Date of Award
2024
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Ocean Engineering
Department
Ocean Engineering
First Advisor
Brennan Phillips
Abstract
When disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill strike remote ecosystems including the fragile deep ocean, recovery can be a long and arduous process. Deep water corals are especially susceptible to being critically damaged, as colonies have been known to grow for thousands of years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in partnership with various other federal and state agencies, is leading the effort to restore these open ocean ecosystems that were damaged in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill through the Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities - Coral Propagation Techniques Development project suite. In line with this program, this Master’s thesis presents research focused on a specific step in the process to enable in situ octocoral propagation via a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). Conceptually in this scenario, an ROV would identify and fragment viable coral specimens from an existing colony, prepare them for adhesion, secure them into a substrate, and distribute on the seafloor in one single dive. To ensure proper adhesion to the substrate and promote survivability, the soft outer tissue of the octocoral must be removed from each coral fragment to expose only the bony axis. This study investigates this preparation process and develops feasible solutions for an ROV to conduct this work.
In this thesis, the unique features of the corals and the preparation process are detailed. Then, all possible solutions are analyzed until the best option - a rotary-actuated tool - is selected for further research. Further developing the rotary tool concept, 6 cleaning head prototypes are designed, fabricated, and tested. Testing results are analyzed and compared across the candidates, and recommendations are described. Testing in this study was completed in the laboratory in a water container, leaving ample room for further analysis, testing, and field deployment. Overall, this study makes significant strides in understanding the in situ coral propagation process requirements and limitations and sets the groundwork for future studies to finalize field-deployable, mission-ready toolsets.
Recommended Citation
Millen, Luke Richard, "DEVELOPING A CROSS-PLATFORM REMOTELY OPERATED TOOLSET FOR IN SITU DEEP SEA CORAL PROPAGATION" (2024). Open Access Master's Theses. Paper 2574.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses/2574
