Setting EU Threshold Values for continuous underwater sound

The purpose of the present document is to give guidance on the setting of EU threshold values related to anthropogenic continuous noise in water1. Such guidance is meant to be used by regulators and managers of the EU Member States (MS) aiming to achieve Good Environmental Status of their marine waters, as requested by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)2. This document is intended to inform managers and other stakeholders of practical options for setting threshold values for continuous sound. The rationale for setting regional conditions to evaluate the status of habitat is explained. Practical examples that illustrate regional approaches are demonstrated in detail. Finally, and most important to managers, options for setting threshold values for continuous sound are illustrated.JRC.D.2 - Ocean and Wate

Setting EU Threshold Values for impulsive underwater sound

The purpose of the present document is to give guidance on the setting of EU threshold values related to anthropogenic impulsive noise in the water. Such guidance is meant to be used by regulators and managers of the EU Member States (MS) aiming to achieve Good Environmental Status of their marine waters, as requested by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). In this report, a clarification of the assessment framework is done based on concepts of habitat, effect ranges and habitat degradation. The guidance is based on the earlier work done by TG Noise in deliverable 1 (DL 1) providing a common methodology for the setting of EU threshold values for impulsive sound and on results from the Harmonize project. An introduction is further given on the Level of Onset of Biological adverse Effects (LOBE), the noise level above which an adverse biological effect on an indicator species is expected to occur. It should be underlined that this document as well as the recommended threshold values are only dealing with displacement as a result of anthropogenic impulsive noise. A dual threshold approach is proposed recognising both temporal and spatial variability of potential disturbance effects related to exposure to underwater impulsive noise, where short-term is defined as 1 day, long-term is defined as 1 year and long-run is defined as the time it takes before a negative effect on the population occurs, which often is longer than one year.JRC.D.2 - Ocean and Wate

Impulsive noise pollution in the Northeast Atlantic: Reported activity during 2015-2017

Underwater noise pollution from impulsive sources (e.g. explosions, seismic airguns, percussive pile driving) can affect marine fauna through mortality, physical injury, auditory damage, physiological stress, acoustic masking, and behavioural responses. Given the potential for large-scale impact on marine ecosystems, some countries are now monitoring impulsive noise activity, coordinated internationally through Regional Seas Conventions. Here, we assess impulsive noise activity in the Northeast Atlantic reported during 2015-2017 to the first international impulsive noise register (INR), established in 2016 under the OSPAR Convention. Seismic airgun surveys were the dominant noise source (67%-83% of annual activity) and declined by 38% during 2015-2017. Reported pile driving activity increased 46%. Explosions and sonar/acoustic deterrent devices both had overall increases in reported activity. Some increases were attributable to more comprehensive reporting in later years. We discuss utilising the INR for risk assessment, target setting, and forward planning, and the implementation of similar systems in other regions

A European competency level applied to the use of the closed circuit rebreather in scientific diving at work. First step. Highlighting the best practice

International audienceThe use of the closed circuit rebreather (CCR) for scientific diving activities is growing. During the last 10 years more and more scientists and scientific projects did take advantage of the furtive behaviour CCR offers together with the very efficient gas management, optimized decompression and enhanced diving safety. Many applications exists, among others, the exploration of the mesophotic zone or the fishes sensing, sampling, study of their vocal communication. The use of rebreather in sciences exploration constitutes a new technological paradigm.The American Academy of Underwater Science (AAUS) in the USA established a standard for the use of rebreathers in scientific diving some 10 years ago and such document is lacking in Europe. Today in Europe the use of rebreather is generally not permitted by existing national legislation. If accepted in Belgium, France is currently undergoing changes to its laws and should allow the use of closed circuit rebreather early 2017. These national legislations need to evolve and adapt to the new technique used for scientific diving but that takes time. So it is time to establish at European level a competency level for the use of CCR at work. Taking advantage of the existing European norm for that respiratory equipment will permit to put more emphasis on the best practice rules aiming at inferring adapted and unified training around Europe using a common reference frame. This paper is a first step on that process and will highlight all the points that will need to be addressed in this future new competency level

A European competency level applied to the use of the closed circuit rebreather in scientific diving at work. First step. Highlighting the best practice

International audienceThe use of the closed circuit rebreather (CCR) for scientific diving activities is growing. During the last 10 years more and more scientists and scientific projects did take advantage of the furtive behaviour CCR offers together with the very efficient gas management, optimized decompression and enhanced diving safety. Many applications exists, among others, the exploration of the mesophotic zone or the fishes sensing, sampling, study of their vocal communication. The use of rebreather in sciences exploration constitutes a new technological paradigm.The American Academy of Underwater Science (AAUS) in the USA established a standard for the use of rebreathers in scientific diving some 10 years ago and such document is lacking in Europe. Today in Europe the use of rebreather is generally not permitted by existing national legislation. If accepted in Belgium, France is currently undergoing changes to its laws and should allow the use of closed circuit rebreather early 2017. These national legislations need to evolve and adapt to the new technique used for scientific diving but that takes time. So it is time to establish at European level a competency level for the use of CCR at work. Taking advantage of the existing European norm for that respiratory equipment will permit to put more emphasis on the best practice rules aiming at inferring adapted and unified training around Europe using a common reference frame. This paper is a first step on that process and will highlight all the points that will need to be addressed in this future new competency level

Biogeochemical box modelling at small scale. Application to the inorganic carbon cycle in the bay of Calvi

This paper describes a processes 0D biogeochemical model valid at small scale (1 km, 1 hour). It is used to study the inorganic carbon cycle in the Bay of Calvi (Corsica), a near-shore coastal area characterised by properties that simplify the modelling approach: no river input, no tide, a constant circulation pattern and two quite well-studied ecosystems (the Spring phytoplankton bloom and a Posidonia seagrass bed). The model has been developed from available field data and then calibrated using an independent data set. Results show that the obtained steady-state is close to the one observed in the Bay of Calvi, and calculated fluxes are in good agreement with the measured ones. Numerical integrations have been carried out using two market softwares (SENECA 1.5 and STELLA II) and no significant differences are found

Long term volumetric evolution of an exploited sandbank. Case study on the coastal Belgian North Sea Kwintebank

Exploitation of aggregates from sandbanks off the Belgian coast has been growing over the two last decades. The authorities are now clearly facing the question of the sustainability of that activity. Ten to fifteen years of bathymetric measurements along reference tracks are available today. From those data, time series of volumes above a given reference level are computed and submitted to trend analysis techniques. The analysis indicates that the volume is decreasing (with a high level of confidence) almost everywhere. Estimated volume decrease is then compared to available exploitation data. Despite all the shortcomings of the procedure, the two quantities appear to be close to each others. Exploitation seems however not being the single component of the observed decrease

More than 20 years of training in Occupational Scientific Diving at work in Europe, The European Scientific Diving Panel (ESDP) model

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