Cape Cod Canal surveyed ahead of tidal test site deployment

Survey works have been conducted on an area in Cape Cod Canal in Massachusetts where a tidal test site will be installed later this year.

Scientists from University of Massachusetts (UMass) Dartmouth deployed a tripod camera at the bottom of Cape Cod Canal to take a detailed video of the sea floor in the Canal.

The system is called the Inshore Pyramid Camera and it was lowered at over 100 stations near and around the rail road bridge.

The photographs will be analyzed by the team to determine what types of organisms, plants and fish are there, in addition to what type of material is on the bottom such as sand, silt, mud or gravel.

All this information is going to be used to determine the best spot to place the structure that will hold the experimental turbines, MRECo informed.

The survey will be repeated after turbine testing to determine if there is any impact on the ecosystem.

In addition, the second survey, performed by Teledyne RD Instruments, and 3-D WaterCube, mapped the water flows and velocities in the water near the railroad bridge.

The researchers used a remotely operated surface vehicle, called O-Boat, equipped with a Teledyne RD Acoustic Dopler Current Profiler (ADCP).

O-Boat is a floating vehicle about the size of a small row boat that can be directed from shore or a boat to survey the water column looking for areas where the water turbulence is particularly energetic and may be a good place to set up the tidal test structure, according to MRECo.

Marine Renewable Energy Collaborative (MRECo) is a nonprofit corporation whose purpose is to foster the sustainable growth of marine renewable energy, including wave, tidal, and offshore wind sectors of New England through education, collaboration, and demonstration.

To remind, MRECo received funding from the Massachusetts Seaport Economic Council to develop a tidal energy test site in the Cape Cod Canal.

MRECo is currently working on answering the environmental questions that are required by various government agencies to ensure there will not be any harm done to the canal, to the marine life in the canal or any interference to navigation.

Once constructed, the Bourne Tidal Test Site (BTTS), a fixed test structure, will be the permanent test stand for tidal energy in the United States.

The structure will be sited approximately 10m south of the west end of the railroad bridge in the Cape Cod Canal. It is anticipated that turbines of up to 3m in diameter will be tested with maximum output of 100kW.

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