deep water

The US has a goal of deploying 30 GW of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030. This is an ambitious goal given that the current installed offshore wind capacity in the US is a total of seven turbines capable of generating just 42 megawatts of power. So, there is a long way to go in a relatively short amount of time.

Since 2021, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, a division of the Department of the Interior, has held three offshore wind lease auctions, which grant rights to developers to install offshore wind in specific marine areas. The first two auctions involve sites in the northeast, including areas in New York. The third auction, held last December, offered sites off the California Coast – the first US sites in the Pacific.

In February, the Department of the Interior proposed a new offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. It identified a 102,480-acre area off the coast of Louisiana, and two similar-sized areas offshore from Galveston, Texas.

The proposal is now in a 60-day period of seeking public comments before deciding whether to move ahead with the sale. As was the case for the other lease auctions, there would stipulations associated with accepted bids including efforts to build up domestic industry for the supply chain and labor force. There would also be requirements to establish and contribute to a fisheries compensatory mitigation fund to address any potential negative impacts to the fishing industry.

About two-thirds of offshore wind resources in the US are located in deep-water areas that will require floating platforms. A federal program called Floating Offshore Wind Shot has the goal of developing cost-effective technology for this purpose.

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Gulf of Mexico may be next up for offshore wind leases

Photo, posted May 13, 2011, courtesy of the Department of Energy and Climate Change via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Coral bleaching is happening five times more frequently than it did forty years ago. Its increasing occurrence is a result of global warming which leads to marine heat waves – periods of higher ocean water temperatures. Heat stress on living coral animals causes them to expel the algae that live symbiotically within the coral structure. As the algae is expelled, the coral fades in color looking like it is bleached. Without its algae partner, the coral eventually dies.

Given the increasing occurrence of marine heat waves, scientists are seeking novel ways to decrease heat stress in corals. A new study by the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Science is investigating the use of artificial upwelling – the application of cooler, deep water – as a way to mitigate thermal stress on corals.

Upwelling is a natural process in the ocean in which winds push surface water away from a region – for example, a coastline – which then allows the uplift of deeper, colder waters to the surface. Because such deeper waters are typically rich in nutrients, upwelling is important for supporting many of the world’s important commercial fisheries. For this reason, artificial upwelling has sometimes been used to increase fish stocks in certain locations.

The new work placed coral colonies in aquaria in Bermuda and tested the effects of varying amounts and temperatures of deep cold-water pulses upon corals subjected to thermal stress. The results showed that even short intrusions of cooler deep water (less than two hours per day) can mitigate thermal stress in corals. The next steps are to find suitable parameters for artificial upwelling that maximize the benefits while minimizing potential harmful side effects on the corals and the ecosystems they support.

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Can pumping up cold water from deep within the ocean halt coral bleaching?

Photo, posted February 24, 2008, courtesy of Roderick Eime via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Offshore Wind In The Gulf Of Mexico | Earth Wise

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Helping Out Corals With Cool Water | Earth Wise

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