June 2025

Oceanography | Vol. 38, No. 2

36

FEATURE ARTICLE

FROM WIND TO WHALES

POTENTIAL HYDRODYNAMIC IMPACTS OF OFFSHORE WIND

ENERGY ON NANTUCKET SHOALS REGIONAL ECOLOGY

By Eileen E. Hofmann, Jeffrey R. Carpenter, Qin J. Chen, Josh T. Kohut, Richard L. Merrick, Erin L. Meyer-Gutbrod,

Douglas P. Nowacek, Kaustubha Raghukumar, Nicholas R. Record, and Kelly Oskvig

WIND TO WHALES:

CONSENSUS STUDY SUMMARY

Large-scale offshore wind farm development is planned and par­

tially underway for US continental shelf waters. The potential

oceanographic impacts from this development remain as open

questions. The Nantucket Shoals region on the US continental

shelf off the coast of Massachusetts is one area designated for

wind farm development (Figure 1a,b). The oceanography of this

region is complex (Figure 1c), and warming water temperatures

in the North Atlantic, marine heatwaves, and Gulf Stream vari­

ability are enhancing and changing the natural oceanographic

variability of this region, as summarized in the accompanying

Perspective (Gawarkiewicz, 2025, in this issue). The addition

of extensive wind farms composed of many individual turbines

is anticipated to impose additional oceanographic variability

that may change the hydrodynamic environment through flow

past turbine structures and removal of wind energy (Figure 1d).

This additional variability potentially affects hydrodynamic pro­

cesses at scales ranging from individual turbines to wind farms to

regional (Figure 1; Gawarkiewicz, 2025, in this issue). Separating

the effects of wind energy installations from natural hydro­

dynamic variability presents new challenges for the oceano­

graphic observing and modeling communities.

Changes in hydrodynamic processes can also affect phyto­

plankton and zooplankton production, distribution, and avail­

ability, with consequences for higher trophic level organisms

(Figure 1d). Of particular concern for the Nantucket Shoals

region are hydrodynamic changes that may affect the distribu­

tion and availability of zooplankton species, especially the cope­

pods (e.g.,  Calanus finmarchicus, Centropages spp., Oithonia

similis), that are primary prey for the critically endangered

North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) that forages in

the region (Sorochan et al., 2021). As noted in the accompany­

ing Perspective by Saba (2025, in this issue), copepod species are

transported from upstream sources by coastal currents into the

Nantucket Shoals region where they form dense aggregations that

are targeted by right whales. The concern is that hydrodynamic

variability resulting from turbines and wind farms may modify

these processes, causing disruptions in prey availability for right

whales (Saba, 2025, in this issue). However, the advective sup­

ply and physical-biological processes that allow dense copepod

aggregations to form are not well understood (Saba, 2025, in

this issue). The different scenarios presented by Saba (2025, in

this issue) suggest that assessing offshore wind energy develop­

ment effects on Nantucket Shoals ecosystem production will first

require identification and quantification of the relevant processes.

Given the concern about potential offshore wind farm effects

on hydrodynamics at local to regional ecosystem scales, the

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) requested that

the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine

evaluate the potential for offshore wind farms in the Nantucket

Shoals region to modify area hydrodynamics with impacts on

ABSTRACT. The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a committee in June 2023 to assess the

potential hydrodynamic and ecological impacts from offshore wind energy development in the Nantucket Shoals region, with par­

ticular attention to impacts on the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) that forages on zooplankton

aggregations in the region. The assessment suggested that the effects of offshore wind energy development will be difficult to distin­

guish from the effects of natural variability and climate change in this region. The Consensus Study Report recommendations high­

light observational and modeling studies that will advance understanding of potential hydrodynamic effects and impacts on the ecol­

ogy of the region. A subsequent workshop provided guidance on observational needs and approaches for a field monitoring program

to advance model capability to simulate effects of offshore wind energy development on Nantucket Shoals hydrodynamics and ecol­

ogy. Observational and modeling programs implemented for the Nantucket Shoals region will inform other regions of the US East

Coast continental shelf that have been designated for offshore wind energy development.