Page 45: of Marine Technology Magazine (September 2023)

Ohmsett - The National Oil Spill Response

RBRargo³

C.T.D on

RBR and Renewable Energy Test Facility

Argo Arvor https://rbr-global.com/ pro? ler https://ohmsett.bsee.gov

Ohmsett – The National Oil Spill Response Research &

This year, RBR celebrates its

Renewable Energy Test facility is the test bed for some th 50 anniversary of providing of the most innovative technologies used in the spill oceanographic sensors, instru- response industry for oil spill detection, containment, ments, and measurement systems. and removal, as well as marine renewable energy and

RBR designs, manufactures, and technology for the blue economy. Managed by the De- calibrates high-precision oceano- partment of Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Safety and En- graphic instruments and related vironmental Enforcement (BSEE) under a contract with systems. Designed with the user

Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA), it is one of the experience and ? exibility in mind, largest outdoor saltwater testing facilities in the world.

RBR’s instruments can be con? gured to measure up to

Ohmsett is internationally recognized by the oil spill 10 physical or biogeochemical water parameters. Com- response technical community as one of the premier fa- munication is available with USB-C as the standardized cilities to develop or assess response equipment. As the connector on every instrument, and Wi-Fi connectivity is largest outdoor saltwater wave/tow tank facility in North available on every standard logger. All instruments run

America, it offers an ideal setting for testing, research, on standard off-the-shelf batteries. By having one cable and training in a marine environment under near-real- that ? ts all, with widely available batteries, and a single world conditions. Activities within the 203 meter-long, software tool to interface with all RBR instruments, pre- 10-million liter, above-ground wave and tow tank simu- paring for deployments has never been easier. late realistic environments for evaluating technologies

RBR has been actively advancing its product line to to determine autonomous operation, maneuverability, meet global research requirements. Since 2018, RBR has sensor integration, performance when exposed to differ- worked with the international Argo program to diversi- ent wave conditions, and general durability in waves up fy the ? oats’ CTD sensor technology. Following rigor- to 1 meter in amplitude. By providing objective perfor- ous testing and validation in collaboration with the Argo mance testing of oil spill response equipment and marine community, the data collected by the RBRargo3 C.T.D renewable energy systems, customers can conduct tests received a QC-1 ? ag, signifying its trustworthiness as a on skimming vessels, sorbents, dispersants, sunken oil

CTD for the Core Argo program. Today, all major Argo detection, oil emulsions, oil-in-ice recovery, remote sens- ? oat manufacturers offer RBR sensors on their platforms.

ing, marine energy converters, marine debris removal sys-

This year, RBR continued the expansion of its opti- tems, technologies for the blue economy, and much more.

cal sensor line with the introduction of the RBRtridente

The DOI recently expanded the role of BSEE as the three-channel ? uorescence and backscatter sensor and federal offshore energy regulator to oversee workplace our RBRquadrante four-channel radiometer. In addition safety and environmental compliance functions related to providing outstanding performance speci? cations, the to offshore renewable energy development. One of the sensors are designed with low power consumption, rug- most effective ways BSEE carries out this new mission ged packaging, and ease of use that users have come to is through its management of Ohmsett. The knowledge- expect from RBR. able staff assists developers and researchers with a vari-

Furthermore, RBR has made signi? cant design up- ety of tests for blue technology, marine energy devices, dates to its suite of system components, including the and the challenges associated with cleaning up lubricat-

RBRfermata underwater battery canister, the RBRcer- ing and dielectric ? uid spills. vello data controller, and the RBRcervata deployment extender. These updates cater to the increasing demand for long-term, autonomous deployments in challenging environments. RBR also proudly introduced the new

RBRglissando underway pro? ling winch, enabling auto- mated free-fall pro? ling with instrument payloads of up to 20kg, pay-out line speeds of up to 10m/s, and a line length of 1000m.

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