Abstract
A cabled platform with the capabilities to provide real-time, targeted measurements of turbine-marine life interactions has been built and tested for use in high flows, including the Crown Lease Area of Minas Passage, Bay of Fundy. Its key sensors are an imaging sonar, that generates detailed 2-D imaging, and a pan-tilt unit on which the imaging sonar is mounted, that permits the sonar’s orientation to be remotely adjusted while the platform is on the seabed, as is necessary for obtaining targeted imaging of the turbine and its surroundings.
The project proceeded in a careful, systematic fashion, utilizing the FORCE beach intertidal zone to conduct initial field tests. These tests revealed several challengees, including noise contamination in the sonar’s output and insufficiently robust fibre terminations on the cables connecting the platform to shore. The latter problem required an in-house (to FORCE) engineering solution that, along with the noise solution, held up perfectly against all subsequent tests.
The resulting platform, called the Fundy Advanced Sensor Technology Environmental Monitoring System (FAST-EMS), is proven for high flow conditions and the uniquely challenging environment of the Minas Passage.