RV SHEARWATER 2015

RESEARCH VESSEL SHEARWATER

AT OCEAN CITY COAST GUARD STATION

JUNE 2015

Sunday, 7 June 2015 :

There she sits, stuck out like a sore thumb, waiting for a four day rain to end, the 110 foot

RV Shearwater, making ready to survey the Atlantic Ocean floor for Maryland's offshore

wind farm to sit.

Her job is to collect geophysical data to support detailed engineering for a 500 megaawatt

offshore wind project to be built by US Wind, Inc., on 40,000 acres 15 to 25 miles off the coast. They want to know what the bottoms is made of, how deep is the water, what obstructions are there so foundations can be built below the water, said the senior manager

Justin Bailey, who works for Alpine Ocean Seismic Survey.

Alpine intends to use four pieces of equipment to understand whats what. Seismic Airguns

will not be used. There will be a side scan sonar to make a map showing boulders, ship wrecks, etc. Then the magnetometer to find any iron at the bottom or below, a echo sounder

and profiler. There is no concern for noise to bother marine life.

Also on board are five protected species observers to monitor marine life close to the vessel

who can stop operations.

Abstract: Wilmington News Journal's Rachael Pacella of Delmarva Media Group , Sunday, 7 June, 2015.