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: 1482

Searches title and abstract.
Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Safe passage for fish: The case for in-stream turbines Brown, E., Sulaeman, S., Quispe-Abad, R. Journal Article Marine Energy, Riverine Changes in Flow, Collision, Noise Fish
Potential biological impacts of very low frequency acoustical energy produced by offshore wind turbine energy generation Stocker, M. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Birds, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Managing human activity and marine mammals: A biologically based, relativistic risk assessment framework Southall, B., Tollit, D., Amaral, J. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Wozep Ecological Programme: Update Wozep 2023 Offshore Wind Ecological Programme (Wozep) Presentation Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Noise Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds, Physical Environment, Sediment Transport
Sound sensitivity of the giant scallop (Placopecten magelanicus) is life stage, intensity, and frequency dependent Jézéquel, Y., Cones, S., Mooney, T. Journal Article Noise Invertebrates
Revolution Wind COP Appendix P3: Underwater Acoustic Modeling Analysis Kusel, E., Weirathmueller, M., Zammit, K. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Fish, Marine Mammals
Assessing differences in acoustic characteristics from impact and vibratory pile installation and their potential effects on the large yellow croaker (Pseudosciaena crocea) Niu, F., Xie, J., Zhang, X. Journal Article Wind Energy Noise Fish, Pelagic Fish, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Underwater noise characteristics of offshore exploratory drilling and its impact on marine mammals Huang, L-F., Xu, X-M., Yang, L. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
A roadmap for required technological advancements to further reduce onshore wind turbine noise impact on the environment Bertagnolio, F., Herr, M., Madsen, K. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Noise
5th ScotMER Symposium: Energy Emissions Marine Scotland Presentation Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind EMF, Noise
Interdisciplinary analysis of wind energy - a focus on France Kinani, K., Meunier, S., Vido, L. Journal Article Wind Energy Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change, Noise Physical Environment, Sediment Transport, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Social & Economic Data, Visual Impacts
Assessing the impacts of anthropogenic sounds on early stages of benthic invertebrates: The “Larvosonic system” Olivier, F., Gigot, M, Mathias, D. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy Noise Invertebrates
Understanding subjective and situational factors of wind turbine noise annoyance Müller, F., Leschinger, V., Hübner, G. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Noise Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data
Implications of wind and vessel noise on the sound fields experienced by southern resident killer whales Orcinus orca in the Salish Sea Burnham, R., Vagle, S., Thupaki, P. Journal Article Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Offshore wind farm construction is noisy – but gadgets used to protect marine mammals are working Graham, I. Magazine Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Habitat Change, Noise
Directional hydrophone clusters reveal evasive responses of small cetaceans to disturbance during construction at offshore windfarms Graham, I., Gillespie, D., Gkikopoulou, K. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Avoidance, Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Insights from the management of offshore energy resources: Toward an ecosystem-services based management approach for deep-ocean industries Bravo, M., Brandt, M., van der Grient, J. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Avoidance, Changes in Flow, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Social & Economic Data
Developing Parametric Source Functions for Wave Energy Converters Polagye, B., Bassett, C., Abadi, S. Research Study Marine Energy, Wave Noise Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds, Environmental Impact Assessment
Underwater noise reduction of offshore wind turbine using compact circular liner Zhou, T., Guo, J. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise
Rapidly Deployable Acoustic Monitoring and Localization System Based on a Low-Cost Wave Buoy Platform Raghukumar, K., Chang, G., Spada, F. Report Marine Energy, Wave Noise Human Dimensions
Environmental Impacts of Offshore Wind Farms in the Belgian Part of the North Sea: Getting ready for offshore wind farm expansion in the North Sea Degraer, S., Brabant, R., Rumes, B. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning
Environmental Effects Monitoring Program Annual Report 2022 Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) Report Marine Energy, Tidal Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
PARC EOLIEN EN MER DE SAINTNAZAIRE: Phase Construction – Rapport opérationnel Bellanger, J., Clorennec, D., Billand, P. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals
Considerations on environmental, economic, and energy impacts of wind energy generation: Projections towards sustainability initiatives Msigwa, G., Ighalo, J., Yap, P-S. Journal Article Wind Energy Changes in Flow, Noise Birds, Human Dimensions, Social & Economic Data, Visual Impacts
Offshore Wind Energy Permitting Processes in the European Union: An examination of Danish, German, Scottish and Swedish offshore permitting processes and case study of acoustic impact on marine mammals Jack, T. Thesis Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Effects of vessel traffic and ocean noise on gray whale stress hormones Lemos, L., Haxel, J., Olsen, A. Journal Article Noise Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Commercial cuttlefish exposed to noise from offshore windmill construction show short-range acoustic trauma Solé, M., De Vreese, S., Fortuno, J-M. Journal Article Marine Energy, Wind Energy Noise Invertebrates
Acoustic characterisation of unexploded ordnance disposal in the North Sea using high order detonations Robinson, S., Wang, L., Cheong, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise Marine Mammals
Dominant Frequency Extraction for Operational Underwater Sound of Offshore Wind Turbines Using Adaptive Stochastic Resonance Wang, R., Xu, X., Zou, Z. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Habitat Change, Noise Fish, Physical Environment
Post Access Report: DAISY Flow noise Testing University of Washington Report Marine Energy Noise
Measurement of effects of pile driving in the Borssele wind farm zone on the seals in the Dutch Delta area version II Brasseur, S., Aarts, G., Schop, J. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Avoidance, Displacement, Noise Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
Clean Energy from the Ocean: Measuring the Environmental Footprint of Devices Rose, D., Gunn, C., Hemery, L. Magazine Article Marine Energy Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions
Noise pollution from wind turbines and its effects on wildlife: A cross-national analysis of current policies and planning regulations Teff-Seker, Y., Berger-Tal, O., Lehnardt, Y. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind Noise Birds, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Kitty Hawk North Wind COP Appendix O: In-Air Acoustic Assessment Tetra Tech Inc. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise
Environmental Effects of U.S. Offshore Wind Energy Development: Compilation of Educational Research Briefs Green, R., Hein, C., Oteri, F. Summary Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Bats, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Reptiles
Implementation of the Spatial Environmental Assessment Toolkit McWilliams, S., Jones, C., Roberts, J. Presentation Marine Energy, Riverine, Tidal, Wave Habitat Change, Noise
International assessment of priority environmental issues for land-based and offshore wind energy development Green, R., Gill, E., Hein, C. Journal Article Wind Energy, Land-Based Wind, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change, Noise Bats, Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment
Operation of a tidal turbine from a moored vessel in Agate Pass, WA Bassett, C. Presentation Marine Energy, Tidal Collision, Noise Fish, Invertebrates, Human Dimensions
Acoustic Characterization around the CalWave Wave Energy Converter Raghukumar, K., Chang, G., Spada, F. Presentation Marine Energy, Wave Noise
Quantitative Evaluation of Four Flow Shield Designs Cotter, E., Barker, A., McVey, J. Presentation Noise Human Dimensions
Displaying 321 - 360 of 1482 results