Research Portal

The Vectron2 Project: Turbulence Measurements for the In-stream Tidal Energy Industry

March 2019 – November 2021

The Vectron is a new sensor used for measuring turbulence velocity within a tidal turbine’s swept area.  The Vectron has been successfully prototyped, where next steps are to take the technology to the ‘industry-ready’ stage of development and the focus of this project.

The Pathway Program: Validating reliable environmental monitoring for ocean energy projects

April 2019 – October 2021

OERA created The Pathway Program to solve a critical problem impeding the in-stream tidal energy industry: a lack of reliable and validated technologies and methods to monitor and report fish-turbine interactions in high-flow, highly turbulent environments, leading to regulatory uncertainty and i

Environmental Monitoring System Development

November 2019 – April 2021

The Pathway Program - Technology Validation: Echosouders & Passive Acoustic Monitoring Device

Data Analysis Component of Comparative Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) technology assessment

November 2019 – June 2020

The Pathway Program - Technology Validation: Passive Acoustic Monitoring Device

Geoscience » Seismic & Marine Sound

Establishment of Baseline Biological Data on Snow Crab (Chionoecetes opilio) Offshore Cape Breton for Future Assessment of Potential Impacts of Seismic Noise on Snow Crab

April 2012 – February 2015

The study investigates the impact of sound energy generated by acoustic/seismic arrays on snow crabs.

Turbulence and Bottom Stress in Minas Passage and Grand Passage

September 2011 – February 2015

This project aimed to investigate turbulence and bottom stress at two sites being targeted for in-stream tidal power development in Nova Scotia: Minas Passage in the Upper Bay of Fundy and Grand Passage, located between Brier and Long Island in the lower Bay of Fundy.

Geoscience » Seismic & Marine Sound

Test Snow Crab Response to Seismic Stress

February 2012 – September 2013

There is concern in Atlantic Canada that there is insufficient information on the potential effects of seismic noise on snow crab.

Passive Acoustic Monitoring of Cetacean Activity Patterns and Movements Pre- and Post-deployment of TISEC devices in Minas Passage

June 2011 – July 2013

This project aimed to conduct pre- and post- in-stream tidal energy device deployment assessments of marine mammal activity and to assess the potential risk for interaction with turbine infrastructure.

Community and Business Toolkit for Tidal Energy Development

November 2011 – March 2013

This toolkit covers the science, technology, business and community aspects of tidal energy development in Nova Scotia, effectively integrating the applied, natural and social sciences. It can serve as a model for future applied interdisciplinary work on tidal energy and marine renewables.

Cross Coupling between Device Level CFD and Oceanographic Models Applied to Multiple TISECs in Minas Passage

October 2011 – January 2013

This project aimed to develop a link between oceanographic computer models and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models in order to improve state-of-the-art modelling techniques used for resource assessments and tidal turbine siting for both single and multiple in-stream tidal energy devices.