Marine surveyor TerraSond said it has completed a high-resolution geophysical survey for Mayflower Wind, 20 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.
Over the two-month campaign, which began in July 2019, TerraSond, an Acteon company, acquired high-resolution geophysical data using a complete suite of equipment in water depths from 35 to 65 meters. A sub-bottom profiler, a medium-penetration seismic system, a side-scan sonar, a multibeam echosounder, a magnetometer and passive acoustic monitoring sensor were deployed from the Geosea DP2 multipurpose support vessel. The acquired data are now being processed for delivery in November.
The site is being developed by Mayflower Wind, a joint venture between Shell New Energies US LLC and EDPR Offshore North America LLC, who in 2018 won the rights to develop a lease area that can support up to 1,600 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind. The wind farm, scheduled to deliver energy in the mid-2020s, has the potential to power up to 680,000 homes.
“We used our offshore-wind-sector expertise to deliver a successful geophysical survey for Mayflower Wind,” says Pedro Regino, TerraSond project manager. “As always, we put safety and the environment first. The environmental monitoring plan, which included protected species observers and passive acoustic monitoring operators, resulted in no environmental impacts or harm to marine life, successfully meeting Mayflower Wind’s safety ambitions.”
“The execution of this important survey work displayed the core values of Mayflower Wind: it was done safely, environmentally consciously and utilized a key local port: New Bedford,” said Mayflower Wind President John Hartnett. “Completing this survey was a critical step for Mayflower Wind.”