Researchers survey sea floor animals for RE

SAN FRANCISCO: While there is growing interest in developing offshore renewable energy (RE) in the US Pacific Northwest, researchers are trying to know more about the sediment and animal life along the sea floor, as needed for companies to consider environmental implications before constructing facilities in the ocean.

In a paper published in the journal, Continental Shelf Research, the researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) outline their work that found relationships between sediment characteristics and animal life (mostly pencil eraser-sized clams and worms) were consistent across the sites they sampled.