Eco-hydro-acoustic modeling and its use as an EIA tool.
The effects of anthropogenic underwater noise on marine life is of growing concern and assessment of impacts on marine life is often carried out using predictive underwater noise models to map zones of influence for marine species. However, these models do not predict how a species may react to that noise. In this paper, the results from a modified predictive underwater noise model and a hydrodynamic model are used in an individual based model (IBM) to predict the impacts on cod (Gadhus moruha) from noise generated during a pile driving event at an offshore wind farm in Liverpool Bay, UK. The model included cod which were sensitive to noise and those which were insensitive ('deaf'). Fish movement was from the outer bay into the Dee Estuary, a known feeding ground. The IBM indicated that the cod which could hear took up to 7 days longer to reach their destination than the cod which were deaf. This technique could be used during the consenting process for offshore projects to better understand the potential impact on marine species.
HR Wallingford, Howbery Park, Wallingford, OX10 8BA, UK.
Kate
K
Rossington
HR Wallingford, Howbery Park, Wallingford, OX10 8BA, UK.
Tom
T
Benson
Sir David Davies Building, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire E11 3TU, UK.
Paul
P
Lepper
HR Wallingford, Howbery Park, Wallingford, OX10 8BA, UK. Electronic address: d.jones@hrwallingford.com.
Diane
D
Jones
D000162:Acoustics; D000818:Animals; D004777:Environment; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005399:Fishes; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D008956:Models, Chemical; D009622:Noise; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
D014873:Water Pollutants
EIA; IBM; Marine species impacts; Pile driving; Underwater noise model