U.S. Department of Energy Marine Energy Collegiate Competition (MECC)
Team Name: Trident S.E.A.S. (Submerged Exploration of Aquatic Systems)
Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, Virginia), partnering with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and the University of The West Indies Cave Hill Campus (Barbados, West Indies)
Team deliverables
- Poster: Integrated System of Wave Energy Converters and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles for Persistent Monitoring of Barbados Coral Reef
- Report: Integrated System of Wave Energy Converters and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles for Persistent Monitoring of Barbados Coral Reef
- Presentation: Integrated System of Wave Energy Converters and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles for Persistent Monitoring Of Barbados Coral Reef
- Recording of virtual team presentation
Why this competition?
This competition is a catalyst for ensuring a continual coexistence with and deepening understanding of the world’s ecosystems. Participating in the U.S. Department of Energy Marine Energy Collegiate Competition (MECC) offers a unique opportunity for the Trident S.E.A.S. team to pursue solutions at the interface of sustainable energy, resource generation, and human needs.
Project description
Studies have shown that the world’s coral reefs are experiencing massive die-outs as a result of rising temperatures, increasing oceanic carbon dioxide, and other factors. The Trident S.E.A.S. team seeks to develop “Reefworks,” a product that enables continuous and sustainable data and health monitoring of the substantial coral reef ecosystems around Barbados.
The project consists of an integrated network of wave energy converters (WECs) to provide power to battery-operated autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) via a charging and docking station. The AUVs will provide health monitoring by collecting physical, biological, and chemical data from the Barbadian coral reef. Reefworks will provide a viable alternative to traditional manned boat campaigns, which are unable to provide emissions-free, persistent data collection and surveillance.
Game plan
Trident S.E.A.S. plans to create a unique solution for monitoring and protecting coral reefs and coastal assets. Barbados is the inaugural and developmental target market for the current technology, but the system will be designed to ensure adaptability to other environments and stakeholders within the blue economy.
To ensure proof-of-concept validity as well as design optimization, the team will complete prototype site testing campaigns.
Through the persistent monitoring of the coral reef, the team will build a repository of high-fidelity marine data models that can provide actionable information to governments, policy makers, and other interest groups.
Trident S.E.A.S. investors will comprise governmental organizations and sovereign funds, coral reef nonprofit organizations, and private corporations focused on environmental economics and carbon reduction.
Team strengths
The Trident S.E.A.S. team is internationally diverse and will be collaborating across two countries (the United States and Barbados) and three institutions (Virginia Tech, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of The West Indies Cave Hill Campus). The diversity of the team’s nationalities and competencies will generate innovative perspectives to enable success in this potential global venture.
Team hurdles
A major hurdle for the team lies in on-site testing, which will manifest itself more following the development of an initial prototype. Sharing hardware among partner universities separated by vast physical distances might cause delays in development, but careful coordination should help the team avoid lapses in progress.
Competition objectives
The goal of Trident S.E.A.S. is to design and develop a unique product for monitoring and protecting coral reefs and coastal assets—solving a critical problem and meeting the essential and evolving needs of the blue economy.
Social media accounts
Instagram: @virginiatechaoe
Instagram: @nerdatfst
This portal is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) under Contract Number DE- AC36-08GO28308 with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Contract Number DE-AC05-76RL01830 with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Contract Number DE-NA0003525 with Sandia National Laboratories, as part of the MHK Data Communities project. The United States Government retains, and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes.