Understanding the potential risk to marine mammals from collision with tidal turbines
The advent of the marine renewable energy industry has raised questions, particularly for tidal turbines, about potential threats to populations of marine mammals. This research examines the sequence of behavioral events that lead up to a potential collision of a marine mammal with a tidal turbine, within the context of the physical environment, the attributes of the tidal device, and the biomechanical properties of a marine mammal that may resist injury from a tidal blade collision. There are currently no data available to determine the risk of collision to a marine mammal, and obtaining those data would be extremely difficult. The surrogate data examined in this research (likelihood of a marine mammal being in close proximity to a tidal turbine, biomechanics of marine mammal tissues, and engineering models) provide insight into the interaction.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1378007
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-120984; WC0100000
- Journal Information:
- International Journal of Marine Energy, Vol. 19, Issue C; ISSN 2214-1669
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
A Probabilistic Methodology for Determining Collision Risk of Marine Animals with Tidal Energy Turbines
Using acoustic telemetry for high-resolution sablefish movement informing potential interactions with a tidal turbine