December 2023 Edition
A monthly round-up of news and trends important to the AltaSea community.
December 2023 Edition
A monthly round-up of news and trends important to the AltaSea community.
AltaSea Community Spotlight
AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, the world’s leading tech hub for the “blue economy,” has announced the hiring of Jade Clemons to lead the Blue Sustainable Economy Alliance (BlueSEA), AltaSea’s business support program that provides operation, development, and investment services and facilities for innovators scaling businesses in ocean industries.
As the Director of BlueSEA, Clemons will work directly with entrepreneurs who are building ocean-based solutions to climate change at AltaSea and will work to build a world-class support ecosystem where innovators can start, grow, and scale their businesses. AltaSea created BlueSEA in 2023 with financial support from Builders Initiative, with the primary goal to generate equitable economic growth through recruiting and supporting partners in AltaSea’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, and to develop an alliance to champion emerging ocean technologies that mitigate climate change.
Blue power: Will ocean waves be California’s new source of clean energy? (Cal Matters)
Nearly 600 square miles of ocean off California have been leased for floating wind farms, with more expected. Now the state is considering hosting another renewable energy technology in the sea: Blue power, electricity created from waves and tides.
A new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October instructs state agencies to study the feasibility and impacts of capturing ocean movement to create power and report back to the Legislature by January 2025.
Aquarium Partners with Tongva Artist (Aquariumofpacific.org)
The Aquarium of the Pacific is collaborating with Tongva artist Weshoyot Alvitre to create an art piece in it’s new Southern California Gallery. Connecting Aquarium guests to Indigenous voices of the region, this art piece will utilize motifs from the Tongva culture and touch on local species of importance. The Tongva people continue to steward the land that includes Long Beach, where the Aquarium is located.
A collaboration with Tongva illustrator to add to the story in the new Southern California Gallery.
Welcome to the Nuzhdin Lab! (USC.edu)
Bioinformatics plays a significant role in advancing a robust, environmentally sustainable, and equitable kelp and bivalve aquaculture market. Utilizing powerful computational tools and algorithms to analyze biological data, bioinformatics can contribute to genetic improvement programs, aiding the selection and cultivation of kelp and bivalve species with optimal growth rates, resilience to environmental stressors, and resistance to disease.
This knowledge can guide equitable distribution of benefits, promoting the integration of aquaculture within local communities and economies in a way that respects environmental and social boundaries. By fostering predictive modeling and strategic decision-making, bioinformatics serves as a key tool for navigating the complexities of kelp and bivalve aquaculture in a changing world.
Reflections after three months in the water. (CorPowerOcean.com)
After resuming its deployment program in July engineers swiftly began testing operational methods for connecting and disconnecting the C4 device. This followed the successful installation of the UMACK anchor and subsea electrical export cables in mid-2022 and the completion of the C4 assembly and Pre-Deployment Check (PDC) program at the quay-side launch pad in Viana do Castelo in December 2022.
Throughout the summer period, innovative methods for pulling down and mating the C4 device to the UMACK anchor were verified using a fully surface operated installation sequence. The next phase of the program saw the C4 device taken through cycles of testing safety, control and grid functions.
Marine Science
Advocating for Deep-Sea Protection in 2023 (SustainableOceanAlliance.org)
On November 8, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) officially completed Part III of its 28th Session on deep-sea mining negotiations. 2023 consisted of three sessions at the ISA (Spring, Summer, and Fall) and Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) was proud to send a delegation of young ocean leaders from our community to participate in each one of these meetings. Learn more about the greatest wins and challenges of these meetings and what you can expect for the 29th Session in 2024.
Since 2022, SOA has had the honor to represent our organization, stakeholders, and partners at the ISA, with the mission to advocate for the protection of our deep sea as our greatest defense against climate change. As the first youth-led organization to achieve Observer Status at the ISA, we are proud to use our platform to amplify the voices and concerns of this generation to a global audience.
The “chef for shrimp” who’s creating seaweed-based aquafeeds (TheFishSite.com)
Living Seas Aquafeeds is using local ingredients, including farmed seaweed and mangrove leaves, as a functional addition to standard feeding regimes, improving water quality, FCRs and shrimp growth, according to Timothy Hromatka, founder of the Indonesian startup.
We have a range of feed sizes to match the size of the shrimp at each stage of the grow-out cycle. The formulation changes according to the size of the shrimp, to improve pond water quality and the digestion of conventional feed.
Deep-Sea Coral Habitat (NOAA.gov)
You might think of corals and picture a sunny and shallow tropical reef. Yet recent advances in deep ocean exploration have revealed spectacular coral gardens in the dark ocean depths. Hundreds—and even thousands—of feet beyond the reach of sunlight, these unique corals and sponges are found off all our coasts. Ongoing exploration reveals new and familiar species thriving where we once expected little activity. These special creatures have already yielded new science, including medicines. They thrive in the largest yet least known environment on Earth: the deep sea.
Earth on verge of five catastrophic climate tipping points, scientists warn (The Guardian)
Many of the gravest threats to humanity are drawing closer, as carbon pollution heats the planet to ever more dangerous levels, scientists have warned.
Five important natural thresholds already risk being crossed, according to the Global Tipping Points report, and three more may be reached in the 2030s if the world heats 1.5C (2.7F) above pre-industrial temperatures.
Triggering these planetary shifts will not cause temperatures to spiral out of control in the coming centuries but will unleash dangerous and sweeping damage to people and nature that cannot be undone.
Don’t Shade the Ocean (Oceanfdn.org)
Emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases must be drastically reduced to moderate global temperature increases. To date, the rate of reductions has not been fast enough to prevent such effects as changes in the ocean’s depth, chemistry, and temperature, and in turn, its role in moderating the global climate. For example, the summer 2023 average daily global sea surface temperature reached 69.73 degrees Fahrenheit (over 100 degrees off Florida)—both far above the average.
Sustainable and Innovative Business
New stainless steel boosts green hydrogen production from seawater (interestingengineering.com)
Stainless steel can be used in a number of hydrogen production techniques, especially those that involve steam methane reforming and electrolysis.
In terms of steam methane reforming, the material is used in the construction of reformers, heat exchangers, and other components of the process as it is particularly well-suited to withstand high temperatures and corrosive environments.
In terms of water electrolysis, the material is often used in the construction of electrolyzers due to its corrosion resistance and durability in the process’ harsh electrolytic environment.
Second life: Deep-sea diving probe recovered from Southern Ocean (CSIRO.au)
Dr Benoit Legresy, CSIRO oceanographer and chief scientist of the research voyage that picked up the float, said deploying autonomous devices like robotic floats and gliders also means developing a capability to recover them.
“This float is the biggest we’ve ever deployed, and the recovery net worked well after several attempts,” Dr Legresy said.
“When we picked it up the float still had enough battery life for some more deep dives, but if we hadn’t got it before winter, it wouldn’t have lasted another year. The rich data it contains is priceless.
RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRATION (RD&D) (SoCalGas.com)
SoCalGas® is actively working towards the goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions in our operations and delivery of energy by 2045. Innovation and the rapid development of new technologies are vital to our success. Our Research, Development, & Demonstration (RD&D) Program plays a key role in this effort by developing and demonstrating transformational products and technologies that promote decarbonization across the natural gas value chain and a diversified portfolio of clean energy sources, distributed networks, tools, and applications.
Today, at COP28 at the Ocean Pavilion, Bloomberg Philanthropies CEO Patti Harris, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy on Climate John Kerry, UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean Peter Thomson, and others announced the formation of Ocean Resilience and Climate Alliance (ORCA) by leading climate and ocean institutions. With an initial pledge of more than $250 million, Ballmer Group, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Builders Vision, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust, Oak Foundation, Oceankind, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Rivian Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Vere Initiatives, and others have come together to form a funder collaborative focused on advancing ocean-based solutions to fight climate change.
Minesto installs seabed anchor for Dragon 12 tidal energy device (offshoreenergy.biz)
The installation was carried out by Minesto’s collaboration partner Leask Marine. The Dragon 12 kite system is assembled, tested and ready for installation, commissioning, and power production.
The innovative seabed anchor solution is developed by Leask Marine together with Minesto and has for the first time been installed. The Dragon 12 system is on the quayside in Vestmanna and is ready for installation and electricity production.
According to the company, the seabed anchoring reduces costs for tidal energy array buildout and lowers carbon emissions compared to a traditional gravity-based foundation.
Education
One of the oldest environmental degree programs in the country turns 50 this year, celebrating a legacy of progress on the world’s most difficult environmental challenges.
As governments, companies and nonprofit organizations sought to adapt and advance sustainability in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, graduates of the environmental science and engineering doctoral program were at the fore of a major global shift. They developed new product ecolabels, transformed cities to keep people safe from climate change–driven extreme weather and developed new technologies to support the shift to clean energy and electric vehicles.
A Devastating Summer for Coral Reefs–and How to Help Save Them (dornsife-wrigley.usc.edu)
An assistant professor of biological sciences, Kenkel was recently named the Wilford and Daris Zinsmeyer Early Career Chair in Marine Studies in recognition of her work on coral genetics, which she has been researching for 15 years.
In June 2023, her team traveled to Florida to begin summer field research, as they’d done many times before. Kenkel and her collaborators have undertaken several transplant experiments, moving corals around the Florida Keys and the Dry Tortugas, island chains located between Cuba and the southern tip of mainland Florida. The corals are often sourced from partner restoration organizations like Mote Marine Lab, which grows coral in nearby “nurseries” to help restore reefs that have been damaged by climate change.
Integrating blue foods into climate strategies (oceansolutions.stanford.edu)
Blue foods – foods that are wild-caught or farmed from oceans, rivers, and lakes – are critical to the nutrition, health, livelihoods, economies, and cultures of billions of people worldwide. They can be an important part of sustainable food systems by reducing the environmental footprint of nutritious diets and relieving pressures on over-taxed terrestrial systems. Yet blue foods are often overlooked in climate discussions. To meet global climate targets, climate decision[1]makers will need to harness the opportunities of climate-smart blue foods that contribute to reducing carbon emissions while protecting blue food systems and the people who depend on them from the impacts of climate change.