(Photo: Testing Passive Acoustic Monitoring devices in the Dalhousie Aquatron)

 

The April-June 2019 quarterly report for FORCE’s Environmental Effects Monitoring Program is now available online.

This report provides a summary of monitoring activities and data analysis completed at the FORCE site up to the end of the second quarter of 2019, including the ongoing monitoring of the OpenHydro turbine. The report also highlights findings from international research efforts, previous data collection periods at the FORCE site, and additional research work that is being conducted by FORCE and its partners. Finally, the report presents details regarding future research and monitoring efforts at the FORCE test site.

 

Some Q2 report highlights include:

• Analysis of fifteen hydroacoustic fish surveys conducted in the Minas Passage between 2011-2017 as part of FORCE’s Environmental Effects Monitoring Plan (EEMP), recently completed by the University of Maine
• An update on FORCE’s study aiming to understand how multiple passive acoustic monitoring devices (C-POD, F-POD, SoundTrap, icListenHF, and AMAR-G4) perform in comparison to each other across the range of tidal flows experienced at the FORCE site, which will help inform future monitoring practices
• New reports on passive acoustic monitoring and imaging sonars to identify effective and regulator-approved monitoring solutions for the tidal energy industry in Nova Scotia.

 

While continuing environmental monitoring efforts, FORCE and its partners are using this time without an operational turbine to focus towards the goal of improving monitoring capabilities. FORCE also continues to monitor the non-operational status of the CSTV turbine until it is removed. This is confirmed using data from RPM instruments, gap measurements and Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) mounted on the turbine.

The monitoring work detailed in this report supports FORCE’s ongoing mandate to collect and share data with regulators, industry, the scientific community, and the public to better understand if tidal stream energy can play a safe, viable role in Nova Scotia’s long-term energy mix. Overseen by Dr. Dan Hasselman, Science Director for FORCE, monitoring work continues to be a central focus of FORCE and its research partners.

The Q2 Report is available at: https://fundyforce.ca/document-collection/environmental-effects-monitoring-program-quarterly-report-april-june-2019