a generalized impact assessment
Bergström, Lena and Kautsky, Lena and Malm, Torleif and Rosenberg, Rutger and Wahlberg, Magnus and Åstrand-Capetillo, Nastassia and Wilhelmsson, Dan
(2014).
Effects of offshore wind farms on marine wildlife.
Environmental research Letters. 9
:3
, 1-12
[Research article]
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Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. 2MB |
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/3/034012
Abstract
Marine management plans over the world express high expectations to the development of offshore wind energy. This would obviously contribute to renewable energy production, but potential conflicts with other usages of the marine landscape, as well as conservation interests, are evident. The present study synthesizes the current state of understanding on the effects of offshore wind farms on marine wildlife, in order to identify general versus local conclusions in published studies. The results were translated into a generalized impact assessment for coastal waters in Sweden, which covers a range of salinity conditions from marine to nearly fresh waters. Hence, the conclusions are potentially applicable to marine planning situations in various aquatic ecosystems. The assessment considered impact with respect to temporal and spatial extent of the pressure, effect within each ecosystem component, and level of certainty. Research on the environmental effects of offshore wind farms has gone through a rapid maturation and learning process, with the bulk of knowledge being developed within the past ten years. The studies showed a high level of consensus with respect to the construction phase, indicating that potential impacts on marine life should be carefully considered in marine spatial planning. Potential impacts during the operational phase were more locally variable, and could be either negative or positive depending on biological conditions as well as prevailing management goals. There was paucity in studies on cumulative impacts and long-term effects on the food web, as well as on combined effects with other human activities, such as the fisheries. These aspects remain key open issues for a sustainable marine spatial planning.
Authors/Creators: | Bergström, Lena and Kautsky, Lena and Malm, Torleif and Rosenberg, Rutger and Wahlberg, Magnus and Åstrand-Capetillo, Nastassia and Wilhelmsson, Dan | ||||
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Title: | Effects of offshore wind farms on marine wildlife | ||||
Subtitle: | a generalized impact assessment | ||||
Series Name/Journal: | Environmental research Letters | ||||
Year of publishing : | 2014 | ||||
Volume: | 9 | ||||
Number: | 3 | ||||
Page range: | 1-12 | ||||
Number of Pages: | 12 | ||||
Publisher: | IOP Publishing | ||||
ISSN: | 1748-9326 | ||||
Language: | English | ||||
Publication Type: | Research article | ||||
Refereed: | Yes | ||||
Article category: | Scientific peer reviewed | ||||
Version: | Published version | ||||
Copyright: | Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 | ||||
Full Text Status: | Public | ||||
Agris subject categories.: | M Aquatic sciences and fisheries > M40 Aquatic ecology | ||||
Subjects: | (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 1 Natural sciences > 106 Biological Sciences (Medical to be 3 and Agricultural to be 4) > Ecology | ||||
Agrovoc terms: | marine ecology, environmental impact assessment, wind power | ||||
Keywords: | offshore wind farm, marine ecology, environmental impact, surveillance programme, marine spatial planning | ||||
URN:NBN: | urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-e-2601 | ||||
Permanent URL: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-e-2601 | ||||
Additional ID: |
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ID Code: | 12094 | ||||
Faculty: | NJ - Fakulteten för naturresurser och jordbruksvetenskap | ||||
Department: | (NL, NJ) > Department of Aquatic Resources | ||||
Deposited By: | SLUpub Connector | ||||
Deposited On: | 04 May 2015 08:48 | ||||
Metadata Last Modified: | 09 Sep 2020 14:17 |
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