Designing “quiet” into offshore projects

This paper provides some design guidance to assist in addressing and controlling underwater noise of an offshore project-be it oil rig, wind turbine, tidal power or other structure floating on the water or bottom mounted. The importance of a Plan to address and abate noise in order to achieve an underwater-radiated noise goal will be highlighted. The Plan's elements usually include management, personnel, schedule, analysis tools, Quality Assurance/Construction inspections, verification testing, diagnostic approaches, and deliverables. These components will be addressed in the paper.