FEBRUARY 2022

TRITON STORY: CELEBRATING CREATIVE SCIENCE COMMUNICATIONS

Triton is dedicated to making its research transparent and impactful through creative communication and outreach. At the core of effective science communication is compelling content that presents research in accessible, inspiring ways. In this story, you get to meet Pacific Northwest National Laboratory communications specialist Kelsey Adkisson, photographer Andrea Starr, and scientific illustrator Stephanie King—three of the amazing women behind the scenes of Triton's communications efforts. Read more. 

FIELD NOTES

Scripps Institution of Oceanography diver swimming near Triton‘s deployed hydrophone lander. (Photo by Richard Walsh | Scripps Institution of Oceanography). 

Underwater noise field trials in La Jolla, California

The Triton Field Trials underwater noise team traveled to La Jolla, California, where research lead Joe Haxel and engineer James McVey deployed hydrophones around the CalWave xWave wave energy converter. In collaboration with CalWave Power Technologies and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the team is working to characterize sound generated by the wave energy device. This work employed the 2019 IEC -40 Technical Specification for characterizing acoustics around marine energy converters. The hydrophones will be deployed for several weeks. This longer-term deployment of underwater noise monitoring instruments will provide valuable data about the wave energy converter’s sound emissions through a range of environmental conditions and sea states and important information about the surrounding acoustic environment. 

Triton Celebrates Women in Science

In honor of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we thought we‘d highlight a few of the many change-makers involved in the Triton Initiative.

February 11 is the United Nations International Day of Women and Girls in Science. To celebrate, we want to dedicate this month’s content to all the brilliant, change-making women in science on the Triton Initiative project. Triton celebrates the amazing women working to progress the marine energy industry through environmental monitoring research.

Recently, one of Triton’s all-women research teams went to California, to perform field trials research. In November, the Triton Field Trials changes in habitat team, including research lead Lenaig Hemery, Triton project manager Alicia Amerson, and scientists Kailan Mackereth and Cailene Gunn, conducted tests at Scripps Institute Oceanography, where they deployed a 360-degree Boxfish underwater video camera around an anchor near the CalWave xWave™.

In this video, we highlight the importance of monitoring the benthic and pelagic habitat for changes in habitat around marine energy devices. Meet the women behind the research in this video highlighting these field efforts in sunny California!

TRITON NEWS

Register for the Triton Talks Webinar!

The first Triton Talks webinar will be on February 17, at 11AM PST. Join speakers Joe Haxel, Alicia Amerson, and Samantha Eaves as they introduce the Triton Initiative, the project’s field trials, and the topics that will be covered in this webinar series.

• When: February 17, 2022 at 11 AM PST
• Register here: https://bit.ly/Register-TritonTalks-Webinar1

Triton at the 2022 Ocean Sciences Meeting

Triton conducting electromagnetic field Triton Field Trials tests in Sequim Bay. (Photo by Alicia Amerson | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

Joe Haxel is co-hosting the session OT15: Measuring, Modeling, and Mitigating Environmental Effects of Ocean Renewable Energy at the virtual Ocean Sciences Meeting 2022. This session will bring together researchers from around the world who are pursuing ocean renewable energy development and environmental research. The session will be held on March 3, 2022.

Join Triton team members as they discuss the Triton Field Trials research and results throughout this session. Session presentations will include:

• Triton Field Trials: Promoting consistent methodologies for environmental data collection and transferability at marine energy sites with Samantha Eaves 
• What’s in my toolkit? Technologies to assess changes in habitats caused by marine energy development with Lenaig Hemery
• A framework for effective science communication and outreach strategies and dissemination of research findings for marine energy projects with Cailene Gunn
• Using an acoustic camera to inform fish collision risk from current energy converter turbines with Garett Staines
• Acoustic characterization around a tidal turbine in a busy port setting with Joe Haxel
• Methods for quantifying background electromagnetic fields at a marine energy site with Molly Grear

Register for the conference here.

FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE

Do you plan to attend the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2022? If you want to set up a time to talk about our research, please send us a message at tritonmre@pnnl.gov.

Triton is designed to support the development and testing of more precise and cost-effective environmental monitoring technologies for marine energy. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory leads Triton on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office.

Connect With Us