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Maritime Research, Technology, Demonstration, and Deployment
(RTDD)
R&D Contributing
Resources & Activities for Innovation: Environment
Human and natural environments
affect, and are affected by, maritime activities.
Air Emissions: Marine
engines emit NOx, SOx, and Hydrocarbon pollutants. The following projects and
programs aim to decrease levels of these emittants through technologies such as fuel
cells, modeling of systems, and innovative research to create new policies and incentives
for cleaner-burning engines.
Ballast Water: The
use of ballast water varies among vessel types, among port systems, and with cargo and sea
conditions. The transport of aquatic nuisance species through ballast water needs to be
directed and contained through mechanical, physical, chemical, or combination programs.
Brownfields: Adaptive
re-use of contaminated brownfields at port areas can lead to revitalization of communities
and port functioning.
Cross-Cutting / Overall: Technology development and social desires to reduce
pollutants, eliminate ballast water, and increase energy efficiency often lead to new
construction, retrofitting of outdated parts, and modernization of maritime systems.
Dredging: To
succeed economically, channels and ports often require physical changes in order to
accommodate larger and new designs for vessels. Dredging can be positive and
negative for ecosystems. The following programs support research to determine what
methods of dredging are safe and effective.
Oil Pollution: Oil
spills have caused tremendous environmental damage. Innovation is needed in the
prevention and cleaning of oil pollution due to spills and motor emissions.
Ship Scrapping: The
question of how to dispose of decommissioned and unnavigable vessels is challenging.
The costs are often high in terms of dollars and safety, as dangerous materials and
chemicals require careful handling.
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