This Educational Research Brief will summarizes the potential disturbance and impact to benthic ecosystems for fixed-bottom installations in shallow waters and floating offshore wind farms in deep waters. Stresses from pile driving, scour, cable installation, and anchoring are reviewed for impacts during the construction and operation periods of the wind farm using data and analysis from Europe and the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
Benthic Disturbance from Offshore Wind Foundations, Anchors, and Cables
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The Brief was reviewed by external subject matter experts (Dr. Monique LaFrance Bartley, U.S. National Park Service; Dr. Jan Vanaverbeke, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences) and the SEER Science and Technical (S&T) Advisory Committee. These subject matter experts also participated in a panel discussion during the SEER Webinar on Effects of Offshore Wind Farm Structures on Fish Ecology & Benthic Disturbance.
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The table below contains the literature relevant to this summary document.
| Title | Author | Date Sort ascending | Content Type | Technology | Stressor | Receptor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance Research Priorities 2022 | Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) | Guidance | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind | Habitat Change | Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning | |
| Identifying Ecological Metrics and Sampling Strategies for Baseline Monitoring During Offshore Wind Development | Brodie, J., Kohut, J., Zemeckis, D. | Workshop Article | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind | Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning | ||
| Comparison of Environmental Effects from Different Offshore Wind Turbine Foundations (2021 Revision) | Horwath, S., Hassrick, J., Grismala, R., Diller, E., Krebs, J., Manhard, 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 | |
| Benthos Workgroup Report for the State of the Science Workshop on Wildlife and Offshore Wind Energy 2020: Cumulative Impacts | Degraer, S., Hutchison, Z., LoBue, C., Williams, K., Gulka, J., Jenkins, E. | Report | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Habitat Change | Physical Environment | |
| Offshore Wind Farm Footprint on Organic and Mineral Particle Flux to the Bottom | Ivanov, E., Capet, A., Borger, E., Degraer, S., Delhez, E., Soetaert, K., Vanaverbeke, J., Grégoire, M. | Journal Article | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Changes in Flow | Physical Environment, Sediment Transport | |
| Offshore Wind Energy and Benthic Habitat Changes: Lessons from Block Island Wind Farm | Hutchison, Z., Bartley, M., Degraer, S., English, P., Khan, A., Livermore, J., Rumes, B., King, J. | Journal Article | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Habitat Change | Fish, Invertebrates, Physical Environment | |
| Does galvanic cathodic protection by aluminum anodes impact marine organisms? | Bell, A., von der Au, M., Regnery, J., Schmid, M., Meermann, B., Reifferscheid, G., Ternes, T., Buchinger, S. | Journal Article | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind | Chemicals | Fish, Invertebrates, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment | |
| 2020 State of the Science Report - Chapter 6: Changes in Benthic and Pelagic Habitats Caused by Marine Renewable Energy Devices | Hemery, L. | Report | Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave | Habitat Change | ||
| Benthic and Epifaunal Monitoring During Wind Turbine Installation and Operation at the Block Island Wind Farm, Rhode Island - Project Report | Hutchison, Z., Bartley, M., English, P., King, J., Grace, S., Kresning, B., Baxter, C., Ampela, K., Deakos, M., Khan, A. | Report | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Habitat Change | Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning | |
| Succession in epibenthic communities on artificial reefs associated with marine renewable energy facilities within a tide-swept environment | Taormina, B., Percheron, A., Marzloff, M., Caisey, X., Quillienn, N., Lejart, M., Desroy, N., Dugornay, O., Tancray, A., Carlier, A. | Journal Article | Marine Energy, Tidal | Attraction, Habitat Change | Fish, Invertebrates | |
| Development of epibenthic assemblages on artificial habitat associated with marine renewable infrastructure | Sheehan, E., Cartwright, A., Witt, M., Attrill, M., Vural, M., Holmes, L. | Journal Article | Marine Energy | Habitat Change | Invertebrates | |
| Nature-Inclusive Design: A Catalogue for Offshore Wind Infrastructure | Hermans, A., Bos, O., Prusina, I. | Report | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Attraction, Habitat Change | Fish, Invertebrates, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning | |
| Seafloor Disturbance and Recovery Monitoring at the Block Island Wind Farm, Rhode Island – Summary Report | Khan, A., Smith, K. | Report | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Habitat Change | Physical Environment | |
| Detection Probability of Bats Using Active Versus Passive Monitoring | Teets, K., Loeb, S., Jachowski, D. | Journal Article | Bats | |||
| Guidelines for Providing Benthic Habitat Survey Information for Renewable Energy Development on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf | Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) | Report | Marine Energy, Wind Energy | Habitat Change | Invertebrates | |
| Safeguarding Marine Protected Areas in the Growing Mediterranean Blue Economy: Recommendations for the Offshore Wind Energy Sector | WWF France | Report | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Collision, EMF, Lighting, Noise | Birds, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning | |
| Worldwide oil and gas platform decommissioning: A review of practices and reefing options | Bull, A., Love, M. | Journal Article | Habitat Change | Fish, Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning | ||
| Environmental Impacts of Offshore Wind Farms in the Belgian Part of the North Sea: Marking a Decade of Monitoring, Research and Innovation | Degraer, S., Brabant, R., Rumes, B., Vigin, L. | Report | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Chemicals, Noise | Birds, Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Fisheries | |
| Beatrice Decommissioning Programmes: Final Version | Repsol | Report | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning | ||
| A review of potential impacts of submarine power cables on the marine environment: Knowledge gaps, recommendations and future directions | Taormina, B., Bald, J., Want, A., Thouzeau, G., Lejart, M., Desroy, N., Carlier, A. | Journal Article | Habitat Change | |||
| Environmental benefits of leaving offshore infrastructure in the ocean | Fowler, A., Jørgensen, A., Svendsen, J., Macreadie, P., Jones, D., Boon, A., Booth, D., Brabant, R., Callahan, E., Claisse, J., Dahlgren, T., Degraer, S., Dokken, Q., Gill, A., Johns, D., Leewis, R., Lindeboom, H., Linden, O., May, R., Murk, A., Ottersen, G., Schroeder, D., Shastri, S., Teilmann, J., Todd, V., Van Hoey, G., Vanaverbeke, J., Coolen, J. | Journal Article | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Habitat Change | ||
| Seabed recovery following protective burial of subsea cables - Observations from the continental margin | Kraus, C., Carter, L. | Journal Article | Habitat Change | Invertebrates | ||
| Marine Scotland Review of Approaches and Costs of Decommissioning Offshore Wind Installations Public Report | Marine Scotland Science | Report | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Habitat Change | Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning | |
| Improving Efficiencies of National Environmental Policy Act Documentation for Offshore Wind Facilities - Case Studies Report | English, P., Mason, T., Backstrom, J., Tibbles, B., Mackay, A., Smith, M., Mitchell, T. | Report | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Legal & Policy, Human Dimensions | ||
| Observing Cable Laying and Particle Settlement During the Construction of the Block Island Wind Farm | James, E., Smith, K., Gallien, D., Khan, A. | Report | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Habitat Change | Physical Environment, Sediment Transport | |
| Anthropogenic Sources of Underwater Sound can Modify how Sediment-Dwelling Invertebrates Mediate Ecosystem Properties | Solan, M., Hauton, C., Godbold, J., Wood, C., Leighton, T., White, P. | Journal Article | Marine Energy, Riverine | Noise | Invertebrates | |
| Offshore Wind Energy Development in North Carolina | Stearns, B., Murphy, M., Marriott, S., Gruetter, E., Colburn, J., Gray, J., Cole, L., Shreve, M. | Report | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind | Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning, Recreation & Tourism, Social & Economic Data | ||
| Offshore Wind Submarine Cable Spacing Guidance | TÜV SÜD PMSS, Red Penguin Associates | Report | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | |||
| Enrichment and Shifts in Macrobenthic Assemblages in an Offshore Wind Farm Area in the Belgian Part of the North Sea | Coates, D., Deschutter, Y., Vincx, M., Vanaverbeke, J. | Journal Article | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Habitat Change | Ecosystem Processes, Physical Environment, Invertebrates | |
| Marine Renewable Energy Development: Assessing the Benthic Footprint at Multiple Scales | Miller, R., Hutchison, Z., Macleod, A., Burrows, M., Cook, E., Last, K., Wilson, B. | Journal Article | Marine Energy, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Habitat Change | Invertebrates | |
| Offshore Wind Farms in the Belgian Part of the North Sea: Heading for an Understanding of Environmental Impacts | Degraer, S., Brabant, R., Rumes, B. | Report | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Attraction, Avoidance, Habitat Change, Noise | Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Physical Environment | |
| Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm 2010 Construction Environmental Monitoring Report | Saunders, S. | Report | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Changes in Flow, Noise | Birds, Waterfowl, Marine Mammals | |
| Offshore Wind Farms in the Belgian Part of the North Sea: Selected findings from the baseline and targeted monitoring | Degraer, S., Brabant, R., Rumes, B. | Report | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Habitat Change, Noise | Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Marine Spatial Planning, Social & Economic Data, Visual Impacts | |
| Effects of two offshore gas platforms on soft-bottom benthic communities (northwestern Adriatic Sea, Italy) | Manoukian, S., Spagnolo, A., Scarcella, G., Punzo, E., Angelini, R., Gabi, G. | Journal Article | Displacement, Habitat Change | Invertebrates | ||
| Burbo Offshore Wind Farm Construction Phase Environmental Monitoring Report | Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies Ltd (CMACS) | Report | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Changes in Flow, EMF, Noise | Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment | |
| Worldwide Synthesis and Analysis of Existing Information Regarding Environmental Effects of Alternative Energy Uses on the Outer Continental Shelf | Michel, J., Dunagan, H., Boring, C., Healy, E., Evans, W., Dean, J., McGillis, A., Hain, J. | Report | Wind Energy, Wave, OTEC, Fixed Offshore Wind, Ocean Current, Marine Energy | Habitat Change | ||
| Rigs-to-Reef Programs in the Gulf of Mexico | Kaiser, M., Pulsipher, A. | Journal Article | Habitat Change | Invertebrates, Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning | ||
| Nonindigenous biota on artificial structures: could habitat creation facilitate biological invasions? | Glasby, T., Connell, S., Holloway, M., Hewitt, C. | Journal Article | Habitat Change | Invertebrates, Human Dimensions, Marine Spatial Planning | ||
| Artificial Marine Structures Facilitate the Spread of a Non-Indigenous Green Algae | Bulleri, F., Airoldi, L. | Journal Article | Marine Energy | Habitat Change | Ecosystem Processes | |
| A Review of Offshore Windfarm Related Underwater Noise Sources | Nedwell, J., Howell, D. | Report | Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind | Noise |