UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory

Our recent field trip to the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory was an opportunity to learn about our local marine life and for students to attain primary resources for projects relating to problems within the ocean. I personally am not focusing my environmental project (see posts below) on issues relating to aquatic life; however, the experience was still very interesting and worthwhile. The ocean is such a diverse ecosystem and getting to see various creatures and to understand a little bit more was a great opportunity.



The trip was such a unique opportunity to the ideal research center. The laboratory is located perfectly in order and absolutely breathtaking to see.



The entrace to the research center held a mini tide pool, complete with flowing water currents and different aquatic animals. Before beginning the tour we were encouraged to hold and observe the creatures.

                        

Above are purple sea urchins and seastars: both types of marine life prevalent in tide pools.

During the tour we got to view other creatures as well and to learn briefly about the mutations they can undergo when pollution invades their waters. I can imagine that all the students trying to prevent water pollution must have found lots of valuable information.


   

Renewable Sources of Energy: My Plan

I mentioned in the previous post that I had an idea for an alternative source of energy, and now that I have developed my idea into something potentially feasible I am ready to share it. But first of all, let me explain the project guidelines.

First we are supposed to investigate an environmental problem and to write a research paper on the topic. Then, using our prior research, we are supposed to create a solution to the problem. Next we will create a social media campaign for our idea, and finally we will make a Ted Talk about our problem and solution.


Because I am very interested in the field of engineering, I wanted to choose a topic where I could potentially engineer something. Then I got the idea of an alternative form of engineering and decided to make that my topic. Wind turbines are based on the premise that wind is in motion, and continually is, no matter how much of its energy is converted into energy. I looked in the environment for something else that is often in motion with the same principles, and I thought of rain. Rain is definitely in motion, falling at an acceleration of 9.81 m/s^2. Why not capture this energy with the same concepts of wind turbines?

https://goo.gl/R1OoTA

My idea is of making mini water turbines and to position them beneath sewer grates, but above the actual sewers. There tends to be a lot of unused space here, and with the turbines here the water could come through and then continue in the same direction as it originally goes. The basic idea is that I could create a Savonius vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) as shown on the right. It would be positioned horizontally so that the falling water would make it turn (after falling through the sewer grates). A system of several VAWTs (or really HAWTs) would be connected to a generator that could make electricity. Another benefit to the sewer location is the water turbines could exist in urban areas where electricity is most used. In addition, the turbines would not be taking over any ecosystem or important land.

From my research thus far, I have not found any related devices to my idea. There are water turbines out there, but they are limited and have some flaws that actually pollute the environment. An article from Science AAAS explained that water turbines in dams actually release large amounts of methane into the atmosphere, actually having a negative effect on the environment. Also, these giant machines cannot exist ubiquitously, because they require large water sources.

The fact that I can model my design after wind turbines and am not entirely starting from scratch is encouraging. I think that this idea really could work, and the only worry I really have is the generator. Making the turbine seems very doable since I am going to have assistance from the welding class at our school, and it does not have many different mechanical issues involved. However, to actually create the electricity the turbine needs to be connected to a generator. Generators with less that 100 Watts or so can be created, but for the machine to actually be a success I would need a pretty big, high-tech generator. These can be bought, but as pretty expensive. I am not totally sure how I will approach this problem, so for now I am sticking with the things I can do such as the research paper.

The Pollution Eaters

In another effort to help stimulate ideas for our environmental project, we watched a Ted Talk called "The row-bot that feeds on pollution" by Jonathan Rossiter. The video overviewed a project that Rossiter had developed, that was essentially a robot that could consume oil and chemicals that have polluted bodies of water. Not only that, this bot could convert those chemicals in the electricity it needed to continue to function.



The "row-bot", shown above, was designed after actual animals: the basking shark and water boatman. The bot got its uniquely shaped mouth from the basking shark, and the little paddles from the water boatman. The reminder here is that robots do not have to be any certain shape! Rossiter mentions that most robots we picture nowadays are resembling humans or the Terminator; however, robots can be in any convenient shape. After sharing his idea Rossiter went on about the possibilities of future robots, in hopes to inspire other engineers. He argued that robots can be made out of many different materials, and they can be optimized to be more eco friendly, or to do unheard of things.

This video was encouraging to watch, as I am dealing with electricity in my environmental project as well (more info soon!). To know that generators could potentially be made of materials different from expensive products is something I really want to investigate and possibly use in my project.

Aside from that, I think Rossiter came up with a brilliant idea, and I hope it can actually work. My worry is that the little robots would be eaten or damaged in the unpredictable environment they would work in. They seem a bit fragile, but I am sure they will be placed to an appropriate strength if the idea becomes widespread. I think the row-bot could be an excellent help to our oceans, lakes, etc., and I hope to see them implemented.