JULY 2021

TRITON STORIES FEATURES CAILENE GUNN

This month, you will meet the writer behind the Triton Stories, Cailene Gunn. Cailene is a marine scientist with a passion for communication and inspiring the next generation of change-making researchers through STEM education. Learn how she is combining her love of science and the arts to help develop communications, outreach, and engagement efforts for Triton to highlight innovative research to broad audiences, including you! Dive in and read more.

FIELD NOTES

PNNL's Garrett Staines works on the barge at the Tanana River Hydrokinetic Test Site. Photo by Amanda Byrd, Alaska Center for Energy and Power.

Garrett Staines Conducts Fieldwork at the Tanana River Hydrokinetic Test Site in Alaska

Underwater video is used to capture fish behavior and monitor for collision risk, but low visibility can make capturing video underwater challenging. The Triton Field Trials collision risk team conducted several tests at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP) Tanana River Test Site—a high-energy, low-visibility, riverine area. To collect data in the Tanana River’s highly turbid waters, fish biologist Garrett Staines deployed acoustic cameras used to “paint” a virtual picture of the sound in a given location.

While working in the dynamic river environment, Staines’ team captured data on fish behavior around an operating turbine to help inform practices for monitoring collision risk. This work was done in collaboration with the Pacific Marine Energy Center, ACEP, and the University of Alaska College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences.

LIFE AT MCRL

Engineer Erin Walters is putting the SeaSpy together before running the tests. The team towed the technology off the back of the vessel to make measurements along transects in Sequim Bay. Photo by Alicia Amerson.

The EMF Team Conducts Cable Tests in Sequim Bay

Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) naturally exist throughout the world’s oceans. Many animals in marine ecosystems use these fields to find prey, navigate, or migrate. Before we can understand the impact of EMFs emitted from cables connected to marine energy systems, we need to understand the background fields present in the environment. The Triton Field Trials EMF research team spent three days in Sequim Bay collecting high-resolution background magnetic field data using a SeaSpy magnetometer. They also conducted cable crossing tests where they deployed sensors over an array to try and detect EMF levels coming from the cables.

Task lead Joe Haxel (left) and engineer James McVey (right) have been busy assembling a hydrophone and lander for their upcoming fieldwork with CalWave. Photo by Alicia Amerson.

Prepping for Underwater Noise Research

The Triton Field Trials underwater noise research team is preparing for the field! Their research is focused on making sure noise levels generated by marine energy devices are safe for marine mammals and other animals that use underwater noise to navigate their environments. Task lead Joe Haxel and engineer James McVey have been busy assembling a hydrophone and lander for their upcoming fieldwork with CalWave in La Jolla, California. During this fieldwork, the team will deploy hydrophones to measure underwater noise emitted by the CalWave wave energy converter.

TRITON NEWS

Triton welcomes Christa Hvidsten, a U.S. Department of Energy Science Undergraduate Laboratory Intern, to the team! She is an ocean engineering student at Texas A&M University with a passion for marine energy. She loves the ocean and races sail boats in her spare time. Christa is joining the team as a summer intern and is working with the Triton Field Trials underwater noise team on passive acoustic data analysis for gray and humpback whales near PacWave. She will also support Triton communications efforts.

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.

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