PhD in Sustainable development and cooperation

Contacts

Supervisor

Phd thesis

Interdisciplinary evaluation of the impacts of offshore renewable energies to support an eco-sustainable approach to the marine environment

The continuous increase of energy consumption that has been taking place during the last decades, is pushing toward the expansion of renewable energies. Although the total number of offshore wind farms is increasing, the impact of underwater noise from operational wind turbines on cetaceans is currently unknown. The importance of assessing and limiting underwater noise from anthropogenic activities, as well as conserving marine biodiversity are both considered and underlined within the European Union's Marine Environment Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) (2008/56/EC). Delphinidae are marine top predators and integrate information from the whole food web. They’re defined as “ecosystem sentinels” because they respond to ecosystem changes through measurable modifications in their occurrence and behavior. The importance of assessing and limiting underwater noise from anthropogenic activities, as well as conserving marine biodiversity are both considered and underlined within the European Union's Marine Environment Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) (2008/56/EC). Therefore, taking into account the European regulations and the crucial role of Delphinidae for the ecosystem, the main goal of this project is to evaluate the impact of new generation offshore wind farms on Delphinidae species. In order to achieve the main goal, I will break it down into three specific goals: 1) estimating animal population density from passive acoustic data; 2) recording and characterizing the underwater noise produced by operational floating offshore wind farms; 3) modeling the impact of underwater noise on the presence and behavior of Deplhinidae species. This project will contribute to the achievement of some of the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations, mainly: 7) Affordable and clean energy; 13) Climate action; 14) Life below water. At the same time, this project fits in the Italian National Research Plan 2021-2027 under the point 5.6.5: “Knowledge, technological innovation and sustainable management of marine ecosystems”.