2019_programme: A COMPARISON OF THREE ESTABLISHED NOISE EXPOSURE CRITERIA APPLIED TO IMPACT PILE DRIVING AND MARINE MAMMALS

Back


  • Session: 15. Acoustics of marine renewable energy developments
    Organiser(s): Robinson Stephen, Lepper Paul, Blondel Philippe
  • Lecture: A COMPARISON OF THREE ESTABLISHED NOISE EXPOSURE CRITERIA APPLIED TO IMPACT PILE DRIVING AND MARINE MAMMALS [invited]
    Paper ID: 864
    Author(s): Stöber Uwe, Thomsen Frank
    Presenter: Stöber Uwe
    Presentation type: oral
    Abstract: Over the past decade, regulators in Europe and the US have developed noise exposure criteria to manage man-made underwater noise impacts on marine mammals. Applied criteria range from single broadband noise levels to frequency weighted received levels that account for the hearing sensitivity of marine mammals. The associated differences in impact assessment results are, however, not yet understood as the results of separate criteria have not been compared to each other. This uncertainty can make environmental management of transboundary noise challenging and cause confusion for regulators who need to choose appropriate exposure criteria. In the present study, three established noise exposure criteria frameworks from Germany, Denmark and the US were applied to analyze the impact of impact pile driving at a randomly chosen location in the Baltic Sea (Northeast Europe). A Range-dependent Acoustic Model (RAM) was used to simulate sound propagation in third octave bands. The results indicate that an unmitigated scenario would lead to auditory injury for all three criteria in the particular study area. In addition, despite the differences in impact ranges among the three guidelines, it was evident that standard noise mitigation methods like a Big Bubble Curtain (BBC) could achieve a reduction to sound levels where auditory injuries would be unlikely to occur. As such, each of the frameworks has its own advantages and disadvantages. Single noise exposure criteria, for example, follows the precautionary principle and can easily be enforced, while criteria that consider hearing capabilities in form of frequency weighting and complimentary animal movement modelling can improve the accuracy of the assessment if data on hearing and response to noise are available.
  • Corresponding author: Dr Stöber Uwe
    Affiliation: DHI WASY GmbH
    Country: Germany
    e-mail:

Back