Dr. Arthur N. Popper (left) runs the Laboratory of Aquatic Bioacoustics at the University of Maryland. Dr. Michele Halvorsen (right) is an Assistant Research Scientist working in that laboratory.
Dr. Popper's lab will investigate how noise from pile driving associated with the construction of offshore wind farms effects a variety of fish species.

Dr. Arthur N. Popper, Professor of Biology, and his colleague Dr. Michele Halvorsen, received a three-year, $809K grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) to study the effects of high intensity sounds produced from pile driving on fish. Pile driving and other activities associated with the construction of bridges, piers, and alternative energy facilities, such as offshore wind parks, will generate considerable noise, the intensity and duration of which may cause damage to nearby fish. The MMS will be overseeing new alternative energy development projects and wants to evaluate the possible adverse impacts of noise on marine organisms. 

World Leaders in Aquatic Bioacoustics

Dr. Popper and Michele Halvorsen, Ph.D., have previously studied the effects of low-frequency sonar from Navy ships on rainbow trout. Dr. Popper’s Aquatic Bioacoustics Laboratory is very well equipped to study the effects of environmental noise on fish and to conduct this type of laboratory experiment. The test chamber designed for the proposed fish investigation is the only one of its kind in the world. 

While scientists already have considerable knowledge on the effects of noise on marine mammals, equivalent information on fish is lacking.  This study will provide essential information on such adverse impacts. These experiments will generate the first highly controlled results and quantified effects of any impulsive sound on fish. In Dr. Popper’s laboratory, the stimulus to which the fish are exposed can be controlled and measured.  Additionally, the specially designed apparatus allows the measurement of both pressure and particle motion of the stimulus, which is critical to understanding the effects of sound on fish.

Simulating the Effects of Pile Driving on FIsh

Using a newly designed acoustic wave tube, fish will be exposed in the laboratory to actual pile driving signals that have acoustic parameters similar to those that a fish is likely to be exposed to in the field as a result of any pile driving activity. The experiments will examine a variety of exposure parameters including, but not limited to, signal spectrum, number of pile driving strikes, time between strikes, accumulation of effects, etc.  Both short-term and long-term effects of exposure will be examined.  Experiments will include several different species, representing different fish morphologies. 

This study will produce highly useful and necessary information that, together with site-specific information, will enable environmental impact analysts to assess the possible adverse effect of offshore noise on resident fish population.