Lucie Maranda
URI Graduate School of Oceanography
Assoc. marine research scientist, professor-in-residence
RI NSF EPSCoR partner liaison
Supervisor, Marine Science Research Facility
Director, Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Oceanography

Anyone who has to maintain a boat or spends time around the water knows the effects of biofouling, when organisms attach themselves and grow on a surface. Mussels, barnacles, seaweed — we see them on dock pilings and boat hulls.

But, says Lucie Maranda, there also exists matter at the molecular level, bacteria unseen by the eye, which starts growing on surfaces the moment they are put in the water.

“In the past, people have used very toxic substances in paint or coatings to repel organisms,” Maranda explains. “But, this creates a problem, especially in ports where they clean boats. The chemicals contaminate the water. In some harbors, all of the life was nearly eradicated.”

Today, however, many of these chemicals are banned and countries like Australia and New Zealand prohibit any boats painted with these coatings from entering their waters. Consequently, the need arose for effective, protective coatings that were environmentally friendly.

Maranda says the issue also carries performance and financial considerations: “If you don’t take care of the surface, organisms grow there. This increases friction, which increases fuel consumption.”

A STAC grant in 2011 set the stage for collaboration between Maranda and Ametek SCP, a Westerly, RI, company specializing in underwater cable assemblies that must be able to function at great depths without corrosion. The company wanted to investigate whether seawater penetrated and corroded the metal of its product and how the protective coating responded to biofouling.

Beyond the research on the company’s products, Maranda says the year long grant provided the opportunity to introduce a new technique in her lab and develop her skill set: “It was like adding a new tool to the way I was analyzing and conducting molecular techniques.”

The work also led to a patent — Apparatus and Method for Testing Adhesion of Biofilms Using Calibrated Water-Jet Nozzles. The patented method tests the adhesive strength of biofilms on protective coatings applied to underwater optical devices such as periscopes and determines at what speed a boat or submarine needs to travel to remove the biofilm and restore clarity.

Story and photo by Amy Dunkle | RI NSF EPSCoR