Underwater noise modelling for environmental impact assessment

Adrian Farcas; Paul M. Thompson; Nathan D. Merchant

doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2015.11.012

Underwater noise modelling for environmental impact assessment

Adrian Farcas, Paul M. Thompson, Nathan D. Merchant^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Centre for the Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

89 Citations (Scopus)

14 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Assessment of underwater noise is increasingly required by regulators of development projects in marine and freshwater habitats, and noise pollution can be a constraining factor in the consenting process. Noise levels arising from the proposed activity are modelled and the potential impact on species of interest within the affected area is then evaluated. Although there is considerable uncertainty in the relationship between noise levels and impacts on aquatic species, the science underlying noise modelling is well understood. Nevertheless, many environmental impact assessments (EIAs) do not reflect best practice, and stakeholders and decision makers in the EIA process are often unfamiliar with the concepts and terminology that are integral to interpreting noise exposure predictions. In this paper, we review the process of underwater noise modelling and explore the factors affecting predictions of noise exposure. Finally, we illustrate the consequences of errors and uncertainties in noise modelling, and discuss future research needs to reduce uncertainty in noise assessments.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	114-122
Number of pages	9
Journal	Environmental impact assessment review
Volume	57
Early online date	10 Dec 2015
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2015.11.012
Publication status	Published - Feb 2016

Bibliographical note

Collection and analysis of data from the Cromarty Firth were funded through the DECC SEA Programme using equipment purchased with the support of Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd. We thank Tim Barton, Bill Ruck and Moray First Marine for fieldwork support in the Cromarty Firth. Sizewell data collection and analysis were funded by the EDF Energy New Nuclear Build marine studies programme. We thank Liam Fernand and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the manuscript.

Keywords

Noise
Marine mammals
Disturbance
Risk assessment
Acoustic modelling
Bioacoustics

UN SDGs

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

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10.1016/j.eiar.2015.11.012Licence: CC BY

Underwater noise modelling for environmental impact assessment
Crown Copyright © 2015 Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Final published version, 1.85 MBLicence: CC BY

Reducing environmental impacts and construction costs at offshore wind farms
Paul Thompson (Coordinator), Isla Graham (Participant), Barbara Cheney (Participant) & Kate Louise Brookes (Participant)
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@article{c801d7be27f640799e9534be7b7513fb,

title = "Underwater noise modelling for environmental impact assessment",

abstract = "Assessment of underwater noise is increasingly required by regulators of development projects in marine and freshwater habitats, and noise pollution can be a constraining factor in the consenting process. Noise levels arising from the proposed activity are modelled and the potential impact on species of interest within the affected area is then evaluated. Although there is considerable uncertainty in the relationship between noise levels and impacts on aquatic species, the science underlying noise modelling is well understood. Nevertheless, many environmental impact assessments (EIAs) do not reflect best practice, and stakeholders and decision makers in the EIA process are often unfamiliar with the concepts and terminology that are integral to interpreting noise exposure predictions. In this paper, we review the process of underwater noise modelling and explore the factors affecting predictions of noise exposure. Finally, we illustrate the consequences of errors and uncertainties in noise modelling, and discuss future research needs to reduce uncertainty in noise assessments.",

keywords = "Noise, Marine mammals, Disturbance, Risk assessment, Acoustic modelling, Bioacoustics",

author = "Adrian Farcas and Thompson, {Paul M.} and Merchant, {Nathan D.}",

note = "Collection and analysis of data from the Cromarty Firth were funded through the DECC SEA Programme using equipment purchased with the support of Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd. We thank Tim Barton, Bill Ruck and Moray First Marine for fieldwork support in the Cromarty Firth. Sizewell data collection and analysis were funded by the EDF Energy New Nuclear Build marine studies programme. We thank Liam Fernand and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the manuscript.",

year = "2016",

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doi = "10.1016/j.eiar.2015.11.012",

language = "English",

volume = "57",

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journal = "Environmental impact assessment review",

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T1 - Underwater noise modelling for environmental impact assessment

AU - Farcas, Adrian

AU - Thompson, Paul M.

AU - Merchant, Nathan D.

N1 - Collection and analysis of data from the Cromarty Firth were funded through the DECC SEA Programme using equipment purchased with the support of Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd. We thank Tim Barton, Bill Ruck and Moray First Marine for fieldwork support in the Cromarty Firth. Sizewell data collection and analysis were funded by the EDF Energy New Nuclear Build marine studies programme. We thank Liam Fernand and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the manuscript.

PY - 2016/2

Y1 - 2016/2

N2 - Assessment of underwater noise is increasingly required by regulators of development projects in marine and freshwater habitats, and noise pollution can be a constraining factor in the consenting process. Noise levels arising from the proposed activity are modelled and the potential impact on species of interest within the affected area is then evaluated. Although there is considerable uncertainty in the relationship between noise levels and impacts on aquatic species, the science underlying noise modelling is well understood. Nevertheless, many environmental impact assessments (EIAs) do not reflect best practice, and stakeholders and decision makers in the EIA process are often unfamiliar with the concepts and terminology that are integral to interpreting noise exposure predictions. In this paper, we review the process of underwater noise modelling and explore the factors affecting predictions of noise exposure. Finally, we illustrate the consequences of errors and uncertainties in noise modelling, and discuss future research needs to reduce uncertainty in noise assessments.

AB - Assessment of underwater noise is increasingly required by regulators of development projects in marine and freshwater habitats, and noise pollution can be a constraining factor in the consenting process. Noise levels arising from the proposed activity are modelled and the potential impact on species of interest within the affected area is then evaluated. Although there is considerable uncertainty in the relationship between noise levels and impacts on aquatic species, the science underlying noise modelling is well understood. Nevertheless, many environmental impact assessments (EIAs) do not reflect best practice, and stakeholders and decision makers in the EIA process are often unfamiliar with the concepts and terminology that are integral to interpreting noise exposure predictions. In this paper, we review the process of underwater noise modelling and explore the factors affecting predictions of noise exposure. Finally, we illustrate the consequences of errors and uncertainties in noise modelling, and discuss future research needs to reduce uncertainty in noise assessments.

KW - Noise

KW - Marine mammals

KW - Disturbance

KW - Risk assessment

KW - Acoustic modelling

KW - Bioacoustics

U2 - 10.1016/j.eiar.2015.11.012

DO - 10.1016/j.eiar.2015.11.012

M3 - Article

SN - 0195-9255

VL - 57

SP - 114

EP - 122

JO - Environmental impact assessment review

JF - Environmental impact assessment review

ER -

Underwater noise modelling for environmental impact assessment

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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Impacts

Reducing environmental impacts and construction costs at offshore wind farms

Cite this