Noise

Sound generated during the construction or operation of a device.

During the construction of wind energy or marine renewable energy devices, substantial noise levels can be produced by vessel or vehicle traffic and installation activities (e.g., pile driving, cable burial). Operation of these devices may additionally produce low levels of noise from the rotation of turbine blades, movement of floating devices on the surface, or strumming of mooring lines and cables. Measures to reduce noise impacts in the marine environment include the use of bubble curtains during pile driving and careful siting and timing of construction activities to avoid species’ critical migration routes and times.

Sound propagates farther and faster in water than in air, which can result in greater consequences for the marine environment. Coupled with the many other sources of anthropogenic noise in the marine environment (e.g., ships, seismic studies), the noise from offshore wind and marine renewable energy devices may impact many marine species. Noise may interfere with marine organisms’ communication, navigation, detection of prey, and ability to interact with their environment, as well as causing attraction to or avoidance of devices. Additionally, some marine organisms may be physically harmed from excessive noise exposure (e.g., tissue and nerve damage).

For more information relevant to marine energy, check out the Underwater Noise Short Science Summary produced by OES Environmental.

For more information relevant to offshore wind energy, check out the Underwater Noise Effects on Marine Life research brief produced by SEER.

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 Noise.

Total: 1450

Searches title and abstract.
Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Behavioural reactions of harbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena to startle-eliciting stimuli: movement responses and practical applications Hiley, H., Janik, V., Götz, T. Journal Article Avoidance, Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Characterization of Impact Pile Driving Signals and Fin Whale Vocalizations at the Block Island Wind Farm Site Amaral, J. Thesis Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Underwater sound measurements During the installation of the Borssele OWF Brinkkemper, J., Geelhoed, S., Berges, B. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Potential effects of underwater noise from wind turbines on the marbled rockfish (Sebasticus marmoratus) Zhang, X., Guo, H., Chen, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Fish, Demersal Fish
Is setback distance the best criteria for siting wind turbines under crowded conditions? An empirical analysis Peri, E., Tal, A. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Lighting, Noise Human Dimensions
Comparison of Environmental Effects from Different Offshore Wind Turbine Foundations (2021 Revision) Horwath, S., Hassrick, J., Grismala, R. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Water Quality, Reptiles
Impact of pile-driving and offshore windfarm operational noise on fish chorusing Siddagangaiah, S., Chen, C., Hu, W. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Fish
Sea Turtle Workgroup Report for the State of the Science Workshop on Wildlife and Offshore Wind Energy 2020: Cumulative Impacts Gitschlag, G., Perry, R., Williams, K. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Draft Preliminary Environmental Assessment: Vandenberg Offshore Wind Energy Projects California State Lands Commission Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Fisheries, Visual Impacts
Marine Mammals Workgroup Report for the State of the Science Workshop on Wildlife and Offshore Wind Energy 2020: Cumulative Impacts Southall, B., Morse, L., Williams, K. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Marine Mammals
Workgroup Report on Sound and Vibration Effects on Fishes and Aquatic Invertebrates for the State of the Science Workshop on Wildlife and Offshore Wind Energy 2020: Cumulative Impacts Popper, A., Hice-Dunton, L., Williams, K. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Fish, Invertebrates
Sea Lice Are Sensitive to Low Frequency Sounds Solé, M., Lenoir, M., Fortuno, J-M. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy Noise Invertebrates, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Far-Field Effects of Impulsive Noise on Coastal Bottlenose Dolphins Fernandez-Betelu, O., Graham, I., Brookes, K. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Modeling Small Scale Impacts of Multi-Purpose Platforms: An Ecosystem Approach Serpetti, N., Benjamins, S., Brain, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
Broad-Scale Responses of Harbor Porpoises to Pile-Driving and Vessel Activities During Offshore Windfarm Construction Benhemma-Le Gall, A., Graham, I., Merchant, N. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions
Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species: FY15 – FY19 Palka, D., Aichinger Dias, L., Broughton, E. Report Habitat Change, Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
SafeWave DELIVERABLE 2.1 Development of environmental monitoring plans Vinagre, P., Chainho, P., Cruz E. Report Marine Energy EMF, Noise Fish
Environmental impacts of offshore wind installation, operation and maintenance, and decommissioning activities: A case study of Brazil Hernández Carrascal, O., Shadman, M., Amiri, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Fisheries
A Case Study of Whistle Detection and Localization for Humpback Dolphins in Taiwan Hung, C., Chu, W., Li, W. Journal Article Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
IQOE – Inventory of existing standards and guidelines relevant to marine bioacoustics International Quiet Ocean Experiment (IQOE) Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals
Seagrass Posidonia is impaired by human-generated noise Solé, M., Lenoir, M., Durfort, M. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy Noise
WESE Deliverable 3.2 Acoustic Modelling Felis, I., Madrid, E., Bald, J. Report Marine Energy, Wave Noise
Potential environmental effects of deepwater floating offshore wind energy facilities Farr, H., Ruttenberg, B., Walter, R. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Bats, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment
A systemic view of potential environmental impacts of ocean energy production Martinez, M., Vázquez, G., Pérez-Maqueo O. Journal Article Marine Energy, Ocean Current, OTEC, Salinity Gradient, Tidal, Wave Collision, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Physical Environment, Fish, Marine Mammals
Relative Performance of Surface vs. Bottom-Mounted Hydrophones in a Tidal Channel Hasselman, D., Boucher, T., Douglas, J. Report Marine Energy, Tidal Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Capercaillie and Wind Energy: An international research project Taubmann, J., Coppes, J., Andrén, H. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Collision, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Ground-Nesting Birds
Vibrational noise from wind energy-turbines negatively impacts earthworm abundance Velilla, E., Collinson, E., Bellato, L. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Noise Invertebrates
Acoustic risk balancing by marine mammals: anthropogenic noise can influence the foraging decisions by seals Hastie, G., Lepper, P., McKnight, C. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Avoidance, Noise Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
Spatial and temporal analysis of cumulative environmental effects of offshore wind farms in the North Sea basin Gusatu, L., Menegon, S., Depellegrin, D. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Chemicals, Displacement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Physical Environment, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions
South Fork Wind Farm Construction and Operations Plan Ørsted, Eversource Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind EMF, Habitat Change, Lighting, Noise Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Reptiles, Sea Turtles
Anthropogenic Sound Exposure-Induced Stress in Captive Dolphins and Implications for Cetacean Health Yang, W., Chen, C., Chuah, Y. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
HELCOM Guidelines for monitoring continuous noise Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission Report Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Aeroacoustic Assessment of Wind Plant Controls Hamilton, N., Bortolotti, P., Jager, D. Report Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Noise
Agent-based models to investigate sound impact on marine animals: bridging the gap between effects on individual behaviour and population level consequences Mortensen, L., Chudzinska, M., Slabbekoorn, H. Journal Article Wind Energy Noise Fish, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
The Rockhopper: a compact and extensible marine autonomous passive acoustic recording system Klinck, H., Winiarski, D., Mack, R. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals
Underwater Noise Monitoring with Real-Time and Low-Cost Systems, (The CORMA Experience) Diviacco, P. Journal Article Noise
Substrate vibrations and their potential effects upon fishes and invertebrates Hawkins, A., Hazelwood, R., Popper, A. Journal Article Noise Fish, Invertebrates
An Evaluation of the Potential Impact of Extracting Marine Renewable Energy in the Coastal Environment of the Black Sea Zburlea, L., Rusu, E. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment
Infrasound from wind turbines Myck, T., Wothge, J. Magazine Article Wind Energy Noise Human Dimensions, Health & Safety
Impact of wind power plants on mammalian and avian wildlife species in shrub- and woodlands Schöll, E., Nopp-Mayr, U. Journal Article Collision, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Terrestrial Mammals
Displaying 441 - 480 of 1450 results