The early focus of the company was applied ocean science and ocean engineering, which remain a major part of our business. Our ocean science efforts span a wide range of projects from aquaculture facility design and financial analysis to marine population modeling to ocean pollution.
AQUACULTURE
A comprehensive system-level aquaculture model called the Offshore Aquaculture System Investment and Siting Model (OASIS) has been developed under funding by the United States Department of Agriculture. The OASIS Model is being used to analyze the operational and financial performance of aquaculture farms and farm complexes, and to estimate the economic implications of an aquaculture industry associated with particular fish species. The model incorporates detailed representations of farm configurations, hatchery suppliers or fish capture operations, farm grow out operations, farm capital and operating costs, wholesale fish market price, farm revenues, and socio-economic impacts to nearby coastal communities. Specialized optimization procedures are used to determine maximum farm profits and associated design and operational parameters. The initial OASIS Model application considered Pacific bluefin tuna ranches in offshore Southern California waters.
Marine Populations
We have developed innovative modeling techniques for analyzing the migratory processes of large fish and marine mammals based on electronic tag records of their movements and synoptic environmental conditions. Using dynamic Bayesian networks and nonlinear programming methods, the movement data are synthesized and correlated with environmental features and used to predict population-level movement dynamics. Working with the researchers at the University of California Santa Cruz, a model has been used to study the migration of northern elephant seals from central California to Alaska and the movements of crabeater seals in the Antarctic. Another dynamic simulation model was developed to describe the movements of northern bluefin tuna between eastern and western Pacific boundary regions and to analyze their exploitation by international fisheries.
Pollution
A state-of-the-science dynamic simulation model has been developed for a wide variety of pollution discharge problems. The model tracks dissolved and particulate pollutants downstream as they interact with the ambient plankton ecosystem in the surface layer or settle to the bottom where deposition rates can affect benthic communities. Applications have included power plant cooling water discharges, coastal pulp mill processing water discharges, fish wastes from moored aquaculture net pens, and water discharges from Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion plants. A series of studies was performed for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to estimate water quality in their reservoirs under alternative operational scenarios. Algae growth and other water quality factors were analyzed to determine the best schemes for storing and distributing water to customers while maintaining high water quality.
Ocean Engineering
The company's ocean engineering activities span a broad range of studies. We have performed hydrodynamic design analyses and dynamic simulations of submersibles, torpedoes, buoys and moorings. A water discharge pipeline was designed for a coastal pulp mill operated by Louisiana-Pacific Corporation. The pipeline was constructed and subsequent discharge performance was monitored to confirm that all requirements were met. We also studied Ocean Thermal Energy plants to be sited in Hawaii and determined optimal plant scaling, thermal Rankine cycle performance, cold water pipe size and routing, and heat exchanger configurations. Other projects have involved estimating hydrodynamic forces, designing submersible body shape and control surfaces, determining wind/wave loading of ocean structures, and laminar flow research.