HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEY 
Fig 1. PAM system, ready for shipment. Photograph courtesy of Acoustic Marine Systems (AMS).
Environmentally sound offshore operations
 JuliAnne Tidy, Luis Goncalves and Eulalia Pujol discuss the environmental impact of sound.
 JuliAnne Tidy, Luis Goncalves und Eulalia Pujol erörtern den Umwelteinfluss von Schallwellen.
 JuliAnne Tidy, Luis Goncalves y Eulalia Pujol debaten el impacto medioambiental del sonido..
D
uring the 1990s concerns began to be raised about the impact of sound in the marine environment
and its possible harmful effects on marine species. Considerable developments have taken place since then both in our scientific understanding and in the offshore industry’s operational procedures designed to mitigate the risks of any detrimental impacts. Measures implemented include the use of visual and acoustic monitoring procedures to detect the presence of marine mammals in the vicinity of a seismic or hydrographic survey. Many countries have a regulatory
requirement to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) prior to the initiation of any oil & gas exploration
activities such as seismic surveying. Te EIA assesses the risk of disturbance to primarily marine mammals, but also turtles and fish populations in the survey area in terms of possible effects on feeding, breeding and migration behaviour. Modern 3D multi-streamer seismic surveys deploy an array of high pressure airgun sources which put a considerable amount of sound energy into the water column. Cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) use sound to communicate and in some cases to echo-locate and therefore man-made or anthropogenic sound has the potential to adversely affect their normal activities. Environmental assessments form an integral part of the permitting process in many countries as regulated by authorities such
IHSS 4
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21