Seafloor Carpet Mimics Muddy Seabed To Harness Wave Power

Zothecula writes "Many organizations around the world are looking at ways to harness the power of waves as a renewable energy source, but none are covering quite the same ground as a team of engineers from the University of California (UC), Berkeley. The seafloor carpet, a system inspired by the wave absorbing abilities of a muddy seabed, has taken exploring the potential of wave power to some intriguing new depths."

Re:

[Garridan]

No, the downside is that the muddy seafloor is chock full of life. The energy absorbed by that seafloor churns the mud, continually stirring around nutrients, plankton, eggs and sperm, algae, etc. A huge amount of sealife spawns in this mud -- stop churning it, and you kill everything there. And as these things usually go... killing a huge number of species tends to open a door to noxious, invasive, damaging monocultures.

Re:

[synaptik]

... And will slingshot the moon to higher and higher orbits.

Forstering habitat.

[LaminatorX]

I wonder what they could do with their structures as far as encouraging coral growth or providing spawning shelters? Clean energy is obviously the primary goal of the project, but anything building on the seafloor should hopefully take a look at the whole picture.

Re:

[AvitarX]

I would think carpeting the bottom of the ocean would be a disaster for marine life.

Re:

[camperdave]

I would think carpeting the bottom of the ocean would be a disaster for marine life.

So... you think that hardwood flooring might be a better option? Or perhaps a nice ceramic tile, maybe in a nice faux-granite?

Re:

[Newander]

I've always thought that cork flooring was well suited to wet environments.

Re:

[camperdave]

Cork would be a bad option as it would always want to float to the top.

Re:

[CreatureComfort]

Actually, that could be a BRILLIANT idea. Wave power pushes it down, cork pops it back up, rinse, repeat.

They could double their output.

Re:

[radarskiy]

It is easier for starfish to wear slippers than to carpet the ocean.

Some other benefits

[Mapleperson]

This carpet would could be set up in areas of coastal erosion. The energy taken from the wave is not available to destroy the coast so it could be a win win for certain area of the world.

Tired of "Green" bullshit

[dadelbunts]

Im tired of all these "Green" projects that turn a blind eye to environmental impacts. Just build some goddamn nuclear reactors. Do people really think carpeting the goddamn ocean floor, or building huge dams, wont affect the ecosystem?

Re:

[gregor-e]

TFA says: "The researchers are considering whether the ever-growing number of nearshore “dead zones” – low-oxygen regions in the ocean with little marine life – would be strong candidates for pilot testing their system."