Sonar for Environmental Monitoring: Configuration of a Multifunctional Active Acoustics Platform Applied for Marine Renewables

Francisco, Francisco; Sundberg, Jan

doi:10.20944/preprints201611.0064.v3

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Each ping comprises of two bifocal beams that provides acoustic backscattering intensity and positioning data among other parameters. DBS data was processed and analyzed using Sonar Viewer and Matlab [9], [10]. The UWCs have a simple and well known data acquisition and processing protocol that can be enhanced using Matlab.…”

Section: The Survey Techniquementioning

confidence: 99%

An Alternative Technique for Ultra-high Resolution Bathymetry and Seabed Inspection for Marine Renewables

Francisco¹,

Sundberg²

2020

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Marine renewable energy technologies have a great potential in supplying clean electricity to millions of people across the globe, if technical and economic conditions are in right. So far, ocean energy projects are commonly started by SMEs or educational institutions with limited budgets. Therefore, any effort to reduce expenses is of great value. One of the areas involving substantial expenses are the inevitable seabed inspection prior to deployment of marine renewable energy device. Detailed seabed inspections can also reduce the risk of associated with deployment of structures on uneven seabed, especially marine renewable energy devices with gravity foundations. By reducing the costs and risks of such surveys prior and during the installation phases, the feasibility of marine renewable energy projects can be more favoured and competitive. In this perspective, this study proposes a cost and time effective technique for seabed surveys. The proposed technique involves the use of high precision and inexpensive sonar systems and underwater optical cameras integrated into a versatile and compact subsea monitoring platform. It also involves simple and practical data acquisition and processing protocols that do not requires hi expertise for operation. The results obtained showed that high resolution bathymetric maps and detailed seabed inspections imagery can be acquired. This study concludes that a simple and inexpensive subsea monitoring platform comprising a multibeam, dual beam and video cameras can be effective for high resolution seabed inspection and bathymetric measurements for marine energy applications.

show abstract

Section: The Survey Techniquementioning

confidence: 99%

An Alternative Technique for Ultra-high Resolution Bathymetry and Seabed Inspection for Marine Renewables

Francisco¹,

Sundberg²

2020

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These conventional techniques require substantial resources while incurring high risks for human life, equipment, and costs. However, these limitations can be overcome by utilizing alternative technologies such as high frequency sonar systems (Francisco & Sundberg, 2018; Kerrie et al, 2010). An example of high frequency sonars to be useful for monitoring the harsh environment surrounding hydrokinetic turbines is the multibeam sonar system (MBS), which is able to acquire photo‐like acoustic images, similar to medical ultrasound.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Imaging‐sonar observations of salmonid interactions with a vertical axis instream turbine

Bender

Langhamer

Francisco

et al. 2023

River Research & Apps

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Anthropogenic activities and their influences on aquatic systems is an important topic, especially considering the growing interest in using the earth's resources in a sustainable way. One of those anthropogenic activities is the introduction of renewable technologies into the aquatic environment such as instream turbines. Environmental studies around those technologies are often still ongoing due to their novelty. During the spring of 2018, juvenile individuals of two salmonid species, Atlantic salmon and brown trout were released upstream a vertical axis instream turbine in the river Dal (Dalälven) in eastern Sweden. The aim of this study was to investigate the swimming behavior of the salmonids around a small‐scale prototype vertical axis instream turbine. The swimming pattern and the possible response of avoiding the vertical axis instream turbine were documented with a multi beam sonar. A control area, next to the turbine, was used as reference. No consistent results were shown for trout as they were passing the control area with a statistically high variation, and specimens were rarely observed in proximity of the turbine, neither if the turbine was operating nor at stand still. Salmon clearly avoided the operating turbine, but did not avoid the turbine when it was at stand still, and was often observed swimming straight through the turbine area. These findings indicate that operating this type of instream turbine in a river affects the swimming behavior of Atlantic salmon but is unlikely to affect its migration paths. For brown trout, the statistical results are inconclusive, although data indicate a response of avoiding the turbine. The species are in little risk to suffer physical harm as no fish entered the rotating turbine, despite very turbid water conditions.

show abstract

“…We did this by using a multibeam imaging sonar integrated into a standalone platform and to further improve the technical knowledge regarding the capabilities of the MBS for quantitative and qualitative monitoring of marine animals as well as refining the data acquisition and processing framework. The present study, similar to [ 30 ], is one of the first documented in which a MBS was used to monitor the subsea environment surrounding wave energy converters (WECs). This study also complements previous studies within the wave power research on the Swedish West coast, such as the use of hydrophones, video cameras (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of multibeam imaging sonar for observation of marine mammals and fish on a marine renewable energy site

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Environmental data is crucial for planning, permitting, execution and post construction monitoring of marine renewable energy projects. In harsh conditions in which marine renewable energy is harvested, integrated monitoring platforms comprising multibeam imaging sonar systems coupled with other sensors can provide multiparametric data of the marine environment surrounding marine renewable energy installations. The aim of this study was to test the possibilities of observing the occurrence of fish and marine mammals using a multibeam imaging sonar system deployed at a wave power test site. The results obtained from a ten-day data set proved the platform as suitable for long time underwater monitoring and also revealed that the occurrence of fish and marine mammals was distributed across characteristic time and space domains. Large fish [>0.4 m] frequently occurred at night-time and near the benthic zone. Small fish [<0.2 m] frequently occurred during daylight and within the pelagic zone. The occurrence of seals was periodically distributed along a daily cycle, with intervals of 1–2 hours between maxima and minima. In conclusion, the use of multibeam imaging sonar can be a reliable technique for the qualitative and quantitative observations of fish and marine mammals in general and at marine renewable energy sites specifically, including protected and economically important species.

show abstract

Sonar for Environmental Monitoring: Configuration of a Multifunctional Active Acoustics Platform Applied for Marine Renewables

Cited by 4 publications

References 14 publications

An Alternative Technique for Ultra-high Resolution Bathymetry and Seabed Inspection for Marine Renewables

An Alternative Technique for Ultra-high Resolution Bathymetry and Seabed Inspection for Marine Renewables

Imaging‐sonar observations of salmonid interactions with a vertical axis instream turbine

Use of multibeam imaging sonar for observation of marine mammals and fish on a marine renewable energy site

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About