On behalf of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in support of offshore wind research, U.K.-based APEM is carrying out high-resolution aerial surveys of wildlife off the coasts of North and South Carolina.
According to APEM, the surveys will provide baseline data to help with the process of siting and permitting future offshore wind developments. The company is already part of the team carrying out offshore wildlife surveys for the New York Energy Research and Development Authority.
The newly contracted surveys off the Carolinas will gather data on birds, marine mammals, sharks, fish, turtles and other marine species in an area of almost 10,000 square nautical miles, says APEM. The company will be part of a team delivering the baseline data, along with Normandeau Associates Inc., Continental Shelf Associates and Azura Inc.
Information from the surveys will allow scientists to accurately estimate which species are present, how many there are of each species and where they are most likely to be found. The detailed imagery will even allow analysts to see how high birds are flying and whether they are adults or juveniles, notes APEM.
“We’re looking forward to starting work on these exciting surveys,” says Dr. Stuart Clough, president of APEM. “We expect to capture around a million ultra-high-resolution images in total, and usually when we carry out a survey like this, the data gathered is pretty much unprecedented.
“We never know what the surveys will reveal, but we’re always excited to find out. It’s important that agencies and developers have very high-quality baseline data so that they can make the best decisions possible about future offshore wind farms.”
Camera systems will be mounted on twin-engine survey aircraft. The data will then be analyzed by staff at APEM and Normandeau. One of APEM’s newly developed camera systems, Shearwater III, will be used for the surveys. It was developed to push the resolution of images to as low as 0.5 centimers per pixel.
