Centrale Nantes welcomes ‘Acoustics of the SEA’ to its offshore test site
18.04.2018
On Thursday 12 April, Centrale Nantes installed a demonstrator, which aims to characterize underwater ambient noise, on its offshore test site, SEM-REV. This is part of the Acoustics of the SEA (SEAc) project developed by Nereis Environnement.
This project to monitor the environment of a Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) production site required that an autonomous tool for recording underwater sounds and storing data at sea be installed. Specific spectral analysis modules and detection algorithms will be used to characterize the ambient noise by classifying its various components. The data collected will be used to model the acoustic footprint of underwater noise in order to estimate the impact of MRE activities on marine fauna.
An innovative demonstrator, including a standalone acoustic recorder from the manufacturer OSEAN, and 3 acoustic recorders were installed on site. The conditions at sea were ideal ensuring a smooth installation.
NEREIS Environnement is an engineering company specializing in acoustics and fishing based in Carquefou. It was selected in the 4th FORESEA call for funding. This is the first project in this programme to be hosted by SEM-REV.
The FORESEA programme is helping SMEs to test their Marine Renewable Energy technologies at sea under real conditions, by providing access to the network of test sites in North-West Europe, including the SEM-REV site. It is funded by the Interreg North West Europe programme, which is part of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Eight projects will be tested on the SEM-REV offshore test site as part of FORESEA funding, including prototypes of MRE technologies such as Pytheas Technology’s PywEC generator or the HACE (Hydro Air Concept Energy) wave energy system; or MRE site equipment tools such as FMGC submarine electric cable ballast shells; or site maintenance and monitoring tools such as underwater drone tests developed by INTERDRONES.