Hello,
The review paper "Assessing environmental impacts of offshore wind
farms: lessons learned and recommendations for the future" has recently
been published.
The paper can be downloaded for free at:
http://www.aquaticbiosystems.org/content/10/1/8
Citation:
Bailey, H., Brookes, K.L. and Thompson, P.M. (2014) Assessing
environmental impacts of offshore wind farms: Lessons learned and
recommendations for the future. /Aquatic Biosystems, /10: 8.
DOI:10.1186/2046-9063-10-8.
Abstract:
Offshore wind power provides a valuable source of renewable energy that
can help reduce carbon emissions. Technological advances are allowing
higher capacity turbines to be installed and in deeper water, but there
is still much that is unknown about the effects on the environment. Here
we describe the lessons learned based on the recent literature and our
experience with assessing impacts of offshore wind developments on
marine mammals and seabirds, and make recommendations for future
monitoring and assessment as interest in offshore wind energy grows
around the world. The four key lessons learned that we discuss are: 1)
Identifying the area over which biological effects may occur to inform
baseline data collection and determining the connectivity between key
populations and proposed wind energy sites, 2) The need to put impacts
into a population level context to determine whether they are
biologically significant, 3) Measuring responses to wind farm
construction and operation to determine disturbance effects and
avoidance responses, and 4) Learn from other industries to inform risk
assessments and the effectiveness of mitigation measures. As the number
and size of offshore wind developments increases, there will be a
growing need to consider the population level consequences and
cumulative impacts of these activities on marine species. Strategically
targeted data collection and modeling aimed at answering questions for
the consenting process will also allow regulators to make decisions
based on the best available information, and achieve a balance between
climate change targets and environmental legislation.
You can also e-mail me directly for a copy at: [email protected]
Many thanks,
Helen
--
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Dr. Helen Bailey
Research Assistant Professor
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CENTER
FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Chesapeake Biological Laboratory
146 Williams Street
P.O. Box 38
Solomons, MD 20688
Tel: (1) 410-326-7284 / 240-237-8751
Website: www.umces.edu/cbl/faculty/hbailey
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