SEPTEMBER 2021

TRITON STORIES DIVES INTO TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR DOE-FUNDED PROJECTS

 Engineer Nolann Williams conducting tests for WHOI FOA Tech Development in Sequim Bay. Photo by Alicia Amerson.

This month’s story features Triton’s support of environmental monitoring technology development projects funded through a U.S. Department of Energy funding opportunity announcement (FOA) designed to advance environmental monitoring capabilities around marine energy devices. For five years, Triton has supported seven FOA projects through three phases of technology development. Each technology focuses on different aspects of environmental monitoring, such as underwater noise, electromagnetic field measurements, marine organism interaction studies, benthic habitat mapping techniques, and integrated marine sensor packages. Many of the projects are in their final phase of testing. Garrett Staines, a fisheries biologist, and Nolann Williams, an electrical engineer, reflect on what it has been like to work with the FOA partners on developing these innovative technologies. Read more here.

FIELD NOTES

MCRL diver setting up the target rail system that helped move the harbor seal target around the bay. Photo by John Vavrinec.

Triton built a computer-designed three-dimensional model of a harbor seal to attach to an underwater rail system that uses a pulley to move the harbor seal target in front of underwater monitoring technologies. The target rail system is used to test the capabilities of technologies to detect and classify specific animals in the marine environment. The Marine and Coastal Research Laboratory (MCRL) dive team helped Triton deploy this system in Sequim Bay for the first time, and it passed the test with flying colors!

LIFE AT MCRL

Trainees practicing their marbled murrelet identification skills at MCRL. Photo by Alicia Amerson.

Marbled murrelets are an endangered species of seabird that spend a majority of their lives at sea diving for fish along the Pacific coast and come inland to nest in old-growth forests. Due to the loss of their forested habitats along the coastlines, their populations have significantly declined. This species has been the focus of several local Olympic Peninsula conservation efforts.

Triton’s project manager, Alicia Amerson, teamed up with Bob Boekelheide from the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society (OPAS) to host a training on marbled murrelet identification around MCRL and in Sequim Bay. “To aid in conservation of the species, it’s important that our researchers detect and observe the birds during technology deployments at MCRL,” says Amerson.

While conducting field research, the team uses designated observers to identify marine mammals and marbled murrelets. Observers alert researchers if species of concern enter the area during in-water testing. The goal is to make sure Triton’s tests do not disrupt diving birds or other marine animals.

Triton thanks Bob for volunteering his time and sharing his enthusiasm for birds in Sequim Bay. Follow OPAS on Facebook, become a member, and learn more at https://olympicpeninsulaaudubon.org/

SPOTLIGHT: BIOSONICS MARINE LIFE OBSERVER

An image of the Marine Life Observer technology that will be deployed at WETS in the coming months. Photo by Tim Acker of BioSonics, Inc.

Detecting marine animals in the presence of operational marine energy devices is critical for collecting empirical data necessary to understand and mitigate potential environmental impacts. BioSonics Inc. is a FOA project that developed an innovative long-range acoustic monitoring system called the Marine Life Observer. This technology monitors animal behavior surrounding marine energy systems. It will be deployed alongside the SeaRay wave energy converter at the U.S. Navy Hawai'i Wave Energy Test Site (WETS) in the coming months. To prepare for this deployment, Triton worked with BioSonics to engineer a way to deploy and position the technology in dynamic ocean conditions. The Triton team also helped build an acoustically transparent shroud called the sonar dome that will help protect the most vulnerable parts of the technology from harsh marine conditions and biofouling. BioSonics will perform a dynamic test with these new design components in Seattle before they complete a final functionality test at WETS.

TRITON NEWS

Save the Date! Triton Co-hosting Session at Ocean Sciences in 2022

Triton is co-hosting a session at the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2022 in Honolulu, HI. Join session OT15: Measuring, Modeling, and Mitigating Environmental Effects of Ocean Renewable Energy.

This session will bring together international researchers pursuing ocean renewable energy development and environmental research that links monitoring data from ocean renewable energy devices, changes in animal interactions, and the effects of energy removal on water bodies. The session also explores connections to engineering designs that will mitigate potentially harmful outcomes.

Submission for abstracts due September 29. Register here.

Triton conducting underwater noise field trails at the University of New Hampshire Living Bridge. Photo by Jeremy Gasowski/University of New Hampshire.

New Publication on Triton's Support of Tech Developments 

Read the recently published peer-reviewed paper in Frontiers highlighting Triton’s support role in FOA technology development projects. Read the paper, “Clearing a Path to Commercialization of Marine Renewable Energy Technologies Through Public–Private Collaboration,” here.

Introducing Triton 3.0

The Triton Initiative work is made possible by funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office. As Triton moves into the sixth year of marine energy environmental monitoring research, we are excited to announce “Triton 3.0,” an assembly of projects seeking to advance the mission for removing barriers to installing marine energy devices. Here is a sneak peek into our new research initiatives: exploring receptor (e.g., marine animals) interactions with marine energy device stressors, streamlining data collection and processing from collision risk monitoring technologies, and integrated sensors that alert and measure potential interactions between marine animals and marine energy devices. Stay tuned for more updates on these exciting new projects.

As Triton moves into the sixth year of marine energy environmental monitoring research, we are excited to announce, "Triton 3.0," which includes several new research initiatives. Graphic by Alicia Amerson. 

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