MARCH 2021 

TRITON STORIES FEATURES ALICIA AMERSON

This month's Triton Stories highlights Alicia Amerson, who is the Triton project manager and a marine biologist. Amerson leads the Triton team's efforts to develop and test environmental monitoring technologies and methods to better understand  the potential effects of marine renewable energy on habitat and marine life. Triton projects remove barriers to testing and permitting by improving environmental monitoring around marine energy installations. Read Alicia's story here.

FIELD NOTES: ELECTRIC FIELD METER TESTING IN SEQUIM BAY WITH NOLANN WILLIAMS 

Nolann Williams, an electrical engineer who supports Triton, has been testing an electric field measuring device in Sequim Bay. The device may serve as an initial survey tool for marine renewable energy monitoring. The electric field meter picks up electric fields at 500 Hz and allows a simple computer based analysis system to map contours of electric fields in an area. This technology will provide a roadmap for higher sensitivity instruments, informing operators of the presence of invisible electric fields.

TRITON PROJECT: BIOSONICS PERIMETER DETECTOR MONITORS ANIMAL BEHAVIOR

PNNL is working with BioSonics, Inc. to develop technologies that detect and classify marine animals and their behavior, including a perimeter detector that automatically senses marine life within a 200-meter range. Part of this effort is to reduce the strength of frequency transmissions associated with echosounders. When these transmissions are in the hearing range of marine mammals, it can affect their behavior. Learn more about the project here.

TRITON NEWS

Team Features

Joe Haxel and Garrett Staines presented at the Kearns and West Marine Energy Toolkit webinar series in February on the Triton Field Trials fish collision research and Triton Field Trials case studies for MRE underwater noise.

Recognition

Triton was highlighted in the 2019—2020 Water Power Technologies Office Accomplishments Report as a leader in field testing environmental technologies for marine renewable energy applications. 

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. Learn more at pnnl.gov/projects/triton.

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