MarSensing Lda., Centro Empresarial Pavilhão B1, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal.
CIMA, University of Algarve Ed7, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8005-139, Portugal.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2020 Jan;150:110731. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110731. Epub 2019 Nov 18.
The Ria Formosa is a sheltered large coastal lagoon located on the Atlantic South Coast of Portugal, that has been classified as a natural park since 1987. The lagoon hosts a diverse and abundant fish community and other species of commercial importance. Several economical activities are supported by shipping, and as such, vessel traffic within the Ria Formosa lagoon is very intense at some locations during particular seasons of the year, creating high levels of underwater noise. Recently, strong efforts are being made to turn the main inlet of the lagoon, the Faro-Olhão Inlet, a testing site for small scale tidal stream turbines, which will bring an additional source of underwater noise. Underwater noise can be one of a number of factors causing habitat degradation, as it can perturb fish behavior and cause physiological damage. Therefore, in order to comply with underwater noise pollution regulations, tidal energy technology developers are very interested in minimising the introduction of acoustic energy in the environment during the operation of their devices. Under the scope of project SCORE, which involved the deployment and operation of a floating tidal energy converter, this paper presents and discusses the first baseline noise monitoring performed at Ria Formosa. The acoustic data were collected in two occasions over several days, one in the winter and the other in the summer, in 2017. The obtained analysis results highlight the potential impact of the intense boat traffic in Ria Formosa, and the wide range of sound levels introduced in that ecosystem, and the high diurnal and seasonal variability.
里阿方索·德·阿尔梅达湾是一个位于葡萄牙大西洋南海岸的受保护的大型沿海泻湖，自 1987 年以来被列为自然公园。泻湖拥有多样化且丰富的鱼类群落和其他具有商业重要性的物种。航运支持着几项经济活动，因此，在一年中的某些特定季节，里阿方索·德·阿尔梅达湾的某些区域船只交通非常繁忙，产生了高强度的水下噪音。最近，人们正在大力努力将泻湖的主要入口——法罗-奥尔豪湾，转变为小型潮汐流涡轮机的测试场地，这将带来额外的水下噪声源。水下噪声可能是导致栖息地退化的众多因素之一，因为它会干扰鱼类的行为并造成生理损伤。因此，为了遵守水下噪声污染法规，潮汐能技术开发商非常有兴趣在其设备运行期间将环境中的声能最小化。在涉及浮式潮汐能转换器部署和运行的 SCORE 项目范围内，本文介绍并讨论了在里阿方索·德·阿尔梅达湾进行的首次基线噪声监测。这些声学数据是在 2017 年的两个场合收集的，一次是在冬季，另一次是在夏季，持续了数天。获得的分析结果突出了里阿方索·德·阿尔梅达湾繁忙的船只交通的潜在影响，以及该生态系统引入的广泛的声级范围，以及昼夜和季节性的高度变化。
