The Olympic Natural Resources Center is excited to share its lineup of Rosmond Evening Talks in the Spring 2025 series. In this series, they will have presentations on marine energy, an update on a historic shipwreck off the coast of the Olympic Peninsula, and great storms of the Northwest.
First up will be Dr. Joe Haxel, giving a talk titled, ‘Monitoring the Environmental Effects of Marine Energy’ on Tuesday, March 18 at 7 pm. Join in person in the Hemlock Forest Room at ONRC at 1455 S. Forks Ave, Forks, WA or via zoom: https://washington.zoom.us/j/3834334539.
Ocean renewable energy technologies, like tidal turbines and wave energy devices that harness the natural power in currents and waves and convert it into electricity, can help support sustainable power production, advance energy security, and promote energy resilience in remote communities.
These new and emerging ocean technologies require extensive testing and demonstration of their performance in real world conditions before they can advance toward commercialization and be considered for deployment at a variety of scales to help power communities and other user needs. Additionally, uncertainties surrounding the potential environmental effects from these new marine energy technologies have slowed the permitting process and created barriers for critical in-water testing and ocean deployments of devices.
“In this presentation I’ll share work from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory with support from the U.S. Department of Energy to address this challenge through development and application of standardized technologies and methods for monitoring, as well as directed research focused on the potential effects of marine energy devices in the natural environment,” Haxel shared.
Joe Haxel is an Earth Scientist in the field of ocean acoustics and environmental research at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Sequim, Washington. He earned a BS in geological science from University of California Santa Barbara and M.S and PhD degrees in oceanography and geology from Oregon State University. Prior to moving to the Olympic Peninsula, Joe was an Assistant Professor at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon and an affiliate of the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory’s Acoustic Program.
Remember if you can’t make it, you can always watch the recorded presentation later on the ONRC website at www.onrc.washington.edu/rosmond-evening-talks/. The ONRC Rosmond Evening Talks are funded through the Rosmond Family Education Fund, an endowment that honors the contributions of Fred Rosmond and his family to forestry and the Forks community.
