Tech world abuzz over mystery barges in Maine, SF

[shanti]

PORTLAND, Maine -- Three mysterious floating structures that have the tech world abuzz appear to have been registered by someone familiar with geekspeak.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/10/29/5862218/tech-world-abuzz-over-mystery.html#storylink=cpy


What the heck is this?

[Duer 157099]

1. Cool!

"Online speculation about their creator has focused on Google, which has a patent for a floating data center that uses ocean water for cooling"

I bet the "BAL" part is a nod to HAL.

Using binary code for number 1-4 is geekspeak?

[MADem]

2. If they use the water to cool, they'll be warming the water around the structure.

It'll be interesting to see what kind of sea life snuggles up to them....

Floating data centers is what everyone seems to think they are....

http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/2013/1028/Is-Google-floating-mystery-barges-around-the-world

Though CNET reported that Hangar 3 was being leased by a different company, attempts to contact anyone on the lease or the connected real estate have either gone unanswered, disconnected, or denied. A local coffee shop barista says she served several people with Google credit cards and Hangar 3 access. A nearby worker told the CNET reporter to go to a Hangar 3 entrance when asked where to find Google.

Not to mention, what is widely identified as Google CEO Larry Page’s yacht has been seen parked next to the floating barge off Treasure Island.

Though these reports have yet to be substantiated, rumors have quickly swirled around the Internet as to what Google could be up to, if Google is indeed behind the barges.

The most probable is the patented data center mentioned above. The Portland Press Herald, who wrote a story about the mysterious Maine barge, talked with two cargo experts, both who say it is feasible to use ocean water to cool large data centers. These data centers could also be transported in case of a natural disaster, or use ocean waves as energy.

The original Google patent also calls for the barge to be three to seven miles offshore, a key distance as three miles from shore used to mean that a boat was in international waters. And with the near-daily new controversy surrounding online information and the NSA, it would seem to make sense that Google would want to protect its information in the most physical way possible. However, Forbes debunked that rumor, pointing out that the range was changed to 12 miles offshore a few years ago, and Google would still need a cable to access the data, which the NSA (or any other cyber eavesdropper) could easily intercept. Not to mention, a top-heavy barge wouldn’t do too well in choppy, open sea.

[FSogol]

3. Not true: "If they use the water to cool, they'll be warming the water around the structure."

That's like saying that little kids peeing in the ocean at the beach are warming the ocean.

[MADem]

5. It is true--we aren't talking about a little kid peeing once, we're talking about a little kid

peeing constantly, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

It won't change the temperature of the ocean across the board, but it will change the temperature of the water immediately surrounding the barge.

Note that I said "around the structure" not "warming the ocean."

E.g.: http://www.greenparty.ca/node/1013

[FSogol]

15. Thanks to tides, that's not the same water. In a lake or pond, your statement

could be true. In the ocean? No way.

[MADem]

20. Again,it is true--it's called THERMAL POLLUTION and it occurs in oceans as well as lakes + rivers.

Example: http://www.sfgate.com/green/article/Power-plant-has-no-plans-to-stop-killing-fish-3255869.php

Despite legal threats from the city of San Francisco and protests from environmentalists, regulators have no plans to stop a local power plant from using a cooling system that kills fish, discharges heated water into the bay and stirs up sediment that can be harmful both to wildlife and people.

Mirant Corp.'s permit to draw in bay water and discharge it from the Potrero Power Plant expired Wednesday, but the company has no immediate intention of turning off its power generators or cooling system, located east of Third Street just south of Mission Bay.

One of the generators, known as Unit 3, draws in millions of gallons of water per day from the bay, killing an undetermined number of fish.

The tides come in and out of the San Francisco Bay, so your thesis is not supported.

Another example: http://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/41879/3/Dani%20martin.pdf

In coastal zone settlements, the construction of power plants is needed for energetic
requirements. This industry uses seawater as a coolant and have effects on coastal
organisms and ecosystems through the mortality of organisms entrained in the seawater
taken into the plants, as well as, by effects of discharge heated water into the sea [22]. In
general, water discharge from power-generating plants is roughly 10ºC warmer than
receiving waters.

The effects of thermal pollution on macrofaunal communities have been considered
in several previous studies and results are different depending on the studied work . The
effects of the warmer water within the limited spaces where heating was detectable were
both negative and positive. For instance, [17] observed drastic effects on the community
structure of the Tuggerah Lakes (New South Wales), causing a decline in both species
number and diversity, specially in the mud sites compared to seagrass sampling stations.
[10] studied the influence of the increased temperature of receiving waters affected the
benthic populations of Tuticorin bay (SE coast of India), showing the increased of sea
temperature a negative correlation with species abudance and diversity, as well as,
macrofaunal biomass. [13] studied the soft-bottom macrofauna on the adjacent area of
the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant (Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, USA) observing
increased abundances of the bivalve Mya arenaria and the nereidid polychaete
Neanthes succinea at the discharge sites. On the contrary, no apparent effects caused by
the thermal effluents were found in studied stations in terms of species abundances,
diversity and abundance of the dominant species....

[FSogol]

21. That's nuts. I assumed they were using a heat exchanger and just circulating

sea water thru the plates. I realize power plants can directly use sea water, but assumed the floating barge/data center uses a heat exchanger of some type.

[MADem]

22. Well, even when they use a heat exchanger, there's often going to be a difference in the

water temp immediately surrounding the area where the water is discharged, particularly if the water flows through continuously.

It's why you see odd things happening in the ocean near seaside nuke power plants (and there are many of these in USA and elsewhere in the world). This can even happen near conventional power plants as well.

Florida manatees just LOVE coal fired electric power station warmed saltwater, for example:

http://www.tampaelectric.com/company/mvc/

Big Bend Power Station in Apollo Beach delivered reliable electricity to the community for 16 years before the commercial operation of Big Bend Unit 4 in 1986. That year, people started seeing manatees in large numbers in the power station's discharge canal, where saltwater – taken from Tampa Bay to cool Unit 4 – flowed, clean and warm, back to the bay. When Tampa Bay reached 68 degrees or colder, the mammals would seek out this new refuge. The Manatee Viewing Center was soon born. Today, Big Bend's discharge canal is a state and federally designated manatee sanctuary that provides critical protection from the cold for these unique, gentle animals.

[FSogol]

23. I've been to Lake Anna (VA). The nuclear plant there does make the water warmer.

Surely, the heat rejection from a floating data center cannot equal the cooling requirements of a power station? Still not convinced there would be a noticeable difference.

Why did I speak up? Years ago (ok, maybe a decade ago) I was at a school board meeting describing a ground source heat pump (often incorrectly called a geothermal heat pump) when one person on the school board became agitated about how the heat rejection from the school going into the earth would kill all the plants and grass in the neighborhood and cause disaster for her county. The other engineers stood around in shock as I tried to describe how the heat rejection was negligible for such a large volume of earth and show her examples around the state with such a system. The supervisor caused such a fuss that the project was put on hold until some higher up experts could change her mind. Aside from increased installation costs, the ground source heat pump is a great system that saves a lot of electricity and removes an outdoor noise source from chillers, cooling towers, and condensing equipment.

[MADem]

24. I don't think the heat put out from this barge is going to change the environment

in a huge way, but who knows how many odd barnacles might attach themselves to the thing? Or maybe sickly dolphins will gather around to warm their bones?

When you introduce warm water into the ocean in an area, even a small area, where it is provided continuously, the sea life around the vicinity will notice!

[GreenStormCloud]

6. Three miles out is NOT international waters.

Reporters should learn what they are talking about. Shore to three miles is state waters, in this case Maine and California. Three to ten miles is national waters, in this case, USA. Outside of ten miles is international waters for normal navigational purposes.

[MADem]

7. Reread the last paragraph cited-it's debunked IN the paragraph. The reporter isn't saying that.

He's saying "Some people thought that, but it isn't so..."

However, Forbes debunked that rumor, pointing out that the range was changed to 12 miles offshore a few years ago, and Google would still need a cable to access the data, which the NSA (or any other cyber eavesdropper) could easily intercept. Not to mention, a top-heavy barge wouldn’t do too well in choppy, open sea.

[RebelOne]

19. It is usually 7 miles out.

I have been on several cruises out of Miami and gambling was not permitted until the ships were 7 miles out in the Atlantic Ocean.

[SoCalDem]

4. My guess is taxation purposes

for whatever they are..

[bemildred]

8. This looks like a PR campaign to me.

All of a sudden we hear about those barges every day.

[Rex]

10. Eggsacty! Not a very good PR campaign imo.

Oh noes! Mystery barges...zzzzzzzzzzZZZZzzzzzz...

[bemildred]

11. I think they are trying to build it, you know? nt

[Rex]

13. I refuse to come, even if they do build it.

I will fight Skynet until my very last breath.

[bemildred]

14. +1. nt

[Rex]

9. Someone is seeking attention!

Mystery barges meh.

[Recursion]

12. My friends at Google all say it's not them

And they've "nudge nudge"'ed before.

[snooper2]

16. It's part of disaster recovery...

All your data's belong to Google, so their tertiary back up plan is to house all your data's at sea using 4G/LTE network


I know nothing about this LOL

[hunter]

17. I managed to log into their system and got this...

Then it asked me if I wanted to play a game.

[ancianita]

18. There's no evidence shown that the Coast Guard has checked into this. CG should be asked about them.