Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Investigation- Cape Wind Energy Project, Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts

Previous geophysical studies, utilizing side-scan sonar of Horseshoe Shoal, completed by Ocean Surveys Inc. in 2002, 2003 and 2005, identified two areas (approximately 4,300 acres) of potential submerged aquatic vegetation, in waters ranging from approximately two to thirty feet in depth. Data collected during the present investigation indicated that while there was significant submerged aquatic vegetation present on Horseshoe Shoal, it was primarily macro-algae and not seagrass. Red algae was most likely the reason for previous side-scan sonar surveys.