INSPIRE Scientists publish study of Effects of Offshore Wind Construction on Glacial Moraine Habitats


As several of New England’s offshore wind energy projects move forward, INSPIRE scientists continue to make waves in the field of wind farm impact assessment with the publication of a new paper in Estuaries and Coasts. Authors Marisa Guarinello and Dr. Drew Carey present a multi-modal approach to assess the effects of construction within glacial moraine habitats. Glacial moraines are common on the seafloor off Rhode Island and Massachusetts and they form valuable structurally complex habitat for several key species.

INSPIRE conducted pre- and post-construction surveys at the Block Island Wind Farm (BIWF) to observe effects on the moraine habitats. The seafloor was mapped with a multibeam echosounder to guide visual observation with towed video and a high resolution drop camera, which gave Guarinello and Carey multiple windows to observe these habitats at different scales. This methodology was successfully used to produce detailed baseline data, detect disturbance features, and present meaningful results to state and federal agencies.

The paper, “Multi-modal Approach for Benthic Impact Assessments in Moraine Habitats: a Case Study at the Block Island Wind Farm” is available online under Open Access.

INSPIRE Attends 2020 IPF Online Event with Virtual Booth

INSPIRE Attends 2020 IPF Online Event with Virtual Booth

The leading technical conference for offshore wind in the United States, Business Network for Offshore Wind’s International Partnering Forum (IPF), has gone fully online for 2020. INSPIRE is hosting a virtual booth where IPF attendees will be able to video chat with members of our team, learn about our Forward Scouting™ survey approach, and view our 2020 poster presentation.

“The 2020 IPF began in April with our IPF Virtual sessions, continues in June with our bi-weekly IPF Livestream series, and culminates August 18-20 (the same dates as the previously-scheduled IPF Together), with an opening plenary, WindMatch networking opportunities, CareerMatch job fair, research poster sessions, and much more.”

IPF official update

Please use the following links to access our IPF 2020 content:

INSPIRE Conference Booth

2020 poster submission: “Habitat Mapping for Essential Fish Habitat Assessment at U.S. Offshore Wind Sites”

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