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The Biota Guard technology


    Established in 2005 by IRIS Forskningsinvest AS and Procom Venture AS, Biota Guard AS develops unique technology for real time environmental effect monitoring of offshore operations. The Biota Guard technology is currently being tested in the fjord just outside Stavanger. Offshore deployment is expected to take place in April-May 2008, at the Ekofisk field.
    Photo: Shaw Bamber

Development of the Biota Guard system is supported by The Research Council of Norway (Norsk Forskningsråd) , StatoilHydro, Innovasjon Norge and Stiftelsen SR Bank Næringsutvikling.

The system combines the unique feature of instrumented biological sensors with the use of traditional chemical and physical sensors. A central part of the 12 mill NOK development project is related to the online measurement of the health of live organisms : sensors monitor the valve gape activity and heart rhythm of blue mussels deployed in cages onboard the Biota Guard unit. The data generated by the system are transferred to a control centre onshore, where they appear in real time.

Photo:
Biota Guard AS		 Photo:
Vidar Skålevik		Photo:
Biota Guard AS
    Ilustration:
    Biota Guard AS

Blue mussels are sensitive to changes in their environment and the presence of pollutants or physical stress can affect their heart rate and valve gape behaviour. Thus these real-time online measurements can tell us a lot about the well being of the monitored mussels.
The system can provide:
1) Real time detection of acute incidents, such as discharges, enabling rapid responses that could minimise further environmental impact.

2) Evidence of zero harmful effect conditions, that is, no measurable effects detected in the deployed organisms.

The Biota Guard system includes satellite communication and data handling systems for data transmission and processing. Measurement data is transferred to the Biota Guard Expert Centre for detailed analysis and reporting. The Expert Centre will be operated in close collaboration with IRIS Biomiljø.

http://www.biotaguard.no/ play presentation.



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