HR Wallingford’s tool to investigate the impact of underwater noise on animals, the Hydro-Acoustic Model for Mitigation and Ecological Response (HAMMER), will soon have increased data to model the behaviour of animals.
The Natural Environment Research Council in the UK is funding a four month project to collect data on the behaviour of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). This data will then be incorporated into the HAMMER model.
Underwater noise is increasing as human activities in the marine environment expand, for example through the building and operation of wind farms or other renewable energy sources. As a result, environmental impact assessment increasingly requires predictive modelling of underwater noise and assessment of the potential impact on marine life.
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Press release, April 5, 2013; Image: HR Wallingford