The first description of how porpoises and dolphins move around tidal energy devices
The increasing concern over the threat of global climate change has prompted many nations to set ambitious renewable energy targets to reduce carbon emissions. Marine resources have been recognized as a sustainable, predictable and largely untapped source, and are expected to comprise a large portion of clean energy contributions. Several in-stream tidal turbine projects - analagous to underwater wind turbines - are proposed around the world.
However, the development of such marine renewable devicess has raised concerns regarding impacts on marine wildlife, particularly marine mammals. These include the risk of habitat exclusion, disturbance, and the potential of animal collision with the underwater turbine.
I work with passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) data collected at tidal turbine sites in the UK. We use tools that listen to the sounds in the vicinity of the turbine. These acoustically detect, classify and track the 3D movements of porpoises and dolphins via their vocalisations. This allows us to see how these marine mammals move and behave around these devices whilst in operation. We present the first data of its kind, showing fine-scale movements of porpoises and dolphins around an underwater turbine. The environmental monitoring methods I use could be scaled up to marine renewable arrays currently proposed at large scales worldwide.
This work was done in conjunction with:
SMRU Consulting: http://www.smruconsulting.com/
SMRU (The Sea Mammal Research Unit, part of the University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK): http://www.smru.st-andrews.ac.uk/
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