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Metadata: 2011, Subacoustech, Zone 1 - Moray Firth, Noise Modelling Survey
Abstract:
Modelling was undertaken to provide a prediction of the likely extent of impacts on marine fauna. The impacts are calculated as a result of underwater noise generated during the predicted events during construction and operation of the Moray Offshore Windfarm. The general approach to estimating the levels of subsea noise from offshore wind farm developments has been undertaken in two phases. In the first a broad-brush modelling approach has been used to rank order a wide range of offshore wind farm-related sources of underwater noise. This was done using the proprietary Simple Propagation Estimator And Ranking model (SPEAR) developed specifically for the Moray Firth developers. In the main, the information used to validate this model has come from the very substantial database of recordings of various noise sources compiled by Subacoustech Environmental over the last 20 years. Phase 2: (Recordings at six locations at MORL development) Impact piling is known to generate high levels of underwater noise. It is therefore important to make an accurate estimate of its likely level so that its impact can be accurately assessed. There are a variety of acoustic models for the estimation of underwater noise propagation in coastal and offshore regions, mainly developed as a result of military interests. However, the authors are not aware of any underwater broadband noise propagation models suitable for the much shallower environments typical of wind farm construction, or for the highly impulsive time histories encountered from impact piling. In these environments and with these source types there is a greater capacity for underwater sound to be affected by absorptive processes in the seabed, resulting in propagation losses which typically increase with frequency but decrease with depth. The series present a full set of dBht contours and noise allocations per 4x4km grid square for the marine mammal impact assessment: · Scenario 1 is just piling at location 1 · Scenario 2 is piling at location 1 and 5 · Scenario 3 is piling at all 6 MORL locations · Scenario 4 is piling at all 6 MORL locations and locations A and B for BOWL. 'Extent' is for the piling locations for the study.
Data holder:
Crown Estate Scotland
| Other details | ||
| Internal code | Internally assigned metadata identifier | 18417 |
| Title | The title is used to provide a brief and precise description of the dataset such as 'Date', 'Originating organisation/programme', 'Location' and 'Type of survey'. All acronyms and abbreviations should be reproduced in full. | 2011, Subacoustech, Zone 1 - Moray Firth, Noise Modelling Survey |
| File Identifier | The File Identifier is a code, preferably a GUID, that is globally unique and remains with the same metadata record even if the record is edited or transferred between portals or tools. | 2388369a-8a82-4575-9483-33033cb6e3f2 |
| Resource Identifier | This is the code assigned by the data owner. | CES-353 |
| Resource type | The resource type will likely be a dataset but could also be a series (collection of datasets with a common specification) or a service. | series |
| Start date | This describes the date the resource starts. This may only be the year if month and day are not known | 2010-01-01 |
| End date | This describes the date the resource ends. This may only be the year if month and day are not known | 2011-12-31 |
| Frequency of updates | This describes the frequency with which the resource is modified or updated i.e. a monitoring programme that samples once per year has a frequency that is described as 'annually'. | asNeeded |
| Abstract | The abstract provides a clear and brief statement of the content of the resource. | Modelling was undertaken to provide a prediction of the likely extent of impacts on marine fauna. The impacts are calculated as a result of underwater noise generated during the predicted events during construction and operation of the Moray Offshore Windfarm. The general approach to estimating the levels of subsea noise from offshore wind farm developments has been undertaken in two phases. In the first a broad-brush modelling approach has been used to rank order a wide range of offshore wind farm-related sources of underwater noise. This was done using the proprietary Simple Propagation Estimator And Ranking model (SPEAR) developed specifically for the Moray Firth developers. In the main, the information used to validate this model has come from the very substantial database of recordings of various noise sources compiled by Subacoustech Environmental over the last 20 years. Phase 2: (Recordings at six locations at MORL development) Impact piling is known to generate high levels of underwater noise. It is therefore important to make an accurate estimate of its likely level so that its impact can be accurately assessed. There are a variety of acoustic models for the estimation of underwater noise propagation in coastal and offshore regions, mainly developed as a result of military interests. However, the authors are not aware of any underwater broadband noise propagation models suitable for the much shallower environments typical of wind farm construction, or for the highly impulsive time histories encountered from impact piling. In these environments and with these source types there is a greater capacity for underwater sound to be affected by absorptive processes in the seabed, resulting in propagation losses which typically increase with frequency but decrease with depth. The series present a full set of dBht contours and noise allocations per 4x4km grid square for the marine mammal impact assessment: · Scenario 1 is just piling at location 1 · Scenario 2 is piling at location 1 and 5 · Scenario 3 is piling at all 6 MORL locations · Scenario 4 is piling at all 6 MORL locations and locations A and B for BOWL. 'Extent' is for the piling locations for the study. |
| Lineage | Lineage includes the background information, history of the sources of data, data quality statements and methods. | Location information for the study (e.g. piling locations) was provided to Subacoustech Ltd by Moray Offshore Renewables Limited (MORL). Subacoustech carried out the work under contract to MORL. Output data contributed to noise impact assessments produced by Natural Power. |
| Related keywords | ||
| Keyword | General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | Acoustic noise in the water column |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | Consenting | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | Zone search area | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | Land use | |
| Geographical coverage | ||
| North | The northern-most limit of the data resource in decimal degrees | 58.319742 |
| East | The eastern-most limit of the data resource in decimal degrees | -2.569394 |
| South | The southern-most limit of the data resource in decimal degrees | 58.068017 |
| West | The western-most limit of the data resource in decimal degrees | -2.902705 |
| Responsible organisations | ||
| Role | The point of contact is person or organisation with responsibility for the creation and maintenance of the metadata for the resource. | pointOfContact |
| Organisation name | EDP Renewables | |
| Individual name | Rebecca Hughes | |
| Position name | GIS & Data Manager | |
| Phone | 0131 556 7602 | |
| rebecca.hughes@edpr.com | ||
| Role | The custodian is the person or organisation that accepts responsibility for the resource and ensures appropriate care and maintenance. If a dataset has been lodged with a Data Archive Centre for maintenance then this organisation is be entered here. | custodian |
| Organisation name | Crown Estate Scotland | |
| Phone | +44 (0)131 260 6070 | |
| enquiries@crownestatescotland.com | ||
| Role | The originator is the person or organisation who created, collected or produced the resource. | originator |
| Organisation name | Subacoustech Environmental Ltd. | |
| Individual name | Richard Barham | |
| Position name | Consultant | |
| Phone | +44 (0)1489 892 881 | |
| richard.barham@subacoustech.com | ||
| Role | The distributor is the person or organisation that distributes the resource. | distributor |
| Organisation name | Crown Estate Scotland | |
| Phone | +44 (0)131 260 6070 | |
| enquiries@crownestatescotland.com | ||
| Role | The owner is the person or organisation that owns the resource. | owner |
| Organisation name | EDP Renewables | |
| Individual name | Rebecca Hughes | |
| Position name | GIS & Data Manager | |
| Phone | 0131 556 7602 | |
| rebecca.hughes@edpr.com | ||
| Resource locators | ||
| Locator URL | Web address (URL) that links to the resource | https://www.marinedataexchange.co.uk/details/CES-353/summary |
| Web address (URL) that links to the resource | https://www.marinedataexchange.co.uk | |
| Dataset constraints | ||
| 20.1 Limitations on Public Access - Access constraints | This states `otherRestrictions` from ISO vocabulary RestrictionCode and is an INSPIRE/GEMINI requirement. | otherRestrictions |
| 20.2 Limitations on Public Access - Other constraints | There will be no limitations when published on the Marine Data Exchange | |
| 21.1 Conditions for Access and Use - Use constraints | This states `otherRestrictions` from ISO vocabulary RestrictionCode and is an INSPIRE/GEMINI requirement. | otherRestrictions |
| 21.2 Conditions for Access and Use - Other constraints | This states any constraints on use of the data. Multiple conditions can be recorded for different parts of the data resource. If no conditions apply, then `No condtions apply` is recorded. This uses free text. | Data Must be used in accordance to the Marine Data Exchange's Terms of Use: https://www.marinedataexchange.co.uk/content/info/terms-of-use |
| Version info | ||
| Date of publication | The publication date of the resource or if previously unpublished the date that the resource was made publicly available via the MEDIN network. | 2026-09-10 |
| Harvest date | The date which this record has been (re)harvested from the provider. | 2026-09-27 |
| Metadata date | The date when the content of this metadata record was last updated. | 2026-09-10 |
| Metadata standard name | The name of the metadata standard used to create this metadata | MEDIN |
| Metadata standard version | The version of the MEDIN Discovery Metadata Standard used to create the metadata record | 3.1.2 |