Key points
- Hydrophones on the surface and on moorings found noise above 120 decibels extends about 3.6 km around TMC’s production vessel, the threshold the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service uses for a behavioral response in cetaceans.
- The main noise source is the vessel’s dynamic positioning thrusters that hold it in place, not seismic survey equipment.
- TMC says light will also be tightly constrained at both the seafloor and the surface.
- TMC’s environmental manager says the data does not support concerns raised about noise and light, calling the impacts negligible.
