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Tidal Power Impact Under Scrutiny

A Saint Mary’s Geography professor has been awarded $65,000 to lead a two year study assessing at how tidal power initiatives may impact sedimentation patterns in the Bay of Fundy.

Dr. Danika vanProosdij and her team will use the funding from OEER (Offshore Energy Environmental Research) and OEER (Offshore Energy Environmental Research) OETR Associations to examine how the dynamics of sedimentation change when energy is extracted from the tides by special turbines.

The research relating to tidal energy development in the Bay of Fundy and its potential effects has become increasingly important with Nova Scotia Power’s installation of a Open Hydro turbine at a demonstration facility in Minas Passage. Installation of additional units are expected in 2010.

To date there have been no significant monitoring programs or models developed for considering cumulative, long-term or regional impacts at existing or proposed tidal energy sites anywhere in the world. Dr. van Proosdij’s team will help fill in key knowledge gaps that exist.

Dr. vanProosdij is a Coastal Geomorphologist specializing in the ecosystems of inter-tidal zones, salt marshes and muddy coastal dynamics. She is just one of a handful of researchers in the world analyzing marshes in such a way.

“Few researchers have the suite of instruments I do, instruments that allow me to deploy a broad study of an estuary all at one time” she says.

The Inter-tidal Coastal Sediment Transport (InCoaST) research unit in her sedimentological lab at Saint Mary’s allows her to merge geomatic technologies such as geographical information systems and global positioning systems with analysis of sediments and currents equipping her to provide more accurate recommendations to reduce environmental impact and to improve upon infrastructures to avoid potential damage.

The OEER Association (Offshore Energy Environmental Research) and the OETR Association (Offshore Energy Technical Research) are independent, not-for-profit corporations established in March 2006. The goals of the Associations are to fund offshore energy environmental and goescience research and development in order to maximize Nova Scotia’s offshore energy resource potential and to gain understanding about the potential implications of offshore energy research and development.

Quelle: Saint Mary's University, Media Release, 23. März 2010