2020 State of the Science Workshop
State of the Science Workshop on Wildlife and Offshore Wind Energy 2020: Cumulative Impacts
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The 2020 State of the Science Workshop, hosted by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) was held virtually from November 16-20, 2020. This workshop brought together over 430 stakeholders engaged with environmental and wildlife research relevant to offshore wind energy development. Workshop sessions focused on assessing the state of the knowledge regarding offshore wind development's cumulative effects on populations and ecosystems.
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Following plenary presentations in November, seven work groups have been meeting over the winter to identify research priorities for understanding offshore wind's cumulative impacts on sea turtles, marine mammals, fishes, invertebrates, birds, bats, and oceanographic processes in the eastern United States. A final webinar for this effort will bring together the leads from the seven work groups to present their recommendations and discuss common themes among groups. The final webinar will be held on Friday, May 21st at 12-2 pm EDT.
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This webinar is free and open to all workshop attendees and work group participants,
but we are asking that you please register in advance.
In late 2020 and early 2021, workshop attendees, with the guidance of technical leads, will participate in virtual work groups to identify key research priorities for the next 3-5 years to improve our understanding of cumulative biological impacts as the offshore wind industry develops in the U.S.
Efforts will culminate in a final webinar on
Friday, May 21 at 12-2 pm EDT
to report the outcomes of work group efforts.
Highlights
With over 430 attendees from 21 states and 20 countries, the workshop brought together a diverse group to share knowledge on cumulative impacts to wildlife from offshore wind development. Workshop presentations included 23 plenary speakers and 20 lightning talks, with discussions focused around cumulative impact frameworks, current knowledge on different wildlife taxa, known and hypothesized cumulative effects to wildlife from offshore wind energy development, and opportunities for regional coordination and collaboration to continue improving our understanding of offshore wind and marine ecosystems.
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Thank you to everyone who participated! Session recordings and other workshop platform content with be available for workshop registrants to access in Whova through May 21, 2021. Find additional logistics information here.
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Workshop Goals
This workshop brought together scientists to present and discuss their research. Workshop goals included:
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Assessing the state of the knowledge regarding offshore wind development's cumulative effects on populations and ecosystems, and
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Working to identify key studies that could be conducted in the next 3-5 years to improve our understanding of cumulative biological impacts as the offshore wind industry develops in the U.S.
Scientific Program
Terms of Use for Presentation PDFs
Links to presentations from the workshop are provided below where available, courtesy of the presentation authors. These presentation files are provided for personal edification only, and should not be cited without contacting the author(s) directly. Users should not reuse or redistribute slides, or images on these slides, without express permission from the presentation author(s).
Monday, November 16
Session 1: Framework for Understanding Cumulative Impacts from Offshore Wind
Moderator:
Howard Rosenbaum, Wildlife Conservation Society
Doreen Harris, Acting president and CEO of the New York State Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)
Gregory Lampman, NYSERDA
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Cumulative anthropogenic impacts on the world's oceans
Sara Maxwell, University of Washington
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Framework for defining the scope of cumulative adverse effects assessments for offshore wind
Wing Goodale, Biodiversity Research Institute
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An ecosystem functioning approach for thinking about cumulative impacts
Steven Degraer, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
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Metapopulation PVA: Developing methods for reducing uncertainty in impact assessments
Julie Miller, Marine Scotland Science
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Q & A / Panel discussion
Tuesday, November 17
Session 2: European Efforts to Understand Cumulative Impacts from Offshore Wind
Moderator: Sophie Hartfield Lewis, Ørsted
Assessing cumulative effects: Challenges faced by offshore wind developers
Madeline Hodge, Ørsted
Steven Degraer, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
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Offshore wind farms: Cumulative impact assessment in the Netherlands
Astrid Potiek, Bureau Waardenburg
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Kate Searle, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
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Q & A / Panel discussion
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Session 3: Lightning Talks Round 1
Moderator: Matt Robertson, Vineyard Wind
5-minute submitted talks on offshore wind and wildlife topics, followed by Q&A.
Wednesday, November 18
Session 4: Current Knowledge on Cumulative Impacts I
Moderator:
Jillian Liner, Audubon
New York
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The Vineyard Wind SEIS: Assumptions made in the cumulative impact scenario
Ian Slayton, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
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Cumulative impacts of displacement on seabirds
Stefan Garthe, Kiel University
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Cumulative impacts to birds from collisions with offshore wind farms
Aonghais Cook, British Trust for Ornithology
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Q & A / Panel discussion
Session 5: Current Knowledge on Cumulative Impacts II
Moderator:
Ruth Perry, Shell
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Cumulative physical effects of offshore wind energy development on oceanographic processes
Jeff Carpenter, Institute of Coastal Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht
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Cumulative effects of offshore wind on benthic habitats
Drew Carey, INSPIRE Environmental
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Cumulative noise impacts upon fishes (and turtles) from offshore wind construction and operation
Arthur Popper, University of Maryland & Anthony Hawkins, Loughine Ltd.
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Designing studies to detect the ecological impacts of offshore wind development
Elizabeth Methratta, contractor to NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center
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Q & A / Panel discussion
Thursday, November 19
Session 6: Current Knowledge on Cumulative Impacts III
Moderator:
Francine Kershaw, Natural Resources Defense Council
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Cormac Booth, SMRU Consulting
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Cumulative noise impacts to marine mammals from offshore wind development and operations
Brandon Southall, Southall Environmental Associates Inc. & Howard Rosenbaum, Wildlife Conservation Society
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Vessel encounter risk model tool
Mary Jo Barkaszi, CSA Ocean Sciences Inc.
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Population impacts to bats from wind energy development
Cris Hein, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
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Q & A / Panel discussion
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Session 7: Lightning Talks Round 2
Moderator: Jenny Briot, Avangrid Renewables
5-minute submitted talks on offshore wind and wildlife topics, followed by Q&A.
Friday, November 20
Session 8: Designing Studies to Assess Cumulative Impacts
Moderator:
Louis Brzuzy, Shell New Energies
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Synthesis of the science: interactions between offshore wind development and fisheries
Andrew Lipsky, NOAA Fisheries, Brian Hooker, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Annie Hawkins, Responsible Offshore Development Alliance & Lyndie Hice-Dunton, Responsible Offshore Science Alliance
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Approaches to understanding cumulative effects of stressors on marine mammals
Peter Tyack, University of St. Andrews
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Jon Hare, NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center
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Q & A / Panel discussion
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Charge and process for working groups
Kate Williams, Biodiversity Research Institute
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Kate McClellan Press, NYSERDA
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Session 9: Informal Breakout Groups
Group leads for the seven work groups hosted informal discussions to obtain initial input from workshop attendees. Groups included: benthos, fishes and mobile invertebrates, birds, bats, marine mammals, sea turtles, and environmental change. Learn more about work groups here.
Photo credits: Loggerhead sea turtle © Kate Sutherland