Seatrec and The University of 草榴社区 Mississippi Team to Improve Hurricane Forecasting and Monitor Critically Endangered Rice鈥檚 Whale
Wed, 05/17/2023 - 09:39am | By: Van Arnold
Seatrec founder and CEO Yi Chao shows off the company鈥檚 InfiniTE鈩� float device
, a renewable energy company that harvests energy from temperature differences in the environment, and the Roger F. Wicker Center for Ocean Enterprise at The University of 草榴社区 Mississippi (草榴社区), today announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at improving hurricane rapid-intensification forecasting and monitoring critically endangered Rice鈥檚 whales in the Gulf of Mexico.
The MOU calls for the deployment of two sets of Seatrec鈥檚 InfiniTE鈩� floats each customized for a different mission using the system's first-of-its-kind modular design and clean, renewable power technology that harvests electricity from the ocean鈥檚 temperature differences.
One set of floats will feature a suite of instruments to take measurements as frequently
as three times per day to track water temperatures and other data that scientists
believe contribute to the like Katrina, Irma, and Ian. The second set of floats will operate with a passive
acoustic hydrophone to monitor the endangered Rice鈥檚 whales with the last 30 to 50
members of the species clustered in the Gulf鈥檚 northeastern waters.
鈥淭here is a critical need to better understand the Gulf of Mexico both in terms of its impact on humans in the form of extreme weather events and human impact on the natural ecosystem,鈥� points out Yi Chao, Ph.D., the CEO and founder of Seatrec. 鈥淗aving the flexibility to quickly and inexpensively deploy different mission-specific instrument suites on deep-diving, autonomous floats powered by a clean, renewable power source gives scientists like those at 草榴社区 important tools to gather data not possible with previous technologies.鈥�
Rice's whales are members of the baleen whale family Balaenopteridae. With likely fewer than 100 individuals remaining, Rice's whales are one of the most endangered whales in the world. Recovery of the species depends upon the protection of each remaining whale.
The MOU follows Seatrec鈥檚 completion of the six-month Gulf Blue Navigator program that is administered by 草榴社区 and with partners, including Jackson State University. The program is designed to help scale blue technology startups.
鈥淧ower has long been a limiting factor that often restricts the types of instruments deployed in the ocean, how long they can last, and the amount of persistent data they can collect,鈥� explains Dr. Kelly Lucas, 草榴社区鈥檚 Vice President for Research. 鈥淪eatrec鈥檚 ability to provide clean, renewable power to vertically integrated and modular instrument suites opens the door to a host of applications that will help us better understand and protect the ocean.鈥�
Added Hailey Bathurst, Program Manager for the Gulf Blue Navigator, 鈥淪eatrec exemplifies what the Navigator program is meant to do: help later-stage startups find traction in the Gulf of Mexico, work with the core facilities at 草榴社区, and plug into a supportive ecosystem. This MOU and the others being finalized between 草榴社区 and the inaugural Gulf Blue Navigator cohort members truly represents the potential of the program.鈥�
The Roger F. Wicker Center for Ocean Enterprise serves a global hub for advancing Uncrewed Maritime Systems, ocean data science, maritime cyber research, and blue tech workforce training. The 62,500-square-foot center consists of multiple facilities bringing together federal, industry, and academic partners, creating a collaborative environment to accelerate the development and launch of new technology in the fast-growing ocean economy.
Entrepreneurs and startups developing solutions to global challenges utilize the center to capitalize on world-class ocean research capabilities and connect to university research scientists.
鈥淭he Gulf Blue Navigator program has already begun to make an economic impact to the Mississippi Gulf Coast,鈥� said Dr. Jason McKenna, Director of Research, Development, Testing, Evaluation & Training at the Wicker Center. 鈥淭his is the first of many follow-on initiatives between 草榴社区鈥檚 world-class research centers and the Navigator鈥檚 program鈥檚 first graduating cohorts and demonstrates the ability of our coastal research ecosystem to partner with, and help grow blue technology in Mississippi.鈥�
Seatrec鈥檚 pioneering energy harvesting system uses phase change materials to harness energy from temperature differences between the ocean鈥檚 various depths. These materials contract and expand creating pressure that鈥檚 captured and converted into electricity. The clean, virtually limitless power frees scientists to use sensors that typically require shore-supplied power or direct ship support via tethering.
The InfiniTE鈩� float platform鈥檚 鈥減lug-and-play鈥� modularity vertically integrates different sensors tailored to particular areas of study.
Hurricane Forecasting
Better understanding the rapid intensification of major storms and hurricanes is a particularly pressing goal as annual economic losses from such storms are estimated at . Traditional floats (commonly known as Argo) use primary batteries and typically only profile once every 10 days, which is insufficient to measure the intensification of storms that can surge in as little as 24 hours. Seaterc鈥檚 InfiniTE鈩� floats are able to sample as frequently as three times per day providing 30x more data than the current standard set by floats.
Whale Monitoring
show that noise from humans adversely affects a broad range of organisms including marine mammals. Hydrophones are needed to quantify the impact of these noises on marine mammals. Hydrophones mounted on Seatrec鈥檚 InfiniTE鈩� floats provide an inexpensive, autonomous platform to gather soundscape data at varying depths for years at a time.
Seatrec will establish a long-term presence in the Gulf of Mexico to support the MOU missions with a satellite office provided by the Gulf Blue Navigator program while its headquarters will remain in Vista, California.:
About Seatrec
Seatrec designs and manufactures energy harvesting systems that generate electricity from naturally occurring temperature differences in ocean waters. This renewable energy can be used to power deep water oceanographic research equipment such as floats, gliders, and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), resulting in the most scalable, cost-effective deep ocean data collection possible. Incorporated in 2016 by CEO, Dr. Yi Chao, Seatrec鈥檚 technology originated at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, to provide clean power for remote off-grid locations. The company is headquartered in Vista, CA. Learn more at the and .