Integrated Monitoring Approach to Reduce Entanglement Hazards for Floating Offshore Wind Developments
This project will develop an integrated system of technologies to monitor and identify entanglement risks to marine life
Cal Poly Humboldt Sponsored Programs Foundation
Recipient
Arcata, CA
Recipient Location
2nd
Senate District
2nd
Assembly District
$328,723
Amount Spent
Active
Project Status
Project Update
The project is progressing well across all areas. Early simulation work has been completed for baseline and static conditions in the Humboldt and Morro Bay wind energy areas, and representative fishing gear has been modeled to understand how mooring lines and floating offshore wind systems respond when gear becomes entangled. Key planning and design documents are now finished, and dynamic simulations involving marine species have begun to support development of the detection algorithm. Work on the algorithm is underway, including establishing the overall framework and inititial machine leaning approach. Sensor selection has also advanced, with several promising options identified. These sensors will be tested in a tank environment, and components for the testing setup are being procured, assembled, and evaluated. In parallel, development of the inspection remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and the integrated sensor package is moving forward. The team has completed the preliminary design report and is now engaged in system testing, fabrication, and setup.
The Issue
A well-documented cause of injury and mortality for marine mammals, sea turtles, and other marine wildlife is entanglement with fishing gear and other debris. The risk of entanglement related to floating offshore wind platforms, mooring lines, or anchors is not well understood because there are few floating platforms in the ocean, and no cases of entanglement have been documented in relation to floating offshore wind.
Project Innovation
This project will develop an integrated system to monitor and identify entanglement risks to marine life. Underwater cables will be fitted with sensors that can detect when ocean debris is entangled with the cables, or when a large animal has collided with the cable. Once a collision or entanglement is detected, the sensor will transmit this information to a surface station, which could trigger the deployment of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to visually inspect the location under certain detection parameters. A human operator will decide how to mitigate the problem, including immediately relaying information to relevant regulators or wind farm operators. If an injured or entangled animal is identified, the operator can immediately notify regulatory agency personnel. The system will be designed to scale to future capabilities, including direct mitigation involving debris removal by remote operators.
Project Goals
Project Benefits
This project will provide a remote, autonomous method for detecting marine entanglements and entanglement risks on floating offshore wind mooring systems. By identifying both entanglements and entanglement risks, the technologies developed in this effort may reduce harm to marine life through active, continuous monitoring. Detecting secondary entanglements is difficult due to the large size of floating structures and the small scale of potential hazards, and research in this area is limited. Importantly, this project expands the knowledge base for entanglement risk mitigation by examining how entanglement scenarios behave and by developing technologies capable of sensing, responding to and confirming entanglement risks.
Environmental Sustainability
The innovative monitoring tool would reduce the overall environmental impacts of California’s electric system, including land and water use, by reducing wildlife collisions and marine debris entanglements.
Safety
Developing an automated monitoring system that can be operated independently, theoretically by an onshore individual. This greatly reduces the risk of human health and safety concerns associated with at-sea vessel operations and diving.
Key Project Members
Greyson Adams
Dr. Arne Jacobson
Dr. Maysam Mousaviraad
Mark Severy, P.E.
Dirk Rosen, P.E.
Subrecipients
Principle Power
Marine Applied Research and Exploration
American Bureau of Shipping
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Department of Energy)
Triple HS, Inc. DBA H.T. Harvey & Associates
Match Partners
Humboldt State University Foundation, Schatz Energy Research Center
H. T. Harvey &
Associates
Principle Power
Marine Applied Research and Exploration
American Bureau of Shipping
