TNO develops knowledge and collaborates with industry to make this practicable. We find solutions today for problems that appeared unsolvable yesterday and we tackle the pro- blems that will confront our customers tomor- row. We take a multidisciplinary approach to complex issues, clustering knowledge form dif- ferent core areas in groundbreaking research. We stimulate cooperation with other know- ledge institutes both at home and abroad. TNO stands for open innovation, sharing know- ledge to create new knowledge. In this way we help people, organisations and the gover- nment to perform better. Frank van den Berg T+31 (0)1526 92420 Oude Waalsdorperweg 63 P.O. Box 96864 2509 JG The Hague The Netherlands [email protected]tno.nl Defence, Security and Safety offshore activities are a source of underwater sound and there are major concerns on how to deal with these anthropogenic underwater sound sources and their possible effects on marine life. A recent TNO project for the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management showed that the main contributions to anthropogenic sound in the North Sea come from shipping, seismic surveys (airguns), underwater explosions and pile driving. Hence, regulation of underwater sound is explicitly mentioned in the European Union's ambitious Marine Strategy Framework Directive for 2012. Furthermore, the European Bird and Habitat directive requires impact assessment from all planned offshore economical activities on flora and fauna. In the Netherlands alone, this concerns tens of major offshore development projects such as the construction of offshore wind farms (the Dutch government aims at a 6000 MW capacity by 2020), the extension of several harbours such as Mainport Rotterdam with Maasvlakte 2, the Eemshaven etc. While governments have started taking necessary steps towards regulation of underwater sound, more and more key players in the offshore industry are looking into more sustaina- ble processes and are therefore seriously concerned with the underwater sound issue. Context Seas and oceans have become a major economic asset and the modern battle grounds of the 21st century. Examples of this are offshore exploration for oil and gas, wind farms, extension of har- bours, canals and busy transport routes, responsi- ble fishing and defence activities, etc. This means that the world has to face a crucial economical and environmental challenge: how to promote offshore economical growth while protecting the underwater environment. This challenge transla- tes into many aspects, underwater sound pollu- tion being one of them: Underwater sound and its impact on marine life How TNO can help you innovate towards more sustainable off-shore activities TNO | Knowledge for business models that assess potential acoustic impact zones for various marine species. For the biologi- cal and ecological aspects TNO collaborates with (inter)nationally recognized institutes such as IMARES (Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies), SMRU, NPL (National Physical Laboratory) and WHOI. Relevant examples are consultancy projects for industrial con- sortia during the planning and impact assessment phases for large offshore/coastal construc- tion projects (offshore wind farms, extension of harbours), research projects for the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management such as such as the project 'Assessment of natural and anthropogenic sound sources and acoustic propagation in the North Sea' (figure below) and the above mentioned international 3S programme Simulated broadband noise distribution (received sound pressure level) for (a) a dredger near the Rotterdam harbour, (b) a wind farm northwest of Amsterdam. Development of risk mitigation tools TNO has built up a research programme supported by the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) to focus on the mitigation aspects related to sonar operations and environmental risk asses- sment. Within this programme TNO developed the SAKAMATA software tool to support the mission planning and the calculation of risk mitigation measures. This tool will officially be introduced in the RNLN in the beginning of 2010. Further development of the tool will conti- nue until at least 2013. And also… Within the various core centers of TNO, complementary expertise is available that contributes to the development of more sustainable offshore activities. This expertise includes for exa- mple ship and air acoustics, dynamic behaviour of maritime structures, sound reduction via optimization of a vessel's acoustic signature, corrosion aspects, etc.. There are still many uncertainties regarding the imminent environmental regulations on underwater sound and its consequences for the offshore industry. Are you interested in understanding the real issues of underwater sound for your activities? TNO can help you in identifying them and prepare you towards more sustainable offshore activities. Noise level distribution in dB re 1 μPa 2 Longitude [deg E] Latitude [deg N] 3 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4 4.2 4.4 51.5 51.6 51.7 51.8 51.9 52 52.1 52.2 52.3 52.4 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140 145 Noise level distribution in dB re 1 μ Pa 2 Longitude [deg E] Latitude [deg N] 3.4 3.6 3.8 4 4.2 4.4 4.6 4.8 52 52.1 52.2 52.3 52.4 52.5 52.6 52.7 52.8 52.9 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140 145 How our expertise in underwater sound impact assessment can help you
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Underwater sound and its impact on marine life - TNO · underwater environment. This challenge transla-tes into many aspects, underwater sound pollu-tion being one of them: Underwater
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TNO develops knowledge and collaborateswith industry to make this practicable. We findsolutions today for problems that appearedunsolvable yesterday and we tackle the pro-blems that will confront our customers tomor-row. We take a multidisciplinary approach tocomplex issues, clustering knowledge form dif-ferent core areas in groundbreaking research.We stimulate cooperation with other know-ledge institutes both at home and abroad.TNO stands for open innovation, sharing know-ledge to create new knowledge. In this way wehelp people, organisations and the gover-nment to perform better.
Frank van den BergT+31 (0)1526 92420
Oude Waalsdorperweg 63P.O. Box 968642509 JG The HagueThe Netherlands