PNNL

Abstract

Arctic observations are becoming increasingly valuable as researchers investigate climate change and decreasing sea ice coverage leads to increased ship traffic. Networks of sensors with frequent sampling are needed to run forecast models, improve navigation, and inform climate research. Sampling frequency and deployment duration are currently constrained by battery power. Marine renewable energy sources such as waves and currents could be used to alleviate this constraint with in-situ power generation. Wave and current resources vary spatially and temporally in the Arctic with some locations and seasons being better suited for power generation. Locations and seasons with small resources may still be able to make use of marine renewable energy resources to power observations because the power requirements of most Arctic observation instruments are only a few Watts. In this study we describe the wave and current resources in the Arctic, electricity generation developments that are needed to utilize the resources and suggest use cases. Wave energy converters and current energy converters developed to power observations in the Arctic could also be used to power observations at lower latitudes. Marine renewable energy has the potential to decrease dependence on batteries and improve data collection capabilities in the Arctic, but this will require the development of new technologies that produce lower power and can operate in the extreme Arctic environment.