PhD in Sustainable development and cooperation

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Phd thesis

Acoustic impacts of offshore operations in the Mediterranean Sea

The ocean is naturally noisy, and three main categories of sound define the marine soundscape: geophonies (physical agents), biophonies (biological sources) and anthropophonies (human activities). Unfortunately, the soundscape of the oceans has transformed rapidly in recent decades due to a decline in the number of sound-producing organisms and an increase in human-made sound sources (Duarte et al., 2021). Among the latter, the continuous increase in energy consumption, which has occurred in recent decades, pushes the EU countries to intensify their efforts to produce energy from renewable sources, to reach the 2050 energy targets (European Parliament, 2019). Offshore Wind Farms (OWFs) are among the marine renewable energy devices (MREDs) generating the most energy globally and are indeed an important component of the ecological transition and the Blue Growth. While offshore wind farms (OWFs) have a positive impact on the climate, they can negatively affect marine life through underwater noise during construction, operation, and decommissioning (Duarte et al., 2021). Especially the case of sound- related species such as cetacean, which base their communication on acoustics (e.g., Erbe et al., 2018). In the Mediterranean region, OWFs are being developed in many areas (Sicily Channel, Ionian Sea, etc.), with a focus on innovative deep-water wind turbines using floating platforms. Although the traditional fixed systems, the potential impact of floating offshore wind farms (FOWFs) on cetaceans is still scarce especially when considering their relative novelty (Maxwell et al., 2022). Therefore, to provide valuable information to develop appropriate mitigation strategies, avoid sensitive areas, and ensure their long-term sustainability, this work aims to provide spatial and temporal coverage  of acoustic data on marine life (not only marine mammals but also fish and invertebrates) and the  combined effects of FOWFs with current noise levels at specific sites.