Automation Concepts for Industrial-Scale Production of Seaweed

In order to industrialize macroalgal cultivation in Norway, new automated methods and solutions for seeding, deployment and harvesting need to be developed. Today's solutions are time and resource demanding, still yielding volumes nationally in the range of 100–200 tons per year in total (not including wild harvest), while the potential is in the megaton range. Standardization of equipment and automation can be one way to upscale production. Here we present results from a design study of a module-based solution for industrial cultivation, with specific solutions for spinning of thin seedling strings onto longlines, and a robotic module for interaction with the submerged farm at deployment and harvest. A reduced-scale physical prototype of the farm concept with the robot has been built for testing of deployment and harvesting techniques. The concept has been named SPOKe: Standardized Production of Kelp.publishedVersio

Automation Concepts for Industrial-Scale Production of Seaweed

In order to industrialize macroalgal cultivation in Norway, new automated methods and solutions for seeding, deployment and harvesting need to be developed. Today's solutions are time and resource demanding, still yielding volumes nationally in the range of 100–200 tons per year in total (not including wild harvest), while the potential is in the megaton range. Standardization of equipment and automation can be one way to upscale production. Here we present results from a design study of a module-based solution for industrial cultivation, with specific solutions for spinning of thin seedling strings onto longlines, and a robotic module for interaction with the submerged farm at deployment and harvest. A reduced-scale physical prototype of the farm concept with the robot has been built for testing of deployment and harvesting techniques. The concept has been named SPOKe: Standardized Production of Kelp.publishedVersio

Effects of petrogenic pollutants on North Atlantic and Arctic Calanus copepods: From molecular mechanisms to population impacts

Oil and gas industries in the Northern Atlantic Ocean have gradually moved closer to the Arctic areas, a process expected to be further facilitated by sea ice withdrawal caused by global warming. Copepods of the genus Calanus hold a key position in these cold-water food webs, providing an important energetic link between primary production and higher trophic levels. Due to their ecological importance, there is a concern about how accidental oil spills and produced water discharges may impact cold-water copepods. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the toxicity of petroleum on North Atlantic and Arctic Calanus copepods. We also review how recent development of high-quality transcriptomes from RNA-sequencing of copepods have identified genes regulating key biological processes, like molting, diapause and reproduction in Calanus copepods, to suggest linkages between exposure, molecular mechanisms and effects on higher levels of biological organization. We found that the available ecotoxicity threshold data for these copepods provide valuable information about their sensitivity to acute petrogenic exposures; however, there is still insufficient knowledge regarding underlying mechanisms of toxicity and the potential for long-term implications of relevance for copepod ecology and phenology. Copepod transcriptomics has expanded our understanding of how key biological processes are regulated in cold-water copepods. These advances can improve our understanding of how pollutants affect biological processes, and thus provide the basis for new knowledge frameworks spanning the effect continuum from molecular initiating events to adverse effects of regulatory relevance. Such efforts, guided by concepts such as adverse outcome pathways (AOPs), enable standardized and transparent characterization and evaluation of knowledge and identifies research gaps and priorities. This review suggests enhancing mechanistic understanding of exposure-effect relationships to better understand and link biomarker responses to adverse effects to improve risk assessments assessing ecological effects of pollutant mixtures, like crude oil, in Arctic areas.publishedVersio

Dynamic and volumetric variables reliably predict fluid responsiveness in a porcine model with pleural effusion

Background: The ability of stroke volume variation (SVV), pulse pressure variation (PPV) and global end-diastolic volume (GEDV) for prediction of fluid responsiveness in presence of pleural effusion is unknown. The aim of the present study was to challenge the ability of SVV, PPV and GEDV to predict fluid responsiveness in a porcine model with pleural effusions. Methods: Pigs were studied at baseline and after fluid loading with 8 ml kg−1 6% hydroxyethyl starch. After withdrawal of 8 ml kg−1 blood and induction of pleural effusion up to 50 ml kg−1 on either side, measurements at baseline and after fluid loading were repeated. Cardiac output, stroke volume, central venous pressure (CVP) and pulmonary occlusion pressure (PAOP) were obtained by pulmonary thermodilution, whereas GEDV was determined by transpulmonary thermodilution. SVV and PPV were monitored continuously by pulse contour analysis. Results: Pleural effusion was associated with significant changes in lung compliance, peak airway pressure and stroke volume in both responders and non-responders. At baseline, SVV, PPV and GEDV reliably predicted fluid responsiveness (area under the curve 0.85 (p<0.001), 0.88 (p<0.001), 0.77 (p = 0.007). After induction of pleural effusion the ability of SVV, PPV and GEDV to predict fluid responsiveness was well preserved and also PAOP was predictive. Threshold values for SVV and PPV increased in presence of pleural effusion. Conclusions: In this porcine model, bilateral pleural effusion did not affect the ability of SVV, PPV and GEDV to predict fluid responsiveness

Nutrient fluxes in the Arctic in the present climate regime

The Arctic Ocean (AO) will likely become ice-free in summer within the next two decades. This will change light conditions for primary production. Parts of the AO where primary production is presently light limited will be controlled also by nutrient availability in the future. It is therefore of interest to study horizontal and vertical transports of nutrients in the AO and to assess the relative importance of the different nutrient sources. In the present study we have used the coupled system SINMOD to quantify nutrient transport and mixing in the AO. The import and export of nutrients have been calculated and compared with similar results based on analysis of observational data. Vertical transport and mixing of nutrients in different parts of the Arctic are also quantified and the relative importance of the different processes are assessed.ICE-ARCpublishedVersio

OC2017 A-200 - Potensialet for dyrking av makroalger i Trøndelag

Rapporten er en utredning om potensialet for storskala dyrking av makroalger i Trøndelag. Dyrking av makroalger både innenfor og utenfor grunnlinjen blir vurdert. De nye forskningsresultatene er basert på simuleringer med en koblet fysisk-biologisk havmodell og på dybdeintervjuer med representanter fra makroalgenæringen i Trøndelag. Hovedresultatene og -konklusjonene blir gjennomgått i et utvidet sam­mendrag. Resultatene vil kunne være nyttige i arbeid med areal - og forvaltningsplaner og for marin næ­ringsutvikling i Trøndelag. De vil også være relevante og interessante for eksisterende og fremtidige aktører innen makroalgenæringen

Potensialet for storskala dyrking av makroalger i Møre og Romsdal

Rapporten er en utredning om potensialet for storskala dyrking av makroalger i Møre og Romsdal fylke. Dyrking av makroalger både innenfor og utenfor grunnlinjen blir vurdert. Hoveddelen av de nye forsk­ningsresultatene er basert på simuleringer med en koblet fysisk-biologisk havmodell.Hoveresultatene og -konklusjonene blir gjennmogått i et utvidet sammendragpublishedVersio