Bubble curtain explained

A bubble curtain is a system that produces bubbles in a deliberate arrangement in water. It is also called pneumatic barrier. The technique is based on bubbles of air (gas) being let out under the water surface, commonly on the bottom. When the bubbles rise they act as a barrier, a curtain, breaking the propagation of waves or the spreading of particles and other contaminants.

Uses

It can be used for the following purposes:

In June 2010, Okaloosa County, Florida used air bubble curtains to help protect their Destin Pass coastline from oil produced in the Gulf of Mexico by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. They hoped to push oil up to the surface for booms and skimming boats to collect the oil. British multinational oil company BP, who the U.S. government named as the responsible party for the oil spill, was billed for the cost of the project.[9]

Equipment

The technical system basically consists of a compressor and pipe or hose with nozzles. When used to reduce acoustic waves from pile driving, a distribution manifold made of plastic or rubber is commonly used.[10]

Offshore pile driving

Pile driving in connection to offshore construction, most importantly monopile foundations for offshore wind turbines, produces very high levels of underwater noise, capable of inflicting damage to the hearing of marine organisms[11] and deter animals at tens of km from the construction site.[12] [13] Large-scale bubble curtains are now routinely used to mitigate these impacts as they can attenuate the noise significantly, in particular the higher frequencies, above 1 kHz.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Würsig . B. . Greene . C.R. . Jefferson . T.A. . Development of an air bubble curtain to reduce underwater noise of percussive piling . Marine Environmental Research . February 2000 . 49 . 1 . 79–93 . 10.1016/S0141-1136(99)00050-1. 11444016 .
  2. Web site: Archived copy . 2012-05-06 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20100705221157/http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/trnews/trnews262rpo.pdf . 2010-07-05 .
  3. Dähne . M . Tougaard . J . Carstensen . J . Rose . A . Nabe-Nielsen . J . Bubble curtains attenuate noise from offshore wind farm construction and reduce temporary habitat loss for harbour porpoises . Marine Ecology Progress Series . 29 September 2017 . 580 . 221–237 . 10.3354/meps12257. 2017MEPS..580..221D . free .
  4. Web site: Hydrotechnik Lübeck - Pneumatic Oil / Bubble Barriers . 2009-02-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090302030156/http://www.hydrotechnik-luebeck.de/html/pneumatic_bubble_barriers.php . 2009-03-02 .
  5. Web site: 5.2 . 2009-02-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20051026130355/http://www.coastguard.se/ra/volume2/chapter5/52.htm . 2005-10-26 .
  6. Abraham. G.. Van der Burg. P.. De Vos. P. . 1973 . Pneumatic barriers to reduce salt intrusion through locks . Rijkswaterstaat Communications 17. The Hague, Netherlands . Rijkswaterstaat. RWS-Communications . 17.
  7. http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/CLEANUP.NSF/ph/gasco+photo+gallery! OpenDocument&ExpandSection=1
  8. Web site: Welcome to PET Discounters - PETdiscounters.com. https://archive.today/20120910040636/http://www.petdiscounters.com/Bubble-Wand-Air-Diffusers-p1428.html. dead. September 10, 2012. www.petdiscounters.com.
  9. Web site: 10News WTSP - Tampa News, Florida News, Weather, Traffic - WTSP.com. https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20161124014218/http://www.wtsp.com/page%2Dnot%2Dfound. dead. November 24, 2016. TEGNA. 10NEWS. February 5, 2018.
  10. Web site: Bubble Curtain. 2009-02-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110706180605/http://www.frpd.ca/BubbleCurtainArticle.pdf . 2011-07-06 .
  11. Tougaard . Jakob . Dähne . Michael . Why is auditory frequency weighting so important in regulation of underwater noise? . The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America . October 2017 . 142 . 4 . EL415–EL420 . 10.1121/1.5008901. 29092598 . 2017ASAJ..142L.415T . 12449068 . free .
  12. Brandt . Mj . Dragon . Ac . Diederichs . A . Bellmann . Ma . Wahl . V . Piper . W . Nabe-Nielsen . J . Nehls . G . Disturbance of harbour porpoises during construction of the first seven offshore wind farms in Germany . Marine Ecology Progress Series . 28 May 2018 . 596 . 213–232 . 10.3354/meps12560. 2018MEPS..596..213B .
  13. Tougaard . Jakob . Carstensen . Jacob . Teilmann . Jonas . Skov . Henrik . Rasmussen . Per . Pile driving zone of responsiveness extends beyond 20 km for harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena (L.)) . The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America . July 2009 . 126 . 1 . 11–14 . 10.1121/1.3132523. 19603857 . 2009ASAJ..126...11T .

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