Intertidal hydrodynamics and basin-scale sediment dynamics in the Minas Basin, Bay of Fundy, and implications for change due to tidal power extraction

Biological/Ecological Effects, Engineering, Geophysics/Hydrodynamics: Ashall, Logan (2015/01/12)

Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2015-01-12 11:36:28.13

Link: http://qspace.library.queensu.ca/handle/1974/12695

Minas Basin in the Bay of Fundy has the world’s largest tidal range and exchanges approximately 110 billion tonnes of water twice a day with tidal currents up to 5 ms-1 through Minas Passage, making it an ideal site for tidal power extraction. In this thesis a multi-domain high-resolution hydrodynamic model of Minas Basin is implemented and used to investigate: a) the relative influence of vegetation on flow routing in a macrotidal estuary to develop an understanding of the intertidal hydrodynamics in the natural system; and b) the implications of tidal energy extraction on basin-scale suspended sediment concentrations by simulating in-stream turbines.