Model for underwater noise radiated by submerged wind turbine towers

Abstract

Sustained tonal noise radiated by towers supporting offshore wind turbines contains energy in frequency bands that may disturb marine mammals, or interfere with passive sonar and seismic sensors and underwater communication equipment. Understanding the generation and propagation of underwater noise due to the operation of wind farms is important for determining strategies for mitigating the environmental impact of these noise sources. An analytic model based on a Green's function approach was previously developed for the sound radiated in the water column by a pulsating cylindrical structure embedded in horizontally stratified layers of viscoelastic sediment [Hay et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 130, 2558 (2011)]. This model has since been adapted to include relaxation and viscous losses in seawater and empirical loss factors for the sedimentary layers. In order to validate the model simulations were compared with reported measurements collected near an operating wind turbine that include radial acceleration of the tower, taken to be the source condition, and sound pressure levels in the water column. For long-range propagation over range-dependent environments, the analytic model has been coupled to a parabolic equation code. Simulations are presented for several bathymetries, sediment types, and tower array configurations. [Work supported by Department of Energy DE-EE0005380.]