Tethered Balloon Systems for Marine Wildlife Detection and Tracking
Triton researchers deploy the small whale surrogate to be towed behind the boat while the tethered balloon system gathers data from above. (Photo by Alicia Amerson | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
Triton researcher Alicia Amerson recently co-authored an article in a special issue of Remote Sensing – Remote Sensing Applications to Ecology: Opportunities and Challenges. This article, titled “Validating a Tethered Balloon System and Optical Technologies for Marine Wildlife Detection and Tracking” features Triton’s research working to validate a tethered balloon system (TBS) for marine mammal detection and tracking. The paper presents results from a validation test conducted in Galveston Bay near La Porte, Texas, where the team evaluated a technology package consisting of a TBS and a suite of sensors to gather thermal images and multispectral data to detect three marine-mammal-shaped surrogates. The field test was an initial step for evaluating the use of the system and the sensor packages for marine wildlife observations and detection. This publication sheds light on the potential for technologies integrated with an aerial platform that help fill data gaps and reduce uncertainties around animal– marine energy device interactions, a current barrier to permitting and deployment of marine energy systems.
University of Washington’s Isabella Pestovski and Triton Researcher Molly Grear test a model of a marine mammal in the Alice C. Tyler flume. (Photograph by the University of Washington)
The Integrated Collision Detection and Mitigation (ICDM) project, led by Triton Engineers Molly Grear and Emma Cotter, aims to explore if strain gauges integrated into turbine blades can be utilized to detect an animal’s presence and mitigate potential impact. Grear and Cotter are both University of Washington (UW) graduates and have partnered with their alma mater to advance collision risk mitigation technologies for marine energy applications.
Triton's marine mammal surrogates allow researchers to simulate collisions in a controlled environment and without harm to living beings. (Photograph by the University of Washington)
The team is working in a controlled, simulated environment at the UW Harris Hydraulics Laboratory to assess whether it is possible to use sensors integrated into turbine blades to detect collision between marine mammals and current energy converters. During experiments, they placed the turbine and a silicone whale model, nicknamed “Whaleon Jennings”, inside a flume, which controls the flow speed, depth, and temperature of the water in the tank. This controlled setup allows the researchers to replicate experimental conditions that aim to simulate the force on the turbine blade if a collision were to occur. They are investigating if it’s possible to use data from the sensors to control the turbine’s operation, so the blades could be slowed down if the sensors detect an oncoming collision.
Webinar: Coordinating and Disseminating Research on Environmental Effects of Marine Renewable Energy
On September 28, Ocean Energy Systems (OES)-Environmental hosted a public webinar, “Coordinating and Disseminating Research on Environmental Effects of Marine Renewable Energy.” During this webinar the OES-Environmental team provided updates on progress to date and what’s to come in the 2024 State of the Science report. The OES-Environmental discussed the important role of coordinating and disseminating research on environmental effects of marine energy. Triton Principal Investigator, Joseph Haxel, presented Triton’s efforts to expand understanding of environmental effects by highlighting examples from underwater noise research and discussed practical applications of OES-Environmental resources. Watch the recording.
In Other Energy News
Webinar: New Offshore Wind Metadata Initiative
The Tethys team has partnered with the International Energy Agency’s Working Together to Resolve Environmental Effects of Wind Energy–or WREN—Initiative to collect information, or metadata, on the environmental effects of offshore wind energy projects on marine animals, habitats, and ecosystem processes. By making this information available, Tethys and WREN aim to enhance transparency around environmental monitoring efforts to progress the global state of knowledge and advance the industry in an environmentally responsible manner.
On October 10, 2023, the Tethys team hosted a webinar that featured a live demonstration of the new tool that highlights several major offshore wind projects around the world, and described how offshore wind project developers can contribute. Watch the recorded webinar.
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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