There is growing interest in developing offshore wind and wave energy facilities in the Pacific Northwest. But not much is known about the sediment and animal life along the sea floor in the region.
There is growing interest in developing offshore wind and wave energy facilities in the Pacific Northwest. But not much is known about the sediment and animal life along the sea floor in the region.
That presents a problem for renewable energy companies because they need to consider environmental implications before constructing facilities in the ocean.
A team of Oregon State University researchers has helped address that problem by using a 500-pound device with jaws to grab squares of sediment from the ocean floor at eight sites off the coasts of northern California, Oregon and southern Washington.
In a just-published paper, they outline research that found relationships between sediment characteristics and animal life (mostly pencil-eraser-sized clams and worms) were consistent across the sites they sampled.
Read more at Oregon State University
Photo Credit: Sarah Henkel
