This study characterizes the turbulence in a 3.6 m s−1 tidal channel in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia that has been identified for development as a tidal power resource. A horizontally aimed fast-sampling single beam acoustic Doppler profiler was deployed on a subsurface buoy, and the flow-aligned profile is used to test the cross-spectral (Garbini 1982a,b) and the spatial structure function methods for estimating dissipation rates of turbulent kinetic energy.

The marine environment in the Bay of Fundy hosts a dynamic and diverse soundscape that is a fundamental component of the local ecosystem. The emergence of new human marine activities and infrastructure, such as tidal turbine installations, introduces new sound sources that change or disrupt the existing acoustic environment, but the full extent of these changes is not well understood and is not predictable.

The ability to estimate the rate of dissipation (ε) of turbulent kinetic energy at mid-depth in a high speed tidal channel using broadband acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) is assessed by making comparisons to direct measurements of ε obtained using shear probes mounted on an underwater, streamlined buoy.

I am a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics who uses mathematical models and numerical simulations to do research in physical oceanography and fluid dynamics. For the past eight years, I’ve led a team of Acadia students and research assistants that have researched the potential of tidal energy in the Bay of Fundy. Working in collaboration with other universities, several Nova Scotia businesses, and the Nova Scotian and Canadian governments, our team has calculated the size of the resource and determined the best possible locations for turbines. And along the way, we’ve also learned an incredible amount about the tides of the Bay of Fundy.

Large-scale extraction of power from tidal streams within the Pentland Firth is expected to be underway in the near future. The Inner Sound of Stroma in particular has attracted significant commercial interest.

Environmental impacts, including tidal regimes and sediment transport in the Minas Basin, caused by tidal power extraction in the Minas Passage have been investigated using a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model in which tidal power extraction is represented using an arbitrary method that adds a friction term to the standard momentum equations.

The introduction of tidal stream turbines into water bodies can have an impact on the environment due to changes in the hydrodynamic flow fields resulting from the extraction of energy by the tidal turbines.

Tidal Energy Converter (TEC) arrays are expected to reduce tidal current speeds locally, thus impacting sediment processes, even when positioned above bedrock, as well as having potential impacts to nearby offshore sand banks.

Power generated from marine energy devices, including those that harvest power from the waves and tides, has the potential to help meet the low-carbon energy needs of many coastal nations.

This project set out to develop a link between Oceanographic computer models and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models in order to improve state of the art modeling techniques used for resource assessments and tidal turbine siting for both single and multiple TISECs.

This report presents an update on the extractable power potential of tidal currents in a number of passages around Nova Scotia. Since initial reports by EPRI [1] and the Triton [2] were produced, we have gained a better understanding of how the extraction of power from tidal currents affect the tidal system.

Geophysics/Hydrodynamics: Sanderson, B.G., A.M. Redden and J.E. Broome (2012)

The Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine system has a natural resonant period very close to the main semi-diurnal lunar tide. This results in the world’s highest tides and strong tidal currents in the Bay of Fundy, particularly in Minas Channel and Minas Basin.

The Nova Scotia government has approved tidal power Community-Feed-in-Tariffs for Digby Gut and Petit Passage, two passages along the coast of the Bay of Fundy.

The Minas Basin, the eastern end of the Bay of Fundy, is well known for its high tide ranges and strong tidal currents, which can be exploited to extract electricity power. The properties of the tidally-induced sediment transport in the Minas Basin, where significant changes in tidal processes may occur due to a recently proposed tidal power project, have been studied with a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model, an empirical bed load sediment transport model and surface sediment concentrations derived from the remotely-sensed images.

Biological/Ecological Effects, Geophysics/Hydrodynamics: van Rein, H, D.S. Schoeman, C.J. Brown, R. Quinn and J. Breen (2011)

Geophysics/Hydrodynamics: Kadiri, M., R. Ahmadian, B. Bockelmann-Evans, W. Rauen and R. Falconer. (2011)

Geophysics/Hydrodynamics: Yang, Z., T. Khangaonkar, and T. Wang (2010)

Biological/Ecological Effects, Geophysics/Hydrodynamics: Foubister, L., and S. Hull (2008)

Geophysics/Hydrodynamics: Karsten, R.H., J.M. McMillan, M.J. Lickley, and R.D. Haynes. (2008)