Next week, the company that leased swaths of ocean space roughly 20 miles west of Eureka to build offshore wind turbines will begin gathering data on the site’s biological and geographic characteristics.RWE contracted with ocean surveying company Argeo to examine the ocean floor and identify its plants, animals and geographic specifications, data that could help determine where exactly the floating turbines are placed. The area off the coast of Samoa where the turbines would be built doesn’t have much high-quality data about it, said Rob Mastria, RWE’s project director for Canopy, their offshore wind project off the county’s coast.“We use them (Surveys) to figure out what our lease area looks like and several aspects related to that, like actually mapping the contours of the seafloor, getting an indication of what the soil looks like, below the seabed as well as learning more about are there any hazards or sensitive areas to avoid, what are the organisms and life on the seafloor and the habitats in the area,” Mastria said.Mastria estimated that turbine construction would likely begin in the early to mid-2030s, and his company’s work until then involves acquiring the necessary permits and conducting community outreach. He added his company hopes the heavy lift terminal – an infrastructural overhaul of the Samoa marine terminal meant to facilitate offshore wind construction and maintenance – succeeds, but it’s not completely essential for the project to proceed, noting RWE could use other ports to ship up materials.Keep reading
A new paper gives voice to the residents of King Salmon — California’s community hardest hit by rising seasDue to tectonic activity, the land around Humboldt Bay is sinking, amplifying the impacts of rising oceans. In King Salmon, the seas are rising three times faster than the national average. “It’s easy to think about climate change as something happening way in the future,” says Kristina Kunkel, who recently published a paper with Professor Laurie Richmond on her findings. “Like, ‘maybe we don't have to really think about it much yet.’ But King Salmon shows how it’s happening right now. That’s revelatory, for some people.”Given how few people had heard from King Salmon’s residents, Kunkel’s advisor Laurie Richmond wanted to ensure that the research wasn’t overlooked.
Read more …
As keen observers are well aware, the industrial legacy of the 20th Century left many contaminated sites around Humboldt Bay. In our second special EcoNews Report on communities at risk from sea level rise, local residents talking about several of the most vulnerable sites: Tuluwat Island, Butcher Slough in Arcata, and the nuclear waste storage site above King Salmon.Many thanks to Hilanea Wilkinson, Adam Canter, Jerry Rohde, Nate Faith, and to Jessie Eden, who produced this episode with funding provided by the California Coastal Commission's Whale Tail Grant Program.To contribute to the Whale Tail Grant Program, check the box for the Protect Our Coast and Oceans Fund on your California tax return. Every dollar helps to fund fantastic projects like our podcast series and Bay Tours Program! For more info:
Researchers from the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and environmental consulting firm H. T. Harvey & Associates recently deployed technology off the West Coast in one of the first efforts to understand how high seabirds fly and whether they might interact with wind turbines and other infrastructure. They published the research on April 24 in Frontiers in Marine Energy.“This is an important step in understanding seabird behavior at the height of offshore wind turbines on the West Coast,” said Shari Matzner, computer scientist at PNNL and coauthor on the paper. Data from scientists on research vessels have provided estimates of how high birds fly, depending on wind strength, but “this is really the first time we’ve had real-time, quantified flight height data for these birds,” Matzner said.Keep reading
The federal government recently awarded $426,000,000 to the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District for the design, permitting, and construction of an offshore wind Heavy Lift Terminal on the Samoa Peninsula. Left: The site was once part of the former Hammond Lumber Mill. The site will need to be remediated, dock and buildings demolished, and ground elevation raised to accommodate sea level rise. Imagery by Oren Nardi for Humboldt Waterkeeper.
Read more …
The federal government recently awarded $426,000,000 to the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District for the design, permitting, and construction of an offshore wind Heavy Lift Terminal on the Samoa Peninsula. Left: The site was once part of the former Hammond Lumber Mill. The site will need to be remediated, dock and buildings demolished, and ground elevation raised to accommodate sea level rise. Imagery by Oren Nardi for Humboldt Waterkeeper. 
