Effects of Offshore Pile Driving on Harbor Porpoises ( Phocoena phocoena )

The world’s growing demand for sustainable and environmentally friendly energy has led a growing number of countries to explore the options for the installation of offshore wind farms. In particular, noise emissions during the construction phase, when, in many cases, steel foundations are driven into the seafloor, are expected to cause temporal avoidance of the area by marine mammals and even have the potential to inflict physical damage to their sensory system (Madsen et al. 2006).