At depths below 13,100 feet, the temperature ranges from near freezing to just above the freezing point of water as depth increases. Desalination is not a viable source for producing large amounts of fresh water because of _____. Many early Claude cycle designs used a surface condenser since their performance was well understood. In the Northern hemisphere, the maximum temperatures at the surface occur through August and September and minimum temperatures occur through February and March with total heat content being lowest in March. Air is extracted from the closed system with a vacuum pump. Another interesting feature of these oceans is the pelagic zones. [5] The cooler winter temperatures cause the thermocline to drop to further depths and warmed summer temperatures bring the thermocline back to the upper layer. The vaporized fluid then drives a turbine to produce electricity. metal sulfides evaporites calcareous ooze manganese nodules 26. The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. high latitudesIn general the water of the greatest density is formed in high latitudes and because this water sinks and fills all ocean basins the deep and bottom water of all oceans is cold. Conceptual Design of an Open-Cycle Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Net Power-Producing Experiment (OC-OTEC NPPE). This is the first true closed-cycle ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) plant to be connected to a U.S. electrical grid . [34] Currently, this is one of only two fully operational OTEC plants in the world. Subcooled liquid enters the evaporator. [11] The plant became operational on 14 October 1981, producing about 120kW of electricity; 90kW was used to power the plant and the remaining electricity was used to power a school and other places. But one common phenomenon that is well known and has even had its role in filmography, is ocean thermoclines. Tanks or lagoons built on shore allow workers to monitor and control miniature marine environments. [40] The study concluded that although microbial fouling was an issue for the warm surface water heat exchanger, the cold water heat exchanger suffered little or no biofouling and only minimal inorganic fouling. The complexities of operating an OTEC plant in deeper water may make them more expensive than land-based approaches. C. mid-ocean ridges. The remaining water is saturated and is discharged to the ocean in the open cycle. It is relatively easy to tell when you have reached the thermocline in a body of water because there is a sudden change in temperature. M With this, the oxygen content is replenished, and algal blooms are common. There is no visibility here, and submarines find it difficult to dive down to this depth. In ocean sunlight is the main limiting factor which decreases the rate of photosynthesis. Moreover, this difference in density is the primary factor that affects the physical and chemical properties of the thermocline. photic. 25 June 2013. available at: Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, unrelated or insufficiently related to the topic of the article, Learn how and when to remove this template message, An Assessment of Research and Development Leadership in Ocean Energy Technologies, "Outline of the 100 kW OTEC Pilot Plant in the Republic of Nauru", "Hawaii About to Crack Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Roadblocks? D. continental rocks Weegy: Terrigenous sediment consists primarily of mineral grains eroded from continental rocks. Direct-Contact Condensers for Open-Cycle OTEC Applications: Model Validation with Fresh Water Experiments for Structured Packings. During these months the Antarctic Oceans upwelling zone exhibits some of the Earths highest primary productivity. [8] This set a world record for power output from an OTEC system where the power was sent to a real (as opposed to an experimental) power grid. The height, length, and period of a wave depend on ________. In 1979 SERI proposed using the Seebeck effect to produce power with a total conversion efficiency of 2%. A widespread permanent thermocline exists beneath the relatively warm well-mixed surface layer from depths of about 200 m (660 feet) to about 1 000 m (3 000 feet) in which interval temperatures diminish steadily. As developed starting in the 1960s by J. Hilbert Anderson of Sea Solar Power, Inc., in this cycle, QH is the heat transferred in the evaporator from the warm sea water to the working fluid. 2008. Middle east, north east Africa, Indian subcontinent and Australia can get relief from hot and dry weather in summer season, also prone to erratic rainfall, by pumping deep sea water to the sea surface from the Persian gulf, Red sea, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean respectively. The purpose of the facility is to arrive at an optimal design for OTEC heat exchangers, increasing performance and useful life while reducing cost (heat exchangers being the #1 cost driver for an OTEC plant). 36. Major storms and heavy seas can break the vertically suspended cold-water pipe and interrupt warm water intake as well. A 100 MW OTEC power plant would require 200 exchangers each larger than a 20-foot shipping container making them the single most expensive component. The ocean is an amazing repository for Earth's climatic history. e Deep ocean water contains high concentrations of essential nutrients that are depleted in surface waters due to biological consumption. Thermoclines in the ocean are best developed at _____. Atlantic cooling associated with NADW formation (0.3 PW north of 32S; 1 PW = 1015 W) and Southern Ocean cooling associated with AABW formation (0.4 PW south of 32S) are balanced mostly by 0.6 . Aluminium tubing slows the growth of microbial life, although the oxide layer which forms on the inside of the pipes complicates cleaning and leads to larger efficiency losses. PSU (Practical Salinity Unit), which is a unit based on the properties of sea water conductivity per thousand %o. IPCC: Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation, 2011. While scientists are confident that prehistoric creatures still live below the deeper thermoclines, they are mostly harmless, and cannot survive the temperature and sunlight change if they were to come to the surface. [24], In 2006, Makai Ocean Engineering was awarded a contract from the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) to investigate the potential for OTEC to produce nationally significant quantities of hydrogen in at-sea floating plants located in warm, tropical waters. Equatorward subduction beneath the less dense surface waters results in the export of DOC . The cold deep sea water (<10C) is pumped to the sea surface area to suppress the sea surface temperature (>26C) by artificial means using electricity produced by mega scale floating wind turbine plants on the deep sea. Factors that affect the depth and thickness of a thermocline include seasonal weather variations, latitude, and local environmental conditions, such as tides and currents. System analysis indicates that a 2-megawatt plant could produce about 4,300 cubic metres (150,000cuft) of desalinated water each day. In low latitude tropical regions the sea surface is much warmer leading to a highly pronounced thermocline (Figure 6.2. It is therefore in the tropics that OTEC offers the greatest possibilities. Bharathan, D. (1984). Which of the following processes increase ocean salinity? Contents. c. Submarines use the thermocline constantly to avoid detection. a. both high and low latitudes b. higher latitudes c. lower latitudes d. regions close to continents. Depending on how the densities are spread across the gradient, sub-surface waves will also be generated at the fore of the submarine. The new facility is for researching the economic practicality of chilled-soil agriculture on a larger scale.[88]. KOYO USA was established in 2002 to capitalize on this new economic opportunity. What is the exposition of the blanket by Floyd dell? r Bharathan, D.; Parsons, B. K.; Althof, J. Blood pressure $\quad 147 / 68 \mathrm{~mm} \mathrm{Hg}$ Thermocline - Wikipedia > A thermocline (also known as the thermal layer or the metalimnion in lakes) is a thin but d. The lower sea water surface temperature would enhance the local ambient pressure so that atmospheric landward winds are created. New Scientist, March 1, 2014. The USGS uses ocean geologic records to better understand current and future climate changes and potential impacts. Later, a team led by Dr. Bharathan at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed the initial conceptual design for up-dated 210kW open-cycle OTEC experiment ([22]). 2003-2023 Chegg Inc. All rights reserved. During cold winters, the surface epilimnion may become colder (and hence denser) than the hypolimnion. Several factors are used to divide the ocean into distinct marine life zones: Productivity in tropical oceans at 0-100: Productivity in tropical oceans at 300-500? As an alternative to a warm-water pipe, surface water can be drawn directly into the platform; however, it is necessary to prevent the intake flow from being damaged or interrupted during violent motions caused by heavy seas. [90], The ocean contains 57 trace elements in salts and other forms and dissolved in solution. What Role Applications Like ScreenRec can Play in Managing Remote Teams? ocean currents can be generated by wind density and differences in water masses caused by temp. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. We can use BeerLambertBouguer's law to quantify the solar energy absorption by water. Pelagic zones are ocean regions extending vertically downwards from the surface, classified by their average temperature (day and night). During the summer, warm water, which is less dense, will sit on top of colder, denser, deeper water with a thermocline separating them. Their techniques have developed an important resource for the island community as they now produce spinach, a winter vegetable, commercially year round. The main technical challenge of OTEC is to generate significant amounts of power efficiently from small temperature differences. In the ocean, the thermocline divides the upper . [69] - For more details, see "Currently Operating OTEC Plants" above. Ocean thermal gradient can be used to enhance rainfall and moderate the high ambient summer temperatures in tropics to benefit enormously the mankind and the flora and fauna. To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Renewable Energy From the Ocean: A Guide to OTEC. The ocean has three main layers: the surface ocean which is generally warm and the deep ocean which is colder and more dense than the surface ocean and the seafloor sediments. a. average b. low c. high d. seasonally variable. Why is the thermocline important for marine productivity? For this reason, frozen trench openings are often mistaken for the ocean bed. Thermoclines in the ocean are the best developed at_____. The subtle phytoplankton increase of the baseline OTEC plant suggests that higher-order biochemical effects will be very small. This phenomenon was first applied to the field of noise pollution study in the 1960s, contributing to the design of urban highways and noise barriers.[10]. These represent external irreversibilities that reduce the overall temperature difference. m The depth of the thermocline is the measure of the size of the "fuel tank" and helps to predict the risk of hurricane formation. In the open ocean the thermocline is characterized by a negative sound speed gradient making the thermocline important in submarine warfare because it can reflect active sonar and other acoustic signals. In areas around the tropics and subtropics, the thermocline may become even thinner in the summer than in other locations. Pipes may need to be uncoupled from the plant to prevent storm damage. [71] The benefits to be assessed in the USVI study include both the baseload (24/7) clean electricity generated by OTEC, as well as the various related products associated with OTEC and SWAC, including abundant fresh drinking water, energy-saving air conditioning, sustainable aquaculture and mariculture, and agricultural enhancement projects for the Islands of St Thomas and St Croix. As temperature increases, the medium becomes rarer (with increased spaces between molecules), which decreases the density. Water here is cold and dense. [46] This broke the record of 40kW set by a Japanese system in 1982. There are interesting and intriguing phenomena that do not yet have plausible explanations. What is the best description of thermoclines based on latitude?a. A Developer's Roadmap to OTEC Commercialization", "Deep Pipelines for Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion", "Baha Mar Resort Signs Energy Services Agreement with OTE Corporation", "Baha Mar Resorts To Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Blames China Construction For Delays", "Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation Reports Announcement by Bahamian Government of the Remobilization, Completion, and Opening of the Baha Mar Beach Resort - OTE Corporation", "Makai Ocean Engineering's Heat Exchanger Test Facility opened", "Makai Ocean Engineering working with Navy on Big Island OTEC project", "Makai Ocean Engineering to add 100kW turbine generator to Kona, Hawaii OTEC test facility", "OTE Receives Approval for OTEC System in the USVI", "Ocean Thermal to begin talks for renewable energy plants in St. Croix, St. Thomas", "Administered by the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority - Energy Portfolio", "Akuo Energy and DCNS awarded European NER 300* funding: a crucial step for the marine renewable energy sector", "Celebrating Hawaii ocean thermal energy conversion power plant", "Countermeasures to Microbiofouling in Simulated Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Heat Exchangers with Surface and Deep Ocean Waters in Hawaii", "Vapor/Droplet Coupling and the Mist Flow (OTEC) Cycle", "Economics of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion", "Levelized cost of energy for ocean energy technologies", https://web.archive.org/web/20070626183941/http://www.pichtr.org/luis_vega_otec_summary.pdf, https://www.irena.org/documentdownloads/publications/ocean_thermal_energy_v4_web.pdf, "NREL: Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion - Markets for OTEC", "NREL: Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Home Page", "Lockheed Martin awarded another $4.4M for OTEC work in Hawaii", "More funds for Hawaii's Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion plant", http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hawaii-first-to-harness-deep-ocean-temperatures-for-power/, "CLEAN TECHNOLOGY: U.S.-designed no-emission power plant will debut off China's coast", "Lockheed to build 10-megawatt thermal power plant off southern China", "Tapping Into the Ocean's Power: Lockheed Martin signs agreement for largest ever OTEC plant", "OTECOcean Thermal Energy Conversion - Xenesys Inc", "Senate Signs MOU for Ocean Energy Feasibility Study", "Feasibility Study for World's First US-Based Commercial OTEC Plant and Sea Water Air Conditioning (SWAC) Systems in USVI", "Energy from the Ocean: The Ocean Thermal Energy Converter", "Funding NEMO: Offshore OTEC project awarded in NER 300 program", "OTECresorts: Ocean Energy at East Anglia, United Kingdom", "Applications open for ocean thermal energy purchase in Maldives", "UK OTEC developer kicks off crowdfunding campaign", " 2015 ()[]", "YouTube video on the OTEC air-conditioning system used at the InterContinental Resort and Thalasso-Spa on the island of Bora Bora", http://www.spc.int/DigitalLibrary/Doc/FAME/InfoBull/FishNews/118/FishNews11, "The Nuclear Option: Technology to Extract Uranium From the Sea Advances", "Chapter 4:Ocean Thermal Energy Converters", "Modeling the Physical and Biochemical Influence of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Plant Discharges into their Adjacent Waters", "Final Environmental Impact Statement for Commercial Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) Licensing", "Environmental Assessment of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion in Hawaii", "Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion: Assessing Potential Physical, Chemical, and Biological Impacts and Risks", "Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion: Information Needs Assessment", "Assessment of Microbial Fouling in an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Experiment", "Effect of Manual Brush Cleaning on Biomass and Community Structure of Microfouling Film Formed on Aluminum and Titanium Surfaces Exposed to Rapidly Flowing Seawater", "Achmed Khammas - Das Buch der Synergie - Teil C - Temperaturgradient", "Thermoelectric Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion", "Thermoelectric power plants could offer economically competitive renewable energy", "Feasibility of large-scale power plants based on thermoelectric effects", Educational material about OTEC by the NOAA Ocean Exploration program. In which region of the ocean would the thermocline be the most evident? TR-253-3616. [86] Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation (OTE) has designed a 9800-ton SDC system for a vacation resort in The Bahamas. In closed-cycle OTEC, the specific volume of low-pressure steam is very large compared to that of the pressurized working fluid. Factors that are influencing ocean water salinity: Variations in salinity are a consequences of changes in the water content of the solution. Those familiar with oceanography will know that the term "cline" is often used to refer to layers . [citation needed] When sea surface temperatures are relatively high on an area, lower atmospheric pressure area is formed compared to atmospheric pressure prevailing on the nearby land mass inducing winds from the landmass towards the ocean. lower latitudes Temperatures in the deep oceans are _____ at low latitudes compared to high latitudes. The Mediterranean Sea is a marine biodiversity hot spot. Lower thermocline depths mean that there is a lesser chance of a hurricane formation in the region. Experimental results indicate vertical spout condensers perform some 30% better than falling jet types. Hydrocarbons too are good candidates, but they are highly flammable; in addition, this would create competition for use of them directly as fuels. As winter approaches, the temperature of the surface water will drop as nighttime cooling dominates heat transfer. [8] The plant was later destroyed in a storm.[9]. Thermoclines in oceans are best developed at A. lower longitudes. User: Practically all clouds and storms occur in this layer of the atmosphere. They occur due to a variety of reasonsseasonal changes, currents, and weatherand are especially common during warmer seasons when only the top layer of water gets heated. lower latitudes. This can be used for air conditioning and refrigeration and the nutrient-rich deep ocean water can feed biological technologies. B) is created by waves approaching at an oblique angle. There are interesting and intriguing phenomena that do not yet have plausible explanations. When waves reach shallow water, they are often bent and tend to become parallel to the shore. Minerals and nutrients can also be a retarding factor based on location of the oceans.So there will be less productivity than land which is 170 billion tons compared to 55 billion tons ion oceans.