Sanchez, M. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Marine Mammals, Cetaceans

Displaying 1 - 40 of 1661 results