Marine projects can cause an increased level of underwater noise during construction and operation, and underwater noise can negatively impact marine wildlife.
Depending on factors such as animal sensitivity and proximity, underwater noise has the potential to temporarily and permanently damage the hearing of marine wildlife, preventing animals from communicating normally or cause changes in normal animal behaviour.
The potential impacts of acoustic reception and communication of underwater noise requires an understanding of the type and acoustic spectrum of the source relative to the sensory frequency range of the marine fauna of interest.
GHD offers a holistic approach to understanding the impact of marine projects on wildlife, with close collaboration between our acoustic and ecological teams. Our services include:
- Pre-construction ecological surveys
- Preparation of biological resources and flora and fauna reports
- Pre-construction underwater noise surveys
- Underwater noise modelling in full one-third octave spectral bands over the frequencies of interest relevant to the noise sources
- Underwater noise assessments for individual species, including comparison against current scientific criteria and the establishment of buffer distances
- Project mitigation solutions
- Project environmental assessment and permitting
- Construction management and monitoring of marine fauna
- Post-construction ecological monitoring
- Post-construction noise monitoring and comparison against modelled noise levels
View our Underwater Noise Capability Statement.
