SeaSonde’s
Role in the Ocean Energy Testing & Evaluation
Range at Florida Atlantic University’s
Center for Ocean Energy Technology
Contributed by Shirley Ravenna, Florida Atlantic University
1 September
2010
 FAU
Engineer Shirley Ravenna preparing ADCPs for deployment.
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As a necessary contribution to help advance ocean
energy development, Florida Atlantic University’s (FAU) Center for Ocean
Energy Technology (COET) is measuring, characterizing, and modeling ocean
thermal and ocean kinetic resources available from the Gulf Stream Current
in the Florida Straits. The measurement efforts initially involve stand-alone
moored velocity and temperature measurements across the Straits in the
Ft. Lauderdale area, surface-deployed water column profiling instruments,
and shore-based ocean surface radar.
FAU’s COET is pursuing a phased approach to technology and infrastructure
development. Ultimately, an offshore testing, measurement, and observation
range is planned. This in situ laboratory will consist of not only ocean-current
energy-extraction device scaled system testing capabilities, but a comprehensive
underwater and remote scientific observatory, including both resource and
environmental measurement sensor and instrument suites. The phased approach
is based upon a collective technology readiness level and regulatory development
strategy. This first phase (underway) consists of shore-based coastal radar
systems, offshore stand-alone moored current profiler instruments, and
Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD) profiling measurements.
The kinetic resource assessment consists of several ADCP deployed moorings
which measure the velocity magnitude and direction of the water column
at their locations and a SeaSonde® network measuring the complete
current vector for the surface layer. The SeaSonde measurements overlay
the information collected by the moored ADCP packages, and thus allow for
inference of volumetric flow information. The thermal resource assessment
consists of gathering vessel-deployed CTD cast profiles along several transects
to quantify the thermal resource off the southeast coast of Florida. Initial
resource assessments show that southeast Florida is an ideal geographic
location for commercial ocean current and ocean thermal energy conversion
(OTEC) device development. Continued measurements will help quantify and
characterize a more detailed picture of the potentials for these marine
renewable energies offshore of southeast Florida.
Surface current map from FAU SeaSonde network.
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Ocean current energy extraction devices will likely be diverse in size,
shape, and energy extraction methods. During the second phase of development,
COET is preparing a simple scaled ocean current turbine, to generally address
the spectrum of device-technology gap development. This turbine, in concert
with the accompanying support infrastructure as a small-scale device test
bed will be used as a research and development tool to advance the implementation
of ocean-energy extraction devices. Leveraging test bed instrumented support
infrastructure, device testing and demonstration, and correlated environmental
and resource characterization data from a comprehensive ocean observatory,
COET aims to provide ocean-energy device-testing methodologies and capability,
a sufficient understanding and characterization of marine renewable energies
in the Florida Straits, and an understanding of the potential ecological
and environmental interactions of this developing ocean energy industry.
FAU
SeaSonde deployed at Haulover Beach
Park in Florida |
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