TY - THES
TI - Will wind development adversely impact North Atlantic right whales through an increase in vessel traffic?
AU - Bishop, A
AB - The rapid expansion of offshore wind development along the United States east coast has raised concern over its potential effects on marine mammal populations. Potential increases in regional vessel traffic associated with wind energy development are of particular importance in this context because of the heightened vessel strike risk and additional noise exposure they present. Of particular concern, this could pose an increased threat to the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. There are only an estimated 356 right whales remaining in the population. The species is at risk of extinction, largely because of mortality induced by entanglement and vessel strikes. To address this concern, we obtained monthly vessel density data before, during, and after the construction of three wind energy projects: the Block Island Wind Farm, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Pilot Project, and Vineyard Wind I. We analyzed these data to determine whether vessel density increased during the development process. Automatic Identification System (AIS) vessel data were synthesized and cleaned by the Global Marine Traffic Density Service. We conducted a spatiotemporal analysis of vessel density on monthly rasters of vessel occupancy time. The data included layers with all vessels aggregated together, and layers subset by vessel category. We then extrapolated potential outcomes of wind development in these areas based on the changes we observed. Our analysis found that vessel density increased between pre-construction and post-construction by 2.52 – 4.98 monthly hours on average. Substantially larger increases in vessel density occurred once construction started, but they were immediately offset once construction concluded. Overall, the risks to right whales imposed by offshore wind-related vessel density appear low, though continued monitoring in the future is critical to assess these impacts across longer operational periods and larger-scale wind farms.
DA - 2024/04//
PY - 2024
SP - 58
PB - Duke University
UR - https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/2daeaa6c-ab27-4c31-9f4c-69db4eec1469/content
LA - English
M3 - Master's Thesis
KW - Wind Energy
KW - Fixed Offshore Wind
KW - Noise
KW - Vessel Strike
KW - Marine Mammals
KW - Cetaceans
ER -