Marine mammals are generally sensitive to noisy activities like seismic surveys and to oil spills, and oil activities may scare away populations from critical habitats, permanently or temporarily depending on the activity.
According to the SEIA, the most sensitive among the resident species in NE Greenland are walrus, narwhal and bowhead whale. Among the summer visitors, especially blue whales will be sensitive.
The most important knowledge gab relates to narwhals and bowhead whales: abundance, distribution, habitat use, concentrations areas (hot spots) etc., and effects of seismic surveys, which is essential background information for the environmental management of the operations.
Passive acoustic monitoring
To mitigate the effects of an oil spill, it is important to understand the distribution and seasonal occurrence of marine mammals in the area. A study of passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) with a widely spread array of acoustic recorders across the license area will provide insight to the seasonal occurrence and spatial distribution of the marine mammal species that are acoustically active. The calling rate of marine mammals provides information on behaviour and interspecific communication. Here we propose to use PAM to investigate the effect of seismic activities by analysing the calling rate of marine mammals during seismic activities and without.
Aerial surveys
This project utilizes visual aerial surveys to study the occurrence of marine mammals in the East Greenland licensing area. The information obtained will provide a baseline for managing seismic and oil exploration activities in the Greenland Sea and it will be an important first step towards identifying areas that are of critical importance to marine mammals in East Greenland.
Bowhead whales
Bowhead whales, narwhals and walrus have discrete populations in the East Greenland assessment area where isolated stocks and sub-populations persist. All three species are to various degrees considered vulnerable to industrial activities. The Northeast Water is hypothesized to be an important wintering area for all three species, but direct evidence of winter abundance of marine mammals is missing from this area. This project aims at assessing the importance of this northern part of the assessment area as a wintering ground for marine mammals. The objectives of the proposed study are to estimate the abundance of endangered bowhead whales, narwhals and walruses and, if possible, other concentrations of marine mammals, in winter on the Greenland Shelf part (<500 m) in the Northeast Water.
Bowhead whales in the East Greenland assessment area constitute a separate, very small and potentially endangered stock. They are considered to be vulnerable to industrial activities but very little is known about their whereabouts. This project will track individual whales to monitor their seasonal movements within the licensing area. The information obtained will be useful for minimizing conflicts between seismic exploration and bowhead whales in East Greenland.
The project proposed here will:
- Use satellite tracking to map the seasonal movements of bowhead whales within the assessment area in East Greenland
- Use data on occurrence of bowhead whales to identify important concentration areas for bowhead whales in East Greenland
Effects of seismic exploration on narwhals
Narwhals are considered highly sensitive to human activities. This project will focus on the effects from seismic shooting on narwhals.
The projects proposed here will:
- assess the short-term effects of sound from seismic airgun pulses on narwhals in a closed fjord system in East Greenland,
- acquire knowledge about narwhal movements in response to airgun pulses that can be applied to disturbance scenarios in both East and West Greenland as well as in offshore areas,
- provide an empirical basis for regulation of activities linked to seismic exploration in areas with narwhals,
- examine the reception of high-frequency sounds from narwhals on acoustic recorders located close to where narwhals tracked by satellite transmitters will pass.
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Harp seal pups
Harp seals and hooded seals give birth on the pack ice in the assessment area during March and early April. Studies using satellite-linked data recorders have been carried out on adult harp- and hooded seals and on hooded seal pups from the Greenland Sea populations, but not for harp seal pups. To gain knowledge about the habitat use, movements and diving behaviour of harp seal pups from the Greenland Sea population satellite-linked data-loggers will be attached to harp seal pups, by gluing them to the fur. The data-loggers collect data about dive-depths, time spent at various depths and on the sea ice (haul-out behaviour) and data about the temperature at depth. The position of the tagged seal can, moreover, be determined based on the uplinks from the transmitter to the satellites.
Ringed seals
The ringed seal is a key species in the marine ecosystem. They are the main prey for polar bears and hence largely determine the distribution of this top predator. To gain knowledge about the habitat use and movements of ringed seals that inhabit the waters off NE Greenland various satellite relay data loggers (SRDLs) will be glued to the fur of ringed seals. These state-of-the-art data-loggers collect position data, behavioural data (time spent on the ice, time spend at various depths and various dive characteristics) and oceanographic data on temperature and salinity at depth.
Polar bear
The sub-population of polar bears in East Greenland utilizes the fast ice and offshore pack ice along the entire East Greenland coast, including the Fram Strait, the Greenland Sea, and the Denmark Strait. The size of the population is unknown despite a subsistence harvest, and there is limited exchange with other populations. In this study it is proposed to capture and satellite track polar bears in the assessment area, and to assess the population size of the East Greenland sub-population using an aerial survey and predictive spatial modelling.