Offshore Stations Research Articles

Bioluminescence potential during polar night: impact of behavioral light sensitivity and water mass pathways

During polar nights of 2012 and 2017, bioluminescence (BL) potential surveys demonstrated high emissions at depths around and below 100 m at offshore stations to the north of a Svalbard fjord (Rijpfjorden). We demonstrated that the highest bioluminescent emissions for offshore stations are located at depths below depths of modelled/ambient light intensities corresponding to the reported irradiance thresholds for the behavioral light sensitivity of krill and copepods, and suggest that behavioral light sensitivity is one of the reasons for high values of BL potential observed below 100 m at offshore stations. In order to understand sources of bioluminescent taxa responsible for the observed high values of BL potential in offshore waters, we have investigated the origin and pathways of water masses circulating to the north, offshore of the fjord Rijpfjorden by using a hydrodynamic model. For both 2012 and 2017, the model water masses mostly originate from the west, where the Atlantic water is flowing northward, then along the shelf and shelf slope of northern Svalbard, and to the offshore of the fjord. This indicates that the advection of zooplankton by North Atlantic Water is one possible source of bioluminescent organisms offshore of northern Svalbard. In 2012, water masses also originated from the inflow through Hinlopen trench and strait, while, in 2017, the offshore water was advected and upwelled into the fjord on time scales less than 10 days, and after that there was a recirculation back from the fjord to offshore on time scales larger than 10 days. This recirculation from the fjord might be another source of bioluminescent organisms in the offshore waters.

Small is beautiful: the important role of small copepods in carbon budgets of the southern Benguela upwelling system

Abstract Small copepod genera play an important role in marine food webs and biogeochemical fluxes but have been neglected in many studies. This is the first study determining biomass, carbon consumption and egestion rates of small- (<1 mm prosome length, PL), medium- (1–1.5 mm PL) and large-sized (>2 mm PL) copepods along a cross-shelf transect in the southern Benguela upwelling system. Calanoids contributed on average 55 ± 19% to total copepod abundance and 82 ± 13% to total copepod biomass. Small-sized Oithona spp. (114–119 mg C m−2 d−1) and Clausocalanidae/Paracalanidae (87–263 mg C m−2 d−1) as well as large-sized Calanoides natalis (47–193 mg C m−2 d−1) were the dominant consumers at the most inshore stations. Small- and medium-sized copepodite stages of Metridia lucens were also important, especially towards the continental slope. At offshore stations, Clausocalanidae/Paracalanidae, Oithona spp., Pleuromamma spp., Calanus agulhensis, Acartia spp., C. natalis and M. lucens were dominant consumers. Hence, usually small- and medium-sized copepods dominated total copepod ingestion and egestion, emphasizing that inadequate representation of small copepods will lead to significant underestimations and misinterpretations of the functioning of zooplankton communities and finally to inadequate biogeochemical models.

Deciphering the diversity and distribution of chromophytic phytoplankton in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea via RuBisCO genes (rbcL).

Present study investigated composition and distribution of chromophytic phytoplankton in the Bohai Sea (BS) and the Yellow Sea (YS) by using rbcL genes. Bacillariophyceae, Haptophyceae and Pelagophyceae were the most abundant phytoplankton groups. Distinct phytoplankton communities were observed in the BS and the YS: offshore stations were dominated by bloom forming genera Thalassiosira and Skeletonema, while brown tide-forming species including Chrysochromulina spp. and Aureococcus anophagefferens were commonly found in the nearshore areas. Redundancy analysis showed that phosphate, temperature and silicic acid play key roles in structuring chromophytic phytoplankton, such as phytoplankton at nearshore stations were affected by nutrient runoff from adjacent rivers (Yellow River). Anthropogenic activities in the Bohai Sea and seasonal circulation of ocean currents may also contribute to shaping chromophytic phytoplankton communities. This study provides data support and foundational observations of chromophytic phytoplankton in the BS and the YS, and their responses to environmental gradients and human activities.

Fast Harmonic compensation in hybrid HVDC offshore system

Hybrid HVDC systems have been proposed as an alternative for nominal VSC-Based HVDC for offshore applications. Hybrid HVDC systems consist of an offshore power station composed of the connection of high-power diode rectifiers in series with a fractional power VSC-HVDC. This hybrid configuration allows large power transfer from offshore sites, with the added robustness, simplicity and efficiency of uncontrolled rectifiers. In this research, a robust and fast-acting controller, the Two Degrees of Freedom Internal Model controller (2DF-IMC), is used to control the active power filter features of the fractional-power VSC-HVDC system, resulting in a much faster overall THD reduction in the offshore AC currents in dynamic conditions (i.e. time-varying wind power) when compared with standard active power filter controllers. This improvement is the direct consequence of the fast closed-loop dynamics of the 2DF-IMC controller that do not require filtering stages. Additionally, the increased closed-loop response time did not affect the overall robustness of the control system, thanks to the enhanced disturbance rejection capabilities of the 2DF-IMC configuration.

A hybrid probabilistic linguistic term set decision-making evaluation method and its application in the site selection of offshore wind power station

In the context of carbon neutrality, China vigorously develops clean energy and renewable energy. As a result, offshore wind power projects have grown rapidly. The success of offshore wind power projects depends on the location of offshore wind power station(OWPS), and this paper aims to develop a hybrid decision-making framework to address the location of offshore wind power stations. Firstly, a comprehensive evaluation attribute system of offshore wind power station site selection is innovatively constructed, including wind resources, construction conditions, economy, environment and risks. Secondly, probabilistic linguistic term set(PLTS) is used to describe uncertain information, which improves the reliability of decision information. Thirdly, The Best-worst method (BWM) based on probabilistic language term sets determines the weights of attributes, which ensures the accuracy of the attribute weight. Finally, an extended TODIM (an acronym in Portuguese of Interactive and Multicriteria Decision Making) method is proposed to rank the alternatives. The proposed method is applied to the location selection of offshore wind power station in Jiangsu Province, China. Through sensitivity analysis and comparative analysis, it is verified that the proposed model has good stability and applicability.

Machine learning-based tsunami inundation prediction derived from offshore observations

The world’s largest and densest tsunami observing system gives us the leverage to develop a method for a real-time tsunami inundation prediction based on machine learning. Our method utilizes 150 offshore stations encompassing the Japan Trench to simultaneously predict tsunami inundation at seven coastal cities stretching ~100 km along the southern Sanriku coast. We trained the model using 3093 hypothetical tsunami scenarios from the megathrust (Mw 8.0–9.1) and nearby outer-rise (Mw 7.0–8.7) earthquakes. Then, the model was tested against 480 unseen scenarios and three near-field historical tsunami events. The proposed machine learning-based model can achieve comparable accuracy to the physics-based model with ~99% computational cost reduction, thus facilitates a rapid prediction and an efficient uncertainty quantification. Additionally, the direct use of offshore observations can increase the forecast lead time and eliminate the uncertainties typically associated with a tsunami source estimate required by the conventional modeling approach.

Copepods as Indicators of Different Water Masses during the Northeast Monsoon Prevailing Period in the Northeast Taiwan.

Simple SummaryHow the origin and pathways of water masses can be traced by particular bioindicators remains an intriguing issue in biological oceanography. In the present zooplankton study focusing on copepods, calanoid copepodites were most abundant, with an average abundance of 774.24 ± 289.42 (inds. m−3) in the northeastern waters of Taiwan during the prevailing northeast monsoon, followed by the dominant copepod species Paracalanus aculeatus and Clausocalanus furcatus. According to hydrological parameters, the water masses were mainly derived from northeast monsoon surface waters, Kuroshio intrusion water, and mixed water masses. Indicator species were Temora turbinata, Calanopia elliptica, and Canthocalanus pauper in the northeast monsoon-derived water mass. Farranula concinna and Copilia mirabilis represented suitable indicators for the Kuroshio intrusion water mass in the research area. In the mixed water mass, the indicator species were Paracandacia truncata, Oncaea clevei, and P. aculeatus in the research area during the sampling campaign in late autumn.During this research, the average surface temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and pH were 24.65 ± 1.53 (°C), 34.21 ± 0.07 (PSU), 6.85 ± 0.18 (mg/L), and 8.36 ± 0.03, respectively. Based on these environmental parameters, stations were arranged into three groups. Group A represents stations located around Keelung Island with the relative highest average dissolved oxygen, lowest average temperature, and pH values. Instead, the lowest average dissolved oxygen and highest average temperature, salinity, and pH values were recorded at the offshore stations. Keelung Island area was charged by cold water masses, which were driven by the Northeast monsoon, and stations in group C were affected by the Kuroshio Current. Kueishan Island area was mainly affected by mixed water masses resulting from the Kuroshio intrusion and monsoon-derived cold water. In this study, a total of 108 copepod species were identified, with an average abundance of 774.24 ± 289.42 (inds. m−3). Most species belong to the orders Calanoida and Poecilostomatoida, with an average relative abundance (RA) of 62.96% and 30.56%, respectively. Calanoid copepodites were the most dominant group, with a RA of 28.06%. This was followed by Paracalanus aculeatus, with a RA of 18.44%. The RA of Clausocalanus furcatus and Canthocalanus pauper was 4.80% and 3.59%, respectively. The dominant species P. aculeatus, C. pauper, Paracalanus parvus, and Temora turbinata were positively correlated with dissolved oxygen and negatively correlated with temperature in the surface waters. pH showed a negative correlation with P. parvus and T. turbinata, while the temperature was negatively correlated with these two dominant species. Indicator species were selected by an indicator value higher than 50%. Temora turbinata, Calanopia elliptica, C. pauper, Euchaeta concinna, Temora discaudata, Acartia pacifica, Macrosetella gracilis, Corycaeus speciosus, and P. parvus were considered as monsoonal cold water indicator species in Group A. Indicator copepod species for the Kuroshio Current were Farranula concinna, Copilia mirabilis, Candacia aethiopica, Corycaeus agilis, Farranula gibbula and Acrocalanus monachus in the study area. Paracandacia truncata, Oncaea clevei, P. aculeatus, and Centropages furcatus were considered suitable indicators for mixed water masses.

A physical Studies Using Logic Gates Applications in Order to Develop the Work of a Pump on an Oil Transmission Line

The objective of this research study is to upgrade and install a pump on a remote offshore station's oil transmission line. Currently, the pump is a constant velocity centrifugal device that does not provide local flow metering.The old pump motor will be replaced with a variable speed motor that regulates the pump speed based on a 4-20mA input signal to fix this problem. The orifice plate and DP cell mounting will be used to monitor flow .Across the pump ports, a motorized bypass valve will be installed. Control will be provided via a conventional two-term controller installed remotely in the central control room.

Stories From China

China is reforming its power system based on new energy resources during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–25) period, leading the development of wind power generations in full expansion mode. By 2025 the total installed power-generating capacity will reach 2,950 GW, of which wind power will reach 540 GW, counting for approximately 18.3% of the market shares. Offshore wind power is expected to play a bigger role in leading the economic development with significant progress in the increments of transmission distance and capacity. Efforts are being made to overcome the disadvantages of HVAC systems such as capacitance effects during long-distance transmission, the disadvantages of HVDC systems such as the space charge accumulation problem and huge investments in offshore converter stations, and the difficulty of carrying out optimal compensation by using fixed reactance for intermittent and unstable offshore wind power plants.

Seasonal dynamics in picocyanobacterial abundance and clade composition at coastal and offshore stations in the Baltic Sea

Picocyanobacteria (< 2 µm in diameter) are significant contributors to total phytoplankton biomass. Due to the high diversity within this group, their seasonal dynamics and relationship with environmental parameters, especially in brackish waters, are largely unknown. In this study, the abundance and community composition of phycoerythrin rich picocyanobacteria (PE-SYN) and phycocyanin rich picocyanobacteria (PC-SYN) were monitored at a coastal (K-station) and at an offshore station (LMO; ~ 10 km from land) in the Baltic Sea over three years (2018–2020). Cell abundances of picocyanobacteria correlated positively to temperature and negatively to nitrate (NO3) concentration. While PE-SYN abundance correlated to the presence of nitrogen fixers, PC-SYN abundance was linked to stratification/shallow waters. The picocyanobacterial targeted amplicon sequencing revealed an unprecedented diversity of 2169 picocyanobacterial amplicons sequence variants (ASVs). A unique assemblage of distinct picocyanobacterial clades across seasons was identified. Clade A/B dominated the picocyanobacterial community, except during summer when low NO3, high phosphate (PO4) concentrations and warm temperatures promoted S5.2 dominance. This study, providing multiyear data, links picocyanobacterial populations to environmental parameters. The difference in the response of the two functional groups and clades underscore the need for further high-resolution studies to understand their role in the ecosystem.

Dynamic Response Analysis of an Offshore Converter Platform with Valve Towers under Seismic Excitation

Converter valves are the core equipment of offshore wind power structures. However, they are highly vulnerable to vibration under strong earthquakes, which will affect normal operation of the offshore wind farm. Converter station is an axisymmetric structure with obvious asymmetry in its internal configuration of the superstructure. This study aimed to analyze the dynamic response of a supported converter valve in an offshore converter station under seismic excitation. The coupling model of the supported valve tower group and the converter station were established, and the distribution law of the valve tower dynamic response and foundation settlement were investigated. The dynamic response effect of the modal truncation, valve tower stiffness, and basic size on different areas and foundations of the valve towers were studied. The findings were as follows: (i) the effect of local vibration of the valve tower should not be simplified by using equivalent mass and node condensation; (ii) the structure–equipment coupling analysis method should be used to review the structural design scheme of the offshore converter station in the intensity VII region; (iii) the vertical higher-order modes should be considered during the vibration response calculation and its participation ratio in mass should not be lower than 90%; (iv) the frequency range that minimizes the vibration response is the characteristic frequency range of horizontal vibration, while the best vibration suppression effect cannot be obtained in both the horizontal and vertical directions; and (v) the stiffness of the valve tower itself should be adjusted and different stiffness designs of the valve tower in different positions should be adopted to realize effective vibration response control.

Nonspecif ic response of Lake Baikal phytoplankton to anthropogenic impact.

In this study, we present the first results on oxidation stress in Lake Baikal phytoplankton and its adaptation to environmental changes under anthropogenic impact. As was shown, the changing of the dominant species of phytoplankton collected from the surface water layer (~0.3 m) took place from February to June 2021. Phytoplankton were collected at a nearshore station (a littoral station at a distance of ~0.01 km from the shoreline, depth to bottom is ~5 m) and an offshore station (a pelagic station at a distance of ~1 km from the shoreline, depth to bottom is ~543 m). In February, dinoflagellates were dominant (~40 %) as well as diatoms (≤33 %) and green algae (≤12 %). Their biomass was 100 mg·m–3. In March, chrysophytes were dominant (up to 50 %) as well as cryptophytes (≤43 %) and dinoflagellates (≤30 %). Their biomass was 160–270 mg·m–3. In April, biomass increased up to 700–3100 mg·m–3 with the dominance of large cell dinoflagellates (up to 99 %), chrysophytes (up to 50 %), and cryptophytes (up to 35 %). By the end of the first decade of May, the percentage of dinoflagellates decreased and that of cryptophytes increased. In the second decade of May, the percentage of diatoms increased up to ~26–38 % but phytoplankton biomass was minimal (13–30 mg·m–3). By June, the percentage of diatoms in the samples reached 44–75 % at 60–550 mg·m–3. The oxidation stress of phytoplankton as a nonspecific adaptive response to a prolonged, intensive, or recurrent effect of a stress factor was estimated from the content of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). The mean content of these substances (markers of the lipid peroxidation) was determined spectrophotometrically. The oxidation stress of phytoplankton was revealed only when diatom algae dominated. It can be explained by adaptation of algae of other classes to the stress factor. The content of the lipid peroxidation markers in the coastal phytoplankton collected close to the settlement of Listvyanka known as a large touristic center was estimated from 100 to 500 μg·g–1 of dry weight of sample. During the period of diatom blooming in 2016 and 2018, oxidation stress of phytoplankton collected near large settlements was found. In phytoplankton from deep-water pelagic stations most remote from settlements, stress was not revealed. Using the method of gas chromatography, we showed a lower (up to 15 %) content of polyunsaturated fatty acids in phytoplankton characterized by stress occurrence. This confirms cell membrane damages. In Lake Baikal surface water, we found a higher content of synthetic anionic surfactants (sodium alkylbenzene sulfonates), which are components of detergents and cause oxidation stress of hydrobionts (up to 30 ± 4 μg·L–1). The presence of these substances in a water ecosystem can result in exhausting of phytoplankton cell resources, homeostasis imbalance, stress, pathological changes, and rearrangements in phytoplankton assemblage

A comprehensive lightning surge analysis in offshore wind farm

The structure of offshore wind farm is completely different from that onshore, and it is threatened by intruding lightning surge from various routes. Little attention has been paid to the electric equipment installed on offshore power station so far. A comprehensive lightning surge analysis for offshore wind farm is investigated in this paper. The detailed model of electric equipment in the system is firstly developed, including the transmission tower, the power station, the wind turbine and so on. The supporting structure and the platform of offshore power station are then modelled based on method of partial element equivalent circuit. Considering three lightning strike scenarios, the overvoltages at critical nodes of the system are obtained, the mechanism for lightning surge characteristics within the farm are elucidated, the influence of submarine cable length on the transient overvoltage is discussed, and two surge arrester schemes have been proposed. The results indicate that the surge originating from onshore overhead line is the most serious situation. The submarine cable is beneficial to the lightning protection, and the incoming surge onshore decreases remarkably as the cable length increases. Surge arrester configuration needs to be adjusted based on the scale and the topology the system.

From Bacteria to Zooplankton: An Integrative Approach Revealing Regional Spatial Patterns During the Spring Phytoplankton Bloom in the Southern Bight of the North Sea

Plankton comprises a large diversity of organisms, from pico- to macro-sized classes, and spans several trophic levels, whose population dynamics are characterized by a high spatio-temporal variability. Studies integrating multiple plankton groups, in respect to size classes and trophic levels, are still rare, which hampers a more thorough description and elucidation of the full complexity of plankton dynamics. Here, we present a study on the spatial variability of five in-situ monitored plankton components, ranging from bacteria to meso-zooplankton, and using a complementary set of molecular, chemical and imaging tools, with samples obtained during the phytoplankton spring bloom in the hydrodynamically complex Southern Bight of the North Sea. We hypothesized that while generally recognized spatial gradients in e.g. salinity, turbidity and nutrients will have a strong impact on plankton spatial distribution patterns, interactions within the plankton compartment but also lag effects related to preceding bloom-related events will further modulate spatial structuring of the plankton. Our study indeed revealed an overriding imprint of regional factors on plankton distribution patterns. The dominant spatial pattern mainly reflected regional differences in dissolved inorganic nutrients and particulate matter concentrations related to differences in phytoplankton bloom timing between the two main regions of freshwater influence, the Thames and the Scheldt-Rhine-Meuse. A second major pattern corresponded to the expected nearshore-offshore gradient, with increasing influence of low turbidity and low nutrient Atlantic waters in the offshore stations. Environmental forcing on specific plankton groups and inter-plankton relationships also appeared to drive plankton distribution. Although the marine plankton comprises heterogeneous functional groups, this study shows that multiple planktonic ecosystem components can be parts of common spatial gradients and that often neglected small planktonic organisms can be key drivers of such gradients. These analytical outcomes open questions on regional and seasonal reproducibility of the highlighted gradients.

Growth and biofilm formation of Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34 on different metallic and polymeric materials used in spaceflight applications

Bacteria biofilm formation and its complications are of special concern in isolated structures, such as offshore stations, manned submarines and space habitats, as maintenance and technical support are poorly accessible due to costs and/or logistical challenges. In addition, considering that future exploration missions are planned to adventure farther and longer in space, unlocking biofilm formation mechanisms and developing new antifouling solutions are key goals in order to ensure spacecraft’s efficiency, crew’s safety and mission success. In this work, we explored the interactions between Cupriavidus metallidurans, a prevalently identified contaminant onboard the International Space Station, and aerospace grade materials such as the titanium alloy TiAl6V4, the stainless steel AISI 316 (SS316) and Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or Teflon. Borosilicate glass was used as a control and all surfaces were investigated at two different pH values (5.0 and 7.0). Biofilms were almost absent on stainless steel and the titanium alloy contrary to Teflon and glass that were covered by an extensive biofilm formed via monolayers of scattered matrix-free cells and complex multilayered clusters or communities. Filamentous extracellular DNA structures were observed specifically in the complex multilayered clusters adherent to Teflon, indicating that the employed attachment machinery might depend on the physicochemical characteristics of the surface.

An isolated modular multi‐level AC/AC converter with high‐frequency link and pulse flip circuit for fractional frequency transmission system application

Based on the modular topology and the traditional voltage-sourced converter (VSC) model, this paper presents an isolated modular multi-level AC/AC converter with high-frequency (HF) link and pulse flip circuit for fractional frequency transmission system (FFTS) application. The proposed converter uses the HF transformer to realize electrical isolation, omitting the industrial frequency (IF) transformer with large volume and heavy weight. In the primary side of the HF transformer, the power transmission is realized by the rectifier and the inverter. In the secondary side of the HF transformer, the double H-bridges are used to realize the natural freewheeling of the leakage current, which solves the problem of voltage overshoot. On the basis of carrier phase-shifted pulse width modulation (CPS-PWM), an improved modulation strategy is proposed to realize the HF output voltage of the inverter. It has the advantages of easy expansion, no circulation current, good output voltage quality, low cost and no need of offshore converter station, so it has great potential in the field of offshore wind power grid connection. The working principle, natural freewheeling modes, modulation method and overall system control scheme of the proposed topology are introduced in detail, and the feasibility of the proposed topology is verified by simulation in MATLAB/Simulink environment and test through APPSIM platform.

Changes in water quality parameters and their effect on zooplankton distribution in a shallow bay of Lake Victoria, Kenya

Lake Victoria’s shallow bays are increasingly becoming vulnerable to degradation whose effects are manifested ecologically. The influence of water quality parameters on zooplankton distribution in four stations at Kisumu Bay of Lake Victoria in Kenya was estimated. Selected physic-chemical parameters were measured in-situ, while water samples for Chlorophyll a determination were collected. Zooplankton was sampled using conical plankton net. The shoreline station 1 exhibited significantly higher mean zooplankton species diversity and abundance (H’=2.23; 12.65±25.21 ind. L-1 respectively) compared to the offshore stations. Copepoda were the most abundant zooplankton across all the sampling stations while Rotifera constituted the highest species diversity with 14 species followed by Cladocera with 7 species. There were significant relationships between zooplankton abundance and water quality parameters. This study indicated that the water quality conditions observed may have resulted in suppression of some zooplankton species and favored species-specific abundance at the same time.

Tsunami Early Warning of the Hunga Volcanic Eruption Using an Ocean Floor Observation Network Off the Japanese Islands

AbstractOn 15 January 2022, an eruption of Hunga volcano generated an air-coupled tsunami that propagated across the Pacific Ocean. The tsunami reached Japan approximately 7 hr after the eruption and was recorded by coastal and offshore stations. We conducted a retroactive study of tsunami early warning using a data assimilation approach. We assimilated water pressure records of 44 offshore bottom pressure gauges (OBPGs) off the Japanese Islands after the volcanic eruption and forecasted tsunamis on the Shikoku Island and the Kii peninsula. The tsunami waveforms at 12 points of interest (i.e., coastal and near-coast stations) were predicted using a data assimilation approach at 15:00 (UTC) with forecast accuracy of 97%. Moreover, we discussed the effects of air-pressure variations generated by the volcanic eruption. The results showed that air-pressure variations had negligible effect on the assimilation results. This is the first time that data assimilation approach was applied to a nonseismic tsunami event for early warning. Our study indicates that data assimilation approach plays an important role in tsunami hazard mitigation. Early warnings of nonseismogenic tsunamis can be successfully achieved by assimilating offshore water pressure records of OBPGs.

Validation of near‐shore wind measurements using a dual scanning light detection and ranging system

AbstractThis paper reports results from a 2‐month validation campaign of near‐shore wind measurements taken by a dual scanning light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system at a coastal site in Japan. A meteorological mast and a vertical profiling LiDAR device were deployed at an offshore research station approximately 1.5 km from the coast. Offshore winds at heights of 66, 120, and 180 m above sea level were observed by the scanning LiDAR system. Comparisons with a sonic anemometer found that the radial velocities had a coefficient of determination of more than 0.99 without unreasonable bias. The accuracy of 10‐min mean wind speeds and directions was then evaluated. The 10‐min values from the dual scanning LiDAR system were accurate enough to satisfy the acceptance criteria used for floating LiDAR systems. In addition, the vertical velocity and direction profiles from the dual scanning LiDAR system were compared with those from a vertical profiling LiDAR device. The performance of turbulence intensity (TI) measurements was also evaluated. Although the TIs from the dual scanning LiDAR system were slightly lower than those from the sonic anemometer, they were equivalent to those from the cup anemometers. This investigation concluded that the near‐shore wind measurements using the dual scanning LiDAR system are beneficial for reducing near‐shore wind measurement costs, because the system can measure not only 10‐min wind speed and direction, but also parameters associated with assessing site‐specific conditions without installing offshore meteorological masts.

Dynamic Response Analysis of Offshore Converter Station Based on Vector Form Intrinsic Finite Element (VFIFE) Method

This study aims at proposing a simulation method for an offshore converter station platform (OCS) under dynamic loading. A user-defined in-house FORTRAN code was developed based on the Vector Form Intrinsic Finite Element (VFIFE) method, and the numerical model was validated by test data. After model validation, the dynamic behavior of the OCS was carefully studied and the effect of different loading conditions, including seismic, hydrodynamic and wind load, on the dynamic behavior of OCS was investigated. The time history of the structural response was obtained, and the relationship between the structural peak response and the peak value of the seismic load was also shown. It indicated that water damping accelerates energy consumption, while the effect of hydrodynamic and wind load has little influence on the cases studied in this work. Generally, the peak response increases almost linearly with the increase in the peak acceleration of the ground, and the seismic propagating direction has a great impact. In addition, both a whipping effect and stretching-squeezing effect were observed, and the vertical acceleration response of the valve hall deck is much higher than other structures, which is caused by the relatively lower local rigidity of the large-span structure and the inertia force caused by the valve tower.