Impacts to Marine Mammals from Pre-Construction Surveys
Offshore wind energy developers conduct geophysical surveys to inform project siting and design. Marine geophysical surveys are widely used by marine industries for activities such as seafloor mapping, identification of hazards to navigation, locating marine debris, shipwrecks, or archaeological sites, and oil and gas exploration. During these environmental imaging surveys both sound sources (active acoustics) and sound receivers (passive acoustic monitoring) are towed behind a boat or mounted on an autonomous underwater vehicle. Because many of these techniques produce sound, they have the potential to displace or harm species, like whales and dolphins, that use sound to communicate, navigate, hunt for prey, and avoid predators.
This is a part of a series of seven fact sheets summarizing existing science on the environmental effects of offshore wind farms to address common concerns raised in California’s communities. This fact sheet underwent a scientific review process by 11 experts from academia, consulting, and government. It is intended as a resource for legislators, agencies, local government, and other policymakers as they field questions from the public.
