How bubble curtains protect porpoises from wind farm noise

How bubble curtains protect porpoises from wind farm noise Hydrotechnik Lübeck Creating a curtain of bubbles around the area where an offshore wind turbine is being installed can help to dampen the noise As huge offshore wind farms spread across Europe's North and Baltic seas, efforts grow to buffer the impact on wildlife. It's called a big bubble curtain, it works a bit like a giant jacuzzi, and it helps protect porpoises from the massive underwater noise caused by wind farm construction. A 2013 study of pile-driving during the first offshore wind farm built in the German North Sea found that the noise prompted harbour porpoises to flee the area, swimming more than 20km away. Getty Images Marine mammals such as porpoises and seals are sensitive to underwater noise Hollandse Kust Zuid, a recently launched Dutch wind farm with 139 turbines, used a double bubble curtain to buffer pile-driving noise from the construction of each of the 7m-wide foundations in 2021 and 2022.