Time lapse radar imaging at FORCE shows flow features in western Minas Passage over tow tide cycles. The radar imaging could assist with marine operations and turbine placement.
The images were created using FORCE’s marine radar system. This radar focuses on clutter rather then filtering it out.
The birds-eye view of the western Minas Passage was created by smoothing out the noise and converting to geographical coordinates, according to FORCE.
The details gathered by the radar imaging include a jet, and large eddies, with evidence of trails of turbulence from subsurface features.
This year’s collaboration between scientists from FORCE, National Oceanography Centre UK, and Acadia University aims to fully characterize these features in order to support the in-stream tidal industry in the Minas Passage and Bay of Fundy, FORCE’s press release reads.
The results gained through this collaboration will assist FORCE and developers to determine the most suitable areas for placement of turbine arrays and associated marine infrastructure in the Minas Passage.
The Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) is Canada’s research centre for in-stream tidal energy, located in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia.
Take a look at the Minas Passage timelapse radar imaging video.
Image: FORCE/Illustration