EMEC metocean data puts innovation into orbit

 
The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) has provided a series of metocean data sets to be used in a new Scottish open innovation competition for the marine environment’s and wider benefits.

Organized by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the Data Lab, Scotland’s Blue Growth Data Challenge will make available data sets from 2015 in-situ observations and numerical modelling from EMEC’s wave and tidal energy test facilities in Orkney.

Elaine Buck, Technical Manager, EMEC said: “EMEC’s metocean data is used by wave and tidal energy developers to design and build their technologies so that they can survive and operate in the harsh ocean environment. Our existing customers find access to our data crucial to accelerating marine energy progress in research.

“However we’re aware that this data may have other uses, and we’re sure that there are useful tools to be built and lessons to be learnt through the integration and further analysis of these data sets.”

Data sets will also be provided by the Scottish Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications – SoXSA.

James Slaughter, Solutions Architect at SoXSA, added:”The Blue Growth Data Challenge is an exciting new opportunity combing tidal and marine energy, data and satellites. SoXSA’s aim is to provide a gateway for industries out with space to unlock the potential of satellite data.”

The data sets provided by EMEC include wave conditions at its Billia Croo wave test site, meteorological observations in two locations adjacent to EMEC’s wave and tidal test sites – collected using MetPak weather stations, data from a short tidal current observational campaign using TRDI Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler, and numerical modelling results for four locations around Orkney that show simulated timeseries of tidal water level and currents.

The Challenge is open to those who are studying, researching or working with data or the marine environment and who believe they can creatively work with open data to create a useful output, aiming to stimulate people to create new or innovative solutions to a problem without predetermining what those solutions will look like.

Prizes will be awarded to teams and individuals that are judged to have produced the best output for the benefit of the Highlands and Islands region and the winner will receive a package of support to help further develop their idea.

To enter the competition, applications must be submitted online by September 23, 2018.