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.