Field Notes: Triton Researchers Travel to Alaska for the Environmental Monitoring Campaign
The Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) RivGen® Power System deployed in the upper Kvichak River. (Photo by ORPC)
Triton researchers Joe Haxel, Emma Cotter, Garrett Staines, and Kate Buenau are currently in Igiugig, Alaska, conducting monitoring around the ORPC RivGen® Power System riverine turbine for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Environmental Monitoring Campaign (EMC). EMC is a Water Power Technologies Office project that helps address environmental unknowns by collecting data around operational marine energy devices throughout the United States. The project leverages field-tested monitoring technologies and methodologies that have been demonstrated and validated by Triton. These efforts aim to help remove barriers for permitting and testing marine energy in the future by filling data gaps with empirical observations and measurements around deployed devices.
In Igiugig, the researchers are using scientific sonars in the upper Kvichak River, above and below each turbine, to inform collision risk of fish with current energy converters. Additionally, the team is utilizing Triton-developed flow shields on bottom-mounted hydrophones to help improve underwater noise measurements at different power generation states of the turbines. This project is an example of the practical applications of Triton’s research to support monitoring around deployed devices and contribute valuable data to improve understanding of environmental effects of marine energy systems.
Spotlight: The Future of PNNL-Sequim
Triton researchers deploy sensors on a beautiful day in Sequim Bay. (Photo by Shanon Dell | PNNL)
Triton is based at PNNL-Sequim, the Department of Energy’s marine and coastal research laboratory. PNNL-Sequim is an innovative marine research facility and testbed for addressing critical needs in energy, environment, and national security. The facility is located on the shore of Sequim Bay on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, near the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The laboratory has a number of unique assets for marine and coastal researchers on the campus to utilize, including research vessels, laboratory facilities with seawater access, and specialized equipment for developing instrumentation, supporting advanced modeling and data analysis, evaluating potential environmental impacts to marine systems, and testing marine energy devices. Over the next several years, PNNL-Sequim will receive a number of upgrades to expand its bench-to-bay capabilities—helping take science from benchtop studies in the laboratory to field research in Sequim Bay and beyond. Infrastructure improvements aim to advance research capabilities for in-water testing of new sensors and marine energy devices in Sequim Bay, autonomous vehicle launch and recovery, advanced tank experiment capabilities, and enhanced collaboration spaces.
The draft report serves as an update to the 2020 State of the Science Report and features several new sections, including resources to advance marine renewable energy and moving beyond stressor-receptor interactions.
Marine Technology Society Buoy Workshop
The Marine Technology Society hosted their fifteenth Buoy Workshop from May 20–23, 2024, in Sequim, Washington. This bi-annual workshop provides a valuable opportunity for professionals and researchers in the marine technology and oceanographic fields to come together, exchange knowledge, and discuss advancements in buoy technology. Hosted in partnership with PNNL, this year’s theme is “Building on the Past and Reaching for the Future.” The workshop covered topics like ecosystem monitoring, long-term observing systems, buoy and mooring design, reliability and harsh environments, power, data, and regional and local observing.
The workshop featured presentations from several Triton researchers, including:
Development of an At-Sea Biological Radar System for Offshore Wind with Emma Cotter
A Buoy System for Continuous, Long-term Monitoring and Reporting of Underwater Sound Emissions from Offshore Renewable Energy in Near-Real-Time with Joe Haxel
Use of a Low Cost Sensor Package to Characterize a Site for a Co-Location of Marine Energy and Aquaculture with Molly Grear.
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 Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office.
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