Chris Bassett Senior Mechanical Engineer cbassett@uw.edu Phone 206-543-1263 |
Research Interests
Passive noise studies, acoustic scattering, sea ice, marine renewable energy, fisheries acoustics, anthropogenic noise
Biosketch
Chris applies passive and active acoustic techniques to a variety of underwater applications. Some of his previous and ongoing studies include fisheries acoustics; high-frequency scattering from sea ice, crude oil, and physical oceanographic processes; measurements of anthropogenic noise; and ambient noise studies.
Education
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, 2007
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, 2010
Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, 2013
Videos
Connecting to the Ocean's Power: Marine Energy Research at APL-UW The U.S. Navy's support of the University of Washington, one of the nation's preeminent research universities, leverages APL-UW capabilities with university academic expertise to address a wide range of topics in marine energy through experimentation and evaluation in laboratory settings and field deployments of prototype systems. |
5 Jul 2023
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Turbulence Generated by Tides in the Canal de Chacao, Chile At a proposed tidal energy conversion site in southern Chile, APL-UW researchers are measuring the magnitude and scales of turbulence, both to aid in the design of turbines for the site and to understand the fundamental dynamics of flows through the channel. |
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7 Mar 2013
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Principal Investigator Jim Thomson chronicled all phases of the Chilean experiment through posts to the New York Times 'Scientist at Work' blog. |
Sound Sounds: Listening to the Undersea Noise in Puget Sound Doctoral student researcher Chris Bassett is analyzing a long time series of ambient noise data from Puget Sound. Vessel traffic is the most significant noise source, but breaking waves, precipitation, biology, and sediment moving on the seabed are other common underwater noise sources. The research is being pursued in conjunction with a program to assess the environmental impacts from a tidal energy conversion system placed on the seafloor. |
13 Mar 2012
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Publications |
2000-present and while at APL-UW |
APL-UW Field-Scale Axial Flow Turbine: Design and Specifications Bassett, C., J. Burnett, K. Van Ness, H. Wood, J. Dosher, B. Cunningham, J. Noe, and T. Tran, "APL-UW Field-Scale Axial Flow Turbine: Design and Specifications," Technical Report, APL-UW TR 2402, Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, September 2024, 27 pp. |
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29 Aug 2024 |
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Axial flow turbines designed to generate power from underwater currents (tidal and riverine) are similar to the commonly observed wind turbines. With support from U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command, engineers at the Applied Physical Laboratory of the University of Washington (APL-UW) have designed and fabricated a one-meter diameter axial flow turbine for use in APL-UW’s marine energy research program. The system, referred to as the AFT (axial flow turbine), is designed for deployment from R/V Russell Davis Light, where the vessel, under propulsion, is used to simulate naturally occurring currents for power generation. This report summarizes the AFT’s mechanical and electrical design and is intended as a reference to support research efforts performed using the system. Encoders and six-axis load cells installed on the driveshaft and at the root of one of the rotor’s three blades, allow for characterization of the forces and torques generated during operation. The system was designed for reliability and to acquire scientific-quality data to advance studies of axial flow turbines. Thus, system components selected in the design process are not intended to maximize system efficiency and power extraction. |
Acoustic observations of walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) migration across the USRussia boundary in the northwest Bering Sea Levine, R.M., A. De Robertis, C. Bassett, M. Levine, and J.N. Ianelli, "Acoustic observations of walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) migration across the USRussia boundary in the northwest Bering Sea," ICES J. Mar. Sci., EOR, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsae071, 2024. |
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19 Jun 2024 |
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The degree to which walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus, hereafter pollock) move between the US and Russian zones of the Bering Sea is a key source of uncertainty for fisheries management. To study transboundary migrations across the USRussia maritime boundary and explore how climate variability might influence these migrations, four seafloor-mounted echosounder moorings were deployed from July 2019 to August 2020 in the northwestern Bering Sea. The observations indicated that a substantial amount of pollock moves between the US and Russia seasonally, with a period of southeast movement into the US as winter as sea ice forms and northwest movement into Russia in early summer as waters warm. Over the deployment period, 2.3-times more pollock backscatter moved into the US zone in fall and winter than exited the subsequent spring and summer. We hypothesize that the difference in the net movement between regions was driven by pollock moving farther into Russia during the historically warm conditions at the start of deployment period and reduced northwest return migration the following summer when temperatures were relatively cooler. This supports the hypothesis that temperature affects pollock distribution, and that continued warming will lead to a larger proportion of the stock in Russian waters. |
Statistics of bubble plumes generated by breaking surface waves Derakhti, M., J. Thomson, C. Bassett, M. Malila, and J.T. Kirby, "Statistics of bubble plumes generated by breaking surface waves," J. Geophys. Res., 129, doi:10.1029/2023JC019753, 2024. |
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17 May 2024 |
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We examine the dependence of the penetration depth and fractional surface area (e.g., whitecap coverage) of bubble plumes generated by breaking surface waves on various wind and wave parameters over a wide range of sea state conditions in the North Pacific Ocean, including storms with sustained winds up to 22 m s-1 and significant wave heights up to 10 m. Our observations include arrays of freely drifting SWIFT buoys together with shipboard systems, which enabled concurrent high-resolution measurements of wind, waves, bubble plumes, and turbulence. We estimate bubble plume penetration depth from echograms extending to depths of more than 30 m in a surface-following reference frame collected by downward-looking echosounders integrated onboard the buoys. Our observations indicate that mean and maximum bubble plume penetration depths exceed 10 and 30 m beneath the surface during high winds, respectively, with plume residence times of many wave periods. They also establish strong correlations between bubble plume depths and wind speeds, spectral wave steepness, and whitecap coverage. Interestingly, we observe a robust linear correlation between plume depths, when scaled by the total significant wave height, and the inverse of wave age. However, scaled plume depths exhibit non-monotonic variations with increasing wind speeds. Additionally, we explore the dependencies of the combined observations on various non-dimensional predictors used for whitecap coverage estimation. This study provides the first field evidence of a direct relation between bubble plume penetration depth and whitecap coverage, suggesting that the volume of bubble plumes could be estimated by remote sensing. |
In The News
Oscilla Power, Univ. of Wash. and others share $25M federal grant to spur wave energy efforts GeekWire, Lisa Stiffler The UW, in partnership with Integral Consulting, will study the underwater noise being created by wave energy converters that are being tested at the PacWave South facility on the Oregon Coast. The information will be helpful to wave energy entrepreneurs and regulating agencies working to make sure the devices don’t harm marine life. |
27 Jan 2022
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Sounds of the sea: Stones clanging Inside Science, Joel N. Shurkin Tide-borne pebbles on the seabed can drown out other ocean noises. According to research by Christopher Bassett and colleagues published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, the noise from gravel on the seabed is significant to the overall undersea soundscape. |
21 May 2013
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Noisy ships, ferries create racket below Puget Sound The Seattle Times, Craig Welch Recent work by University of Washington researchers shows noise in some Puget Sound shipping channels regularly meets or exceeds levels the federal government suggests may be harmful to marine life. |
3 Jan 2013
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