Five years after deploying a floating laboratory prototype at the Port of Oakland, scientists have finished their project at the port and are planning to move it to Treasure Island to continue their research, the port announced Oct. 7.
The Buoyant Ecologies Float Lab, which consists of a 10-foot by 15-foot island made of fiber-reinforced polymer designed by the California College of the Arts, is a prototype for an “ecologically productive floating breakwater.”
It was installed in 2019 in the port’s shallow water habitat near Middle Harbor Shoreline Park.
During its five-year stint at the port, the Float Lab recorded the area’s acoustic environment, tracked temperature and turbidity and documented marine birds and other activities. It also served as an animal habitat for intertidal or terrestrial habitats and various types of underwater invertebrates.
When storms rose in severity, scientists also observed whether the Float Lab could be used as an alternative to urban breakwater structures.
“The port is proactively planning for the impacts of sea level rise,” Port of Oakland Associate Environmental Planner/Scientist Jan Novak said. “Float Lab has been an invaluable research tool to investigate materials and technologies to help protect shorelines from future storms and rising seas.”
More information on the floating laboratory prototype is available at https://www.architecturalecologies.cca.edu/research/buoyant-ecologies-float-lab.
