THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICINE
Division on Earth and Life Studies
Ocean Studies Board
Committee on Evaluation of Hydrodynamic Modeling and Implications for Offshore Wind Development:
Nantucket Shoals
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Congressional Briefing
Friday, October 13, 2023 – 10:00 a.m.
via Zoom
on
Potential Hydrodynamic Impacts of Offshore Wind Energy on Nantucket Shoals Regional Ecology: An Evaluation from Wind to Whales
This new report, from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, evaluates the potential for offshore wind farms in the Nantucket Shoals region to affect oceanic physical processes, and, in turn, how those hydrodynamic alterations might affect local to regional ecosystems. Of particular interest to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) – who sponsored the study -- are the potential effects of hydrodynamic changes on zooplankton productivity and aggregations, which may affect foraging for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.
This report found the impacts of offshore wind projects on the North Atlantic right whale and the availability of their prey in the Nantucket Shoals region will likely be difficult to distinguish from the significant impacts of climate change and other influences on the ecosystem. Further study and monitoring of the oceanography and ecology of the Nantucket Shoals region is needed to fully understand the impact of future wind farms. The report recommends that the BOEM, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and others should promote observational studies and modeling that will advance understanding of potential hydrodynamic effects and their consequent impacts on ecology in the Nantucket Shoals region during all phases of wind energy development.
This briefing was for members of Congress and congressional staff only. The report was publicly released on October 13, 2023 and can be found, in its entirety, on the Web site of the National Academies Press.