Characterising underwater noise and changes in harbour porpoise behaviour during the decommissioning of an oil and gas platform

Oihane Fernandez Betelu; Isla Graham; Freya  Malcher; Emily  Webster; Sei-Him Cheong; Lian Ping Wang; Virginia Iorio-Merlo; Stephen Robinson; Paul Thompson

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116083

Characterising underwater noise and changes in harbour porpoise behaviour during the decommissioning of an oil and gas platform

Oihane Fernandez Betelu^* (Corresponding Author), Isla Graham, Freya Malcher, Emily Webster, Sei-Him Cheong, Lian Ping Wang, Virginia Iorio-Merlo, Stephen Robinson, Paul Thompson

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Many man-made marine structures (MMS) will have to be decommissioned in the coming decades. While studies on the impacts of construction of MMS on marine mammals exist, no research has been done on the effects of their decommissioning. The complete removal of an oil and gas platform in Scotland in 2021 provided an opportunity to investigate the response of harbour porpoises to decommissioning. Arrays of broadband noise recorders and echolocation detectors were used to describe noise characteristics produced by decommissioning activities and assess porpoise behaviour. During decommissioning, sound pressure spectral density levels in the frequency range 100 Hz to 48 kHz were 30–40 dB higher than baseline, with vessel presence being the main source of noise. The study detected small-scale (< 2 km) and short-term porpoise displacement during decommissioning, with porpoise occurrence increasing immediately after this. These findings can inform the consenting process for future decommissioning projects.

Original language	English
Article number	116083
Number of pages	8
Journal	Marine Pollution Bulletin
Volume	200
Early online date	12 Feb 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116083
Publication status	Published - Mar 2024

Bibliographical note

This study was funded by the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment research programme under contracts OESEA-20-125 and OESEA-21-133, using equipment previously purchased by UK Department of Energy and Climate Change, Scottish Government, Oil and Gas UK, COWRIE and Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd.

Data Availability Statement

All datasets and R code used for the analyses are available on the Dryad Digital Repository https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.xwdbrv1kh.

Funding

We are grateful to the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment research programme for funding this project. We thank Bill Ruck and colleagues from Moray First Marine, the University of Aberdeen, and Marine Scotland Science for their aid in data collection, John Hartley for his support and constructive comments throughout the project and anonymous reviewers for comments that helped improve the manuscript. We are also grateful to Ithaca Energy (UK) Limited, Repsol Sinopec Resources UK Limited, and SSE Generation Limited for allowing access to the Jacky platform, Beatrice Bravo platform, and Beatrice wind demonstrator turbine sites. We are grateful to the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment research programme for funding this project. We thank Bill Ruck and colleagues from Moray First Marine, the University of Aberdeen, and Marine Scotland Science for their aid in data collection, John Hartley for his support and constructive comments throughout the project and anonymous reviewers for comments that helped improve the manuscript. We are also grateful to Ithaca Energy (UK) Limited, Repsol Sinopec Resources UK Limited, and SSE Generation Limited for allowing access to the Jacky platform, Beatrice Bravo platform, and Beatrice wind demonstrator turbine sites. This study was funded by the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment research programme under contracts OESEA-20-125 and OESEA-21-133, using equipment previously purchased by UK Department of Energy and Climate Change, Scottish Government, Oil and Gas UK, COWRIE and Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd. This study was funded by the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment research programme under contracts OESEA-20-125 and OESEA-21-133 , using equipment previously purchased by UK Department of Energy and Climate Change, Scottish Government, Oil and Gas UK, COWRIE and Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd.

Keywords

Decommissioning
Harbour porpoise
Man-made marine structures (MMS)
North Sea
Oil and gas
Underwater noise

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Fernandez-Betelu_etal_MPB_Characterising_Underwater_Noise_VOR
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Cite this

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abstract = "Many man-made marine structures (MMS) will have to be decommissioned in the coming decades. While studies on the impacts of construction of MMS on marine mammals exist, no research has been done on the effects of their decommissioning. The complete removal of an oil and gas platform in Scotland in 2021 provided an opportunity to investigate the response of harbour porpoises to decommissioning. Arrays of broadband noise recorders and echolocation detectors were used to describe noise characteristics produced by decommissioning activities and assess porpoise behaviour. During decommissioning, sound pressure spectral density levels in the frequency range 100 Hz to 48 kHz were 30–40 dB higher than baseline, with vessel presence being the main source of noise. The study detected small-scale (< 2 km) and short-term porpoise displacement during decommissioning, with porpoise occurrence increasing immediately after this. These findings can inform the consenting process for future decommissioning projects.",

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AU - Iorio-Merlo, Virginia

AU - Robinson, Stephen

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Characterising underwater noise and changes in harbour porpoise behaviour during the decommissioning of an oil and gas platform

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Availability Statement

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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