A cost-efficient seabed survey for bottom-mounted OWC on King Island, Tasmania, Australia

This paper presents results from a site assessment for a gravity foundation Oscillating Water Column (OWC) Wave Energy Converter (WEC) designed by Wave Swell Energy (WSE), an Australian wave energy developer. A potential candidate site for this device is the west coast of King Island, Tasmania in relatively shallow water (∼ 10 m LAT). The survey included geotechnical data obtained by sub-bottom profiles, seabed imagery, benthic samples and cores with the aid of SCUBA diving as well as short-term deployment of hydromechanics instruments. Our results show that the device can be placed in an area with enough sand coverage and sufficient bearing capacity. However, the location exhibits evidence of scour and an active sediment regime, which requires a more detailed analysis of the long-term sediment transport processes and associated environmental impacts on a gravity foundation structure.