Integrated Monitoring of Cetacean and Ocean Environmental Impacts from Floating Offshore Wind Development on the Pacific Coast
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Recipient
Berkeley, CA
Recipient Location
9th
Senate District
14th
Assembly District
$500,000
Amount Spent
Active
Project Status
Project Update
The project has advanced across prototype hardware, algorithms, laboratory validation, and system integration. For Task 2, prototype design and laboratory validation of the smart mooring-line sensing package are complete, including a repeatable fiber–rope installation method and distributed strain measurements validated under incremental and cyclic loading across multiple rope types (with lower-elongation configurations such as high modulus polyethylene (HMPE) rope emerging as more compatible with fiber strain limits). For Task 3, the core machine-learning rapid-processing pipeline and baseline model development are complete, with continued refinement and adaptation to additional datasets in progress. For Task 4, three major laboratory campaigns have been completed (bench-scale soil–anchor testing, long water-tank distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) experiments with controlled sources and localization, and Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute deep-water tank testing under flow forcing), and additional targeted blocks (including temperature disturbance and paddle/wave experiments) are planned using the prepared facilities. For Task 5, a joint DAS–hydrophone processing workflow has been implemented and evaluated, including synchronization/alignment, reference-guided spectral gating to suppress flow/structure-induced interference while preserving inter-channel phase for array processing, quantitative signal-to-noise ration improvements under quiet/noisy conditions, and an initial empirical DAS-to-acoustic-pressure calibration factor; further validation across conditions and parameter sensitivity analysis is ongoing. For Task 6, the self-sustaining buoy prototype has been designed and assembled at small scale with integrated solar charging, battery-based 24 VDC power architecture, and remote monitoring/control capability; initial bench testing is complete, and in-water tank testing will commence once the wave tank is re-established following wave generator installation.
The Issue
Floating offshore wind farms represent a significant advancement in renewable energy technologies, but they also pose environmental challenges that must be managed carefully. For example, underwater noise during construction and operations may impact marine mammals, potentially disrupting their communication, migration, and feeding patterns. Another risk is that wind farm infrastructure may alter upwelling and downwelling processes, which are essential for nutrient cycling and ecosystem health. Lastly, anchoring floating structures in the seabed may increase the risk of benthic landslides, especially in sensitive or previously undisturbed marine habitats. Monitoring and planning for impacts to marine animals and ocean environments is critical for offshore wind energy permitting and their environmentally sustainable operations. Reliable, responsible deployment of offshore wind fars will depend on monitoring systems that can detect environmental changes and track the integrity of its infrastructure.
Project Innovation
The purpose of this Agreement is to fund the development and laboratory demonstration of an integrated monitoring system that combines multimodal fiber optic sensing technologies (acoustic, temperature, and strain) and advanced vector hydrophones. Together, these systems will facilitate environmental impact monitoring from offshore wind technology deployment off the Pacific coast. Results will reduce energy costs and increase resiliency by providing real-time monitoring capabilities without needing electric power access on fiber sensors.
Project Goals
Project Benefits
This project aims to develop a state-of-the-art distributed sensing system to quantify the environmental impacts of floating offshore wind farms, particularly concerning marine life and oceanic processes. The technology will significantly enhance the monitoring of acoustic signals from marine mammals and critical changes in marine dynamics, such as altered upwelling and downwelling process, as well as ocean bottom landslides. Developing such a monitoring system is a crucial step toward supporting sustainable renewable energy development with marine conservation efforts.
Consumer Appeal
Early improving uptime and reducing unplanned outages, the project supports dependable renewable power delivery and helps stabilize energy costs. It increases public confidence in offshore wind by providing transparent monitoring of structural performance and environmental conditions.
Affordability
Early detection of abnormal loading, degradation, and installation issues enables condition-based infrastructure maintenance and fewer emergency interventions. It also results in better vessel time planning—key drivers of O&M cost offshore. Automated/Machine Learning-assisted processing reduces data review and accelerates actionable insights.
Economic Development
A deployable monitoring stack creates opportunities for U.S.-based manufacturing and support services around smart moorings, instrumentation packages, deployment, and analytics. It also strengthens workforce development in coastal engineering, sensing, data operations, and offshore renewable maintenance.
Environmental Sustainability
Acoustic monitoring supports detection and characterization of marine mammal presence and other biologically relevant signals, enabling evidence-based mitigation and adaptive management. Improved situational awareness reduces the likelihood of localized environmental impacts.
Reliability
Distributed sensing provides spatially continuous observability, improving fault detection coverage and robustness to single-sensor failures. Joint fiber/hydrophone analysis and calibrated processing increase signal fidelity under variable sea states and operating conditions.
Safety
Monitoring mooring loads and the interaction between soil and anchors helps identify hazardous conditions before they become critical, reducing risks to offshore personnel and assets. Remote monitoring capability reduces the need for offshore inspections during rough weather.
Energy Security
Continuous monitoring provides anomaly signatures consistent with tampering, unexpected impacts, or off-nominal operations, supporting incident awareness and forensic reconstruction. Distributed sensing reduces single points of failure and supports more resilient operational monitoring architectures.
Key Project Members
Yuxin Wu
Subrecipients
The Regents of the University of California, on behalf of the Berkeley Campus
Naval Postgraduate School
OptaSense, Inc.
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Match Partners
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
The Regents of the University of California, on behalf of the Berkeley Campus
Naval Postgraduate School
OptaSense, Inc.
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
