MINOS and MINOS+Marine warm-blooded animals in the North and Baltic Seas: Foundations for assessment of offshore wind farms
Two projects, funded by the German Federal Environment Ministry. The first, MINOS, within the government's research focus on renewable energies (Investment-in-future program, ZIP) What is the aim of MINOS?
The MINOS project examines whether large scale offshore wind farms within the German parts of North and Baltic Seas affect or endanger harbour porpoises, common seals and sea birds. The research results are expected to provide the knowledge for estimating and assessing the impacts of future wind farms. Offshore wind farms?
Winds on the ocean are stronger, more consistent and less turbulent than on land, so they can produce more energy. On the other hand, the planned erection of large wind farms 30 - 120 km offcoast would be another serious impact on the sea´s ecosystem. A large number of
is already affecting it right now.
In February 2005
have been filed for siting offshore wind farms within the German Exclusive Economic Zone (
). There is experience with small offshore wind farms situated close to the coasts of Denmark and Sweden, but it cannot be applied to the German seas directly. The first big wind farm was put into operation not before December 2002 off the Danish west coast. Since then first experience has been gained during operation. For more information see under links.
What research is needed?
MINOS focusses on two items:
Preferential habitats and migratory routes of animals in the
Why do they stay at which places during the seasons? Where do they move in between?
Sense of hearing of porpoises and seals and its sensitivity:
How discriminating is their ear? What exactly do they hear? How do they react on noise? What damages their ear?
How do large wind farms endanger these animals?
The expected impacts of offshore wind farms must be seen as additional threats to the animals adding up with already existing interferences.
Harbour porpoises and common seals are the most common marine mammals in German waters. They are under national and international protection (see Links).
Since harbour porpoises have an ultrasonic location system (like bats have) they are very sensitive to under water noise. The operation sounds of offshore wind turbines and the noise during the construction phase could cause behavioural changes or even
. The disturbances might displace the porpoises from their feeding and breeding habitats or result in a worse fitness due to higher stress.
Similar effects are expected for the common seals. They have a discriminate ear, too, but orientate themselves in an interaction between their ears, eyes, whiskers, and their sense of taste. They probably will be affected mainly by the noise during the erection of the wind farms and by increasing ship and helicopter traffic due to construction and maintenance.
Amongst all research and monitoring activities on resting sea birds in the
MINOS will focus on divers and sea ducks. In winter some of their main resting habitats in North and Baltic Seas are lying within the German EEZ. When offshore wind farms are built within these areas, sea divers and sea ducks are endangered by large scale loss of their resting and feeding habitats.
For more information on the above animals see under links.
How are the investigations carried out?
Aircraft or ship based counting
Resting sea birds and harbour porpoises are counted out of planes which are flying across the ocean in low altitude on predifined tracks. Complex mathematical methods help the researchers to estimate the total
of animals within the respective area. Similar surveys are carried out on board a ship.
Backpacks for seals and lip-reading: Dead reckoning und mouth sensors
It is well known what the seals do when they stay at their haul-out sites in the wadden sea. But almost nothing was known about their life
the sand banks. To gain more insight,
methods are used, i.e. remotely measuring or automatically recording the data.
These examinations are carried out with free-living porpoises and seals and their conspecifics in dolphinariums and zoos. The audiometry used for it is quite similar to that in human medicine.
Listening in to porpoises
A so called
(porpoise detector) can detect for several weeks whether there are porpoises in its vicinity - but it cannot determine their number. These are important results together with the numbers gained by airborne surveys.
Database
And finally, all the results will be stored in an Oracle - database and therefore be available for many years.
MINOS: Jan 2002 - March 2004. Volume: 1,5 m€. Funding Number: 0327520
MINOS+: July 2004 - April 2007. Volume: 3.4 m€. Funding Numbers: 0329946 + 0329946B + 0329946C + 0329946D
Project management/coordination and data base by the National Park Office of the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea, Tönning.
Updated: January 28th, 2008. SW
What is the aim of MINOS?
Harbour porpoises and common seals are the most common marine mammals in German waters. They are under national and international protection (see 
Similar effects are expected for the common seals. They have a discriminate ear, too, but orientate themselves in an interaction between their ears, eyes, whiskers, and their sense of taste. They probably will be affected mainly by the noise during the erection of the wind farms and by increasing ship and helicopter traffic due to construction and maintenance.
Amongst all research and monitoring activities on resting sea birds in the
MINOS will focus on divers and sea ducks. In winter some of their main resting habitats in North and Baltic Seas are lying within the German EEZ. When offshore wind farms are built within these areas, sea divers and sea ducks are endangered by large scale loss of their resting and feeding habitats.
