TY - CONF
TI - Risk of whale encounters with offshore renewable energy mooring lines and electrical cables
AU - Copping, A
AU - Grear, M
AU - Sanders, G
T2 - Environmental Interactions of Marine Renewables (EIMR) 2018
AB - Surface-placed wave energy converters, floating tidal turbines, and floating offshore wind platforms all require anchoring to the seabed with multiple mooring lines and electrical cables passing through the water column, from near the sea surface to the sea floor. Concerns have been raised that large whales may collide with and/or become entangled in lines and cables from renewable energy installations, causing injury or death. Currently, there are few floating arrays where this encounter can be tested, and no appropriate industrial analogues that can be applied. Using literature values for humpback swimming behavior, diving speed, dive duration, foraging behavior, as well as specifications for a generic floating marine energy array, we have modeled the passage of the whales through the array. Using animation software, we have visualized the passage of an adult-calf pair through the array, as well as the foraging behavior of an adult humpback. From this animation, we hope to gain insight and provide visual context for the risk of large whales and offshore mooring lines and cables.More information about the EIMR 2018 Conference is available here.
DA - 2018/04//
PY - 2018
SP - 14
LA - English
KW - Marine Energy
KW - Wind Energy
KW - Floating Offshore Wind
KW - Collision
KW - Entanglement
KW - Marine Mammals
KW - Cetaceans
ER -