It is estimated that there are between 300,000 and 500,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance left over from World War I and II in UK waters. Many of these unexploded bombs lie in areas which are heavily used by marine industries, including offshore wind, and the bombs must be removed to allow safe working conditions. On […]

Read More

A global team of scientists, including six experts from three UK institutions, has documented how ocean soundscapes have changed, explored all impacts of noise on marine animals and ecosystems, and identified ways to restore a more natural soundscape. The team set out to understand how human-made noise affects wildlife, from invertebrates to whales, and found […]

Read More

A call for underwater noise assessment guidance Elena San Martin, ABPmer: ‘Human activity in or near to the aquatic environment can generate underwater sound potentially affecting fauna in a number of ways. These range from masking biologically relevant signals, evoking behavioural responses and causing hearing damage resulting in physical injury or even death at very […]

Read More

Understanding underwater noise – Marine Noise Registry launched Amy Wardlaw, MMO, As human activities in the marine area increase so does underwater noise. Understanding and mitigating the impact of this is an important part of the sustainable development of our seas and protecting the marine environment for future generations. Underwater noise from human activities can […]

Read More

Frank Thomsen DHI frth@dhigroup.com   ‘The European Commission has just published the final report of the MaRVEN study on the environmental effects of noise, vibrations and electromagnetic emissions from MREDs (Marine Renewable Energy, Vibration, Electromagnetic fields and Noise). MaRVEN provides an in-depth analysis of studies on the environmental effects of noise, vibrations and electromagnetic emissions during […]

Read More

MMO ‘Quantification of underwater noise is a current and evolving topic in marine environmental science that is relevant to marine plan policy development. It is recognised that there is currently insufficient data to support a quantitative assessment of underwater noise levels and its impact on the natural environment at marine plan or national scale. This […]

Read More

Gordon Hastie, SMRU: Noise from pile driving during offshore wind turbine construction could be damaging the hearing of harbour seals around the UK, researchers have found. They say more research is needed on how noise affects marine mammals’ hearing and into engineering solutions to reduce noise levels. The study is published today in the British […]

Read More