AT-24-03: Ocean Environmental Monitoring and Sound Propagation Study at Mid-Atlantic Shelfbreak Offshore Wind Area

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Environmental assessments on offshore renewable energy development require accurate modeling and effective monitoring. Traditional sound propagation modeling for noise effect analysis often uses historical environmental variables that may not reflect oceanographic regime shifts due to climate change. Existing acoustic monitoring only evaluates species calls and signal/noise characteristics collected at the recording sites without incorporating oceanographic variables, and is thus unable to address broader issues such as ecological dynamics and oceanographic processes related to offshore wind development.The proposed study will deploy acoustic sensors in the vicinity of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF’s) Pioneer Array ocean observation platform to collect active and passive acoustic datasets and to conduct sound propagation measurements. Acoustic data analyses will incorporate physical oceanographic time series collected in situ to understand mesoscale and sub-mesoscale oceanographic dynamics and ecosystem level effects from offshore wind development.The outcome of the study will assist to understand the sub-mesoscale and mesoscale oceanographic processes and changes in relation to offshore wind planning and development at the mid-Atlantic shelfbreak region. The outcome will also provide validation to regional sound propagation models. Additionally, the outcome will include information on diurnal, seasonal, and annual occurrence and abundance of planktons, fishes, and marine mammals near offshore wind farm areas.