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Dec 09 Assessment of Underwater Noise Generated by Wave Energy Devices Prepared by JASCO Applied Sciences on behalf of Oregon Wave Energy Trust Oregon Wave Energy Trust (OWET) – with members from fishing and environmental groups, industry and government – is a nonprofit public-private partnership funded by the Oregon Innovation Council in 2007. Its mission is to serve as a connector for all stakeholders involved in wave energy project development – from research and development to early stage community engagement and final deployment and energy generation – positioning Oregon as the North America leader in this nascent industry and delivering its full economic and environmental potential for the state. OWET’s goal is to have ocean wave energy producing 2 megawatts of power – enough to power about 800 homes – by 2010 and 500 megawatts of power by 2025. www.oregonwave.org Assessment of Underwater Noise Generated by Wave Energy Devices Submitted to: Oregon Wave Energy Trust Authors: Melanie Austin Nicole Chorney James Ferguson Del Leary Caitlin O’Neill Holly Sneddon JASCO Applied Sciences Suite 2101, 4464 Markham St. 22 December 2009 Victoria, BC, V8Z 7X8, Canada Phone: +1.250.483.3300 P001081-001 Fax: +1.250.483.3301 Version 1.0 www.jasco.com JASCO Applied Sciences Assessment of Underwater Noise Generated by Wave Energy Devices Acknowledgements The correspondence with Sofia Patricio (Wave Energy Centre, Portugal), Roger Bedard (Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA) and Bruce Mate (Oregon State University) is appreciated. Suggested citation: Austin, M., Chorney, N., Ferguson, J., Leary, D., O’Neill, C., and Sneddon., H. 2009. Assessment of Underwater Noise Generated by Wave Energy Devices. Tech Report prepared for Oregon Wave Energy Trust. 58 pp. JASCO Applied Sciences Assessment of Underwater Noise Generated by Wave Energy Devices Contents Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................................... i 1. Introduction............................................................................................................................... 1 2. Ambient Noise Characterization...............................................................................................2 2.1. Ambient Noise in the Coastal Ocean................................................................................. 2 2.2. Expected Ambient Noise Conditions for Oregon Coastal Waters..................................... 3 3. Noise Associated with Wave Energy Conversion Devices ...................................................... 5 3.1. Categories of WEC Devices .............................................................................................. 6 3.1.1. Point Absorbers........................................................................................................... 6 3.1.2. Attenuators.................................................................................................................. 7 3.1.3. Terminators or Oscillating Water Column.................................................................. 8 3.1.4. Overtopping Devices.................................................................................................. 9 4. Noise Assessment Program Framework ................................................................................. 10 4.1. Propagation Modelling Studies........................................................................................ 11 4.2. Baseline Ambient Noise Measurements .......................................................................... 12 4.2.1. Purpose...................................................................................................................... 12 4.2.2. Methods..................................................................................................................... 12 4.2.3. Equipment ................................................................................................................. 13 4.2.4. Analysis..................................................................................................................... 14 4.2.5. Presentation of Results and Reporting...................................................................... 14 4.2.6. Case study................................................................................................................. 15 4.3. Source Characterization Measurements........................................................................... 16 4.3.1. Purpose...................................................................................................................... 16 4.3.2. Equipment ................................................................................................................. 16 4.3.3. Methods..................................................................................................................... 16 4.3.4. Analysis and Presentation of Results........................................................................ 17 5. Acoustic Measurement Devices.............................................................................................. 18 5.1. Acoustic Tags.................................................................................................................. 18 5.2. Autonomous Systems ...................................................................................................... 18 5.3. Cabled Systems................................................................................................................ 18 5.4. Radio Telemetry Systems ................................................................................................ 19 5.5. Detailed Specifications of Selected Devices ................................................................... 19 6. Indicative Modelling Study..................................................................................................... 20 6.1. MONM Description......................................................................................................... 21 ~ i ~ JASCO Applied Sciences Assessment of Underwater Noise Generated by Wave Energy Devices 6.2. Oregon Coastal Environment........................................................................................... 21 6.3. Results.............................................................................................................................. 24 7. Summary................................................................................................................................. 29 References..................................................................................................................................... 30 Appendix A. Average Wind Speed and Wave Height for the Oregon Coast 32 Appendix B. Available Wave Energy Conversion Devices 34 Appendix C. Commercially Available Acoustic Recording Systems 36 C.1. Advanced Multi-channel Acoustic Recorder (AMAR) ................................................... 36 C.2. Autonomous Underwater Acoustic Recorder (AUAR) ................................................... 37 C.3. Autonomous Underwater Recorder for Acoustic Listening Model 2 (AURAL – M2)... 38 C.4. Acousonde ....................................................................................................................... 38 C.5. C-POD / T-POD............................................................................................................... 39 C.6. Directional Autonomous Seafloor Acoustic Recorder (DASAR) ................................... 40 C.7. DTAG .............................................................................................................................. 41 C.8. Ecological Acoustic Recorder (EAR).............................................................................. 42 C.9. High-frequency Acoustic Recording Package (HARP / ARP)........................................ 43 C.10. Pop-Up ............................................................................................................................. 44 C.11. Passive Acoustic Listener (PAL)..................................................................................... 45 C.12. Programmable Underwater Acoustic Recorder (RASP) ................................................. 46 C.13. Remote Underwater Digital Acoustic Recorders (RUDAR, µRUDAR and MiniRUDAR) 47 C.13.1. Standard RUDAR ..................................................................................................... 47 C.13.2. Micro RUDAR (µRUDAR)...................................................................................... 48 C.13.3. MiniRUDAR............................................................................................................. 49 C.14. SRB-16 Autonomous Recording Buoy............................................................................ 49 Tables Table 1. Coordinates of WEC device sites used for model scenarios. ..........................................21 Table 2. Geoacoustic profile parameters used for modelling at Tillamook county.......................22 Table 3. Geoacoustic profile parameters used for modelling at Lincoln county...........................23 Table 4. Geoacoustic profile parameters used for modelling at Douglas county. .........................23 Table 5. Available wave energy conversion (WEC) devices by type and manufacturer. .............34 Table 6. Specifications of the Advanced Multi-Channel Acoustic Recorder (AMAR). ...............37 Table 7. Specifications