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Encrusting biofouling organisms on a metallic surface.

time. While the ? rst layer of coloniza- ria adapt – if you modi? ed the surface cording to the surface, so as part of my ? rst need to understand bio? lms – why tion (bio? lms) are hugely important, it is properties, the bacteria could potentially research we’re looking at species–ma- are these microorganisms attaching to often ignored in research. modify themselves to overcome the bar- terial associations. New results came where they are attaching and how? And

Salta explains, “Bio? lms (aka slime) riers. We don’t know how or why and out recently and they look exciting. But then we’ll ? nd a solution in parallel to are the ? rst layer of colonization made to what extent microorganisms adapt ac- before we can prevent biofouling we that research.” up mainly of diatoms and bacteria. Many people believe this layer is the ? rst to form on a surface but also acts as a food source for larger organisms, such as spores and larvae, that eventually ? rmly attach. The bio? lm alone can cause up to 18 percent of fuel penalty with less than 1-millimeter thickness. So, not only is it a food source but creates huge issues by themselves including surface rough- ness that impacts the hydrodynamics of the ship, pitting and biocorrosion of marine pipelines, aquaculture and more – not just ships.”

Biofouling affects all human-made objects in the aquatic environment. For

Salta, ? nding a solution meant she must ? rst ? nd ways to remove the bio? lm. “It’s fascinating because it is such a dy- namic micro-community with so many different organisms. In fact, for algae and barnacles – which are the main issue when it comes to shipping – the mari- time industry does have some methods to cope with this problem. They use sili- cone based coatings very much like the non-stick surfaces found on our frying pans. The organisms attach, but when the ship starts moving, they fall off. This is an excellent tactic, but works better at high speeds and not at all effective for static objects. On top of that, the bio? lm is still there causing havoc.”

Through her research, Salta has now developed a range of innovative tech- niques to test various antifouling coat- ings, materials and fouling behaviors in the laboratory that simulate natural

UNIQUE conditions. “There was a gap in these

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T in many respects, people are still using

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F informative, it doesn’t represent the real

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SITUATIONAL AWARENESS posed to ? ow. Even if the ships aren’t

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H moving there are tides, so they are never

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I P T truly ‘static.’ I developed a new method that incorporates hydrodynamics so I

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D under ? ow that would be more represen-

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L that assess how bio? lms form directly on experimental and commercial coatings.”

THESIS | Transas Harmonized Eco System of Integrated Solutions said Salta.

[email protected] | www.transas.com “We also now know that bio? lms pre- fer to attach to some surfaces more than others. The problem is that often bacte- www.marinelink.com 25

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