TDI-Brooks acquires, processes and interprets geological, geophysical and geotechnical data to assist in assessing the suitability of offshore sites for wind farms and their infrastructure.

TDI-Brooks helps plan the construction of commercial scale wind farms requiring the knowledge the geologic makeup and condition of the seafloor. Each of these items are critical to plan the type of foundation for the turbines, the magnitude of ground disturbance and geoengineering that will be required to set the foundation and install cables, the presence of hazards to the construction/maintenance activities and the specific layout of the field. We have extensive experience, providing detailed analyses of the seabed and accurate assessments of subsurface conditions for offshore wind farm sites.

TDI-Brooks for the past 25 years has been a part of highly-successful oil & gas programs across the globe in the Oil & Gas sector. The offshore wind industry is learning from the oil & gas industry when it comes to successfully co-existing with other maritime industries. Offshore wind is being seen as a major contributor post-COVID economical recovery by governments around the world.

TDI-Brooks has deployed 2 of their research vessels to the East Coast of the US to serve the offshore wind farm market. Both multi-use oceanographic research vessels are equipped to acquire geophysical surveys for offshore hazard/site clearance assessments, pipeline/cable routing, seafloor mapping, port and channel conditions, fisheries habitat mapping and burial assessment studies. TDI-Brooks will engage in the seabed geophysical and geotechnical surveys to better understand the geological issues that may exist with project development to ensure safe and long-term operations and performance of the facilities.

Both vessels have a full analog survey kit onboard as follows:

  • Norbit Winghead Multibeam (dual head) with QPS QINSy 9
  • Edgetech 4205 SSS with Discover and QPS QINSy 9
  • Geometrics G882 configured in TVG with MagLog and QPS QINSy 9
  • INNOMAR SES2000 SBP with SEISWIN
  • Applanix POS MV with Norbit MBES interface
  • Sonardyne Mini-Ranger 2
  • Xylem Castaway CTD
  • Single-Channel boomer with SonarWiz

The TDI-Brooks fleet is operated within a robust Safety Management System and all vessels are regularly vetted by client marine assurance groups and a part of the OCIMF Offshore Vessel Inspection Database (OVID).

TDI-Brooks Solutions for Offshore Wind

Prior to the construction of an offshore wind facility, site characterization surveys are required to evaluate the impact of seafloor and sub-seafloor (sub-bottom) conditions on the construction, operation and structural integrity of the proposed area.

When integrated with geotechnical results from core samples and data from bathymetric and other surface condition surveys, the data collected provides a key insight that ultimately helps to determine the suitability of proposed offshore installations, helping to create and sustain the future of renewable offshore energy.

  • Geophysical and hydrographic surveys to ascertain seabed bathymetry, morphology, classification, marine habitats and sub-seabed layers.
  • Preliminary geotechnical surveys and engineering services to characterize and classify sub-seabed layers.
  • Environmental sampling and testing.
  • Cable route selection and survey.
  • Laboratory testing including soil dynamics testing on specimens obtained during field work.
  • Wind Farm noise impact assessment – baseline noise measurements.
  • Local and regional metocean measurements to support operational planning and engineering.

Our field services are supplemented by high quality environmental and geotechnical laboratories with a staff of nearly one-hundred individuals including fourteen Ph.D. level oceanographers, geochemists, biologists and geologists.