Interactions of aquatic animals with the ORPC OCGen® in Cobscook Bay, Maine: Monitoring behavior change and assessing the probability of encounter with a deployed MHK device
Lead PI: Dr. Gayle Zydlewski, University of Maine
The project team will perform the “after” component of the Before-After-Control Impact experiment to evaluate fish behavior near the ORPC OcGen turbine system. They will then apply a new analytical method to acoustic data to improve fish species identification based on swim bladder morphology. Finally, the group will develop a probability encounter model to assess natural interactions of fish with the MHK device. This project hopes to produce data on fish interactions with a deployed tidal turbine, produce enhanced data processing techniques, and encounter probability model which can be utilized by other projects.
Number of Years: 3
Start Year: 2013
End Year: 2016
Partners:
- Ocean Renewable Power Company
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Assessment of Potential Impact of Electromagnetic Fields from Undersea Cable on Migratory Fish Behavior
Lead PI: Dr. Rob Kavet, Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.
The EPRI will measure, model, and map EMFs produced by an existing high voltage direct current underwater marine power cable in the San Francisco Bay. They will also utilize existing fish-tag data to analyze movement of a number of migratory species, and will evaluate if EMFs alter migration behavior. This project hopes to provide data on organismal response to EMFs to fields of regulatory concern.
Number of Years: 3
Start Year: 2013
End Year: 2016
Partners:
- University of California, Davis
Informing a Tidal Turbine Strike Probability Model through Characterization of Fish Behavioral Response using Multibeam Sonar Output
Lead PI: Dr. Mark Bevelhimer, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
The project team will utilize video data and multibeam sonar to characterize both near- and far-field fish behavior in relation to turbines at Verdant Power’s Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy Project in the East River, NY, and will use observed fish behavior to update the fish interaction model. This project hopes to provide data on fish interactions with a deployed tidal turbine, refine risk estimates and validate a fish behavioral model, and advise which methods are most effective for predicting and monitoring effects of turbines.
Number of Years: 3
Start Year: 2013
End Year: 2016
Partners:
- Verdant Power
- Kleinschmidt Associates
Measuring changes in ambient noise levels from the installation and operation of a wave energy converter in the coastal ocean
Lead PIs: Dr. Sarah K. Henkel and Dr. Joe Haxel, Oregon State University
The project team will deploy seafloor mounted and autonomous drifting hydrophones to monitor noise levels before, during, and after testing of a wave energy conversion (WEC) device at NNMREC ocean test facility off Newport, Oregon. This project hopes to increase understanding of noise produced by WEC devices under a range of environmental conditions, inform risk modeling efforts, and provide relative comparison of WEC produced noise to ambient and other anthropogenic noise sources.
Number of Years: 3
Start Year: 2013
End Year: 2016
Partners:
- Columbia Power Technologies
Marine Mammal Behavioral Response to Tidal Turbine Sound
Lead PI: Dr. Brian Polagye, University of Washington
The project team will use drifting hydrophones to quantify spatial and temporal noise patterns produced by two Open Hydro tidal turbines in the Puget Sound. They will also utilize shore-based observers and hydrophone arrays to monitor marine mammal responses to turbine noise. This project hopes to increase the understanding of marine mammal responses to sound produced by tidal turbines (a high priority regulatory issue) and address potential risks of tidal turbines to resident killer whales.
Number of Years: 3
Start Year: 2013
End Year: 2016
Partners:
- Sea Mammal Research Unit
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Effects of EMF Emissions from Cables and Junction Boxes on Marine Species
Lead PI: Dr. Manhar Dhanak, Florida Atlantic University
The project team will characterize electromagnetic fields (EMFs) produced by cables and junction boxes in the Navy’s South Florida Ocean Measurement Facility, and will use SCUBA divers, camera-equipped AUVs and aerial surveys to monitor behavioral and community level responses of aquatic animals to EMFs. This project hopes to provide data on EMFs produced by underwater cables and junction boxes, assess behavioral and community responses of marine species to EMFs, and contribute valuable data to fields of regulatory concern.
Number of Years: 3
Start Year: 2013
End Year: 2016
Partners:
- Naval Surface Warfare Center
- Nova Southeastern University