SEER Webinar: Oceanographic Responses to Offshore Wind: From First Principles to Potential Effects

The U.S. Offshore Wind Synthesis of Environmental Effects Research (SEER) effort, led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with support from the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Energy Technologies Office, is continuing its free, public webinar series to share the latest research on the potential environmental effects of offshore wind energy development.  Changes in atmospheric and oceanographic conditions can influence physical and biological processes such as sediment and nutrient transport, primary productivity, and marine food web dynamics. This webinar provided a background on oceanographic systems to describe potential interactions between atmospheric and oceanographic processes and offshore wind energy infrastructure (e.g., foundations, turbines). The webinar then explored how potential shifts in the ocean’s physical environment associated with wind energy infrastructure could affect primary productivity, marine food webs, and marine animals. The speakers described the models and methods used to study interactions between oceanographic processes and offshore wind, highlighting studies from Europe and the United States.  Speakers:  Dr. Beth Scott, University of Aberdeen Dr. Eileen Hofmann, Old Dominion University  Dr. Kaus Raghukumar, Integral Consulting Visit Tethys to learn more about the SEER project and view past webinar recordings: https://tethys.pnnl.gov/seer