Date post: | 24-Jun-2015 |
Category: |
Education |
Upload: | susana-baston |
View: | 533 times |
Download: | 1 times |
EMBS – Edinburgh, 25th August 2010
Towards understanding the Environmental Consequences of
Marine Renewable EnergyConfrontation vs Mitigation
EMBS – Edinburgh, 25th August 2010
Dr. Susana Bastón Meira
Research associate in theICIT- International Centre for Island Technology
EMBS – Edinburgh, 25th August 2010
Contents
1. Motivation
2. Confrontation vs Mitigation
3. Monitoring techniques
4. Capabilities of numerical models
5. SUNTANS model
6. Conclusions
EMBS – Edinburgh, 25th August 2010
Motivation
The first Marine Energy Converters (MECs) have been tested at EMEC’s site (European Marine Energy Centre) Several developers are located in Orkney The Pentland Firth and Orkney waters have been recently provided licences by Crown Estate for ‘Round 1’ development sites. The ICIT, part of Heriot-Watt University, is involved in a MRE research programme
EMBS – Edinburgh, 25th August 2010
Motivation
• Coastal physical processes
• Hydrodynamics and water column processes
• Pelagic and benthic dynamics
• Ecosystem considerations and consequences
SRDG (Strategic Research Development Grant) funded by the Scottish Funding Council
WP 5: ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS
www.mreds.co.uk
Marine Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (MREDS)
EMBS – Edinburgh, 25th August 2010
Confrontation vs MitigationMRE has the potential to cause conflict among interested parties:
a) Developers and energy companies
b) Fishing sector and
c) Environmental groups
Key points• Baseline before development takes place.• Need to model cumulative impacts• Monitoring and predicting environmental effects• Common standards• Time pressure
EMBS – Edinburgh, 25th August 2010
Confrontation vs Mitigation
Potential negative impacts
Species displacement
Environmental conditions
Colision risks
Noise
EMBS – Edinburgh, 25th August 2010
Confrontation vs Mitigation
How good is the energy resource?
How the energy is dissipated?
Long term and far-field effects
Scale up to arrays
EMBS – Edinburgh, 25th August 2010
Monitoring techniques
a) Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs)
Current profiles and sediment flux
c) Acoustic Backscatter Systems (ABS):
Suspended sediment profiles close to the sea bed
b) Wave buoys:
2D wave spectra at a point
Moorings and Buoys
EMBS – Edinburgh, 25th August 2010
Monitoring techniques
a) Satellite observations
Optical wavelengths: suspended sediment concentrations
Dopplerised SAR imagery: currents
b) High Frequency (HF) Radar: surface currents and wave spectra
Remote sensing
a) ROV (Remote Observation Vehicles)
b) Gliders
ROVs and Floats
EMBS – Edinburgh, 25th August 2010
Capabilities of numerical models
MRE development Environmental impacts
Availability Prediction tool
Efficiency Ecological models
Initial site selection, mitigate impact, maximise efficiency
Predict effects of installation of MECs and extraction of energy from a flow field
Near and far field spatial information
Long term temporal modelling
Accurate predictions of nutrients and sediment transport in coastal waters
EMBS – Edinburgh, 25th August 2010
SUNTANS model
u, v, w are Cartesian components of velocityu is the vector form of velocityq the non-hydrostatic component of pressureη is the free surface elevationf and b are the Coriolis terms υH and υV are the horizontal and vertical turbulent eddy viscosities
∇H the horizontal gradient operator:
SUNTANSSUNTANS is a numerical model designed for the simulation of complex, non-hydrostatic coastal, river and estuarine flows with high resolution on unstructured grids using parallel computers.
EMBS – Edinburgh, 25th August 2010
SUNTANS model
Resource: Dr Rob Harris1, Dr Karl Stephen2, Prof Margot Gerritsen3
1.- ICIT/HWU, 2.- IPE/HWU, 3.- Stanford University
EMBS – Edinburgh, 25th August 2010
SUNTANS model
SUNTANS is Non-hydrostatic:
When a fluid is in motion, the vertical pressure gradient is also influenced by the vertical acceleration and friction non-hydrostatic pressure effects
P = p + q
Static pressure + Dynamic pressure
• Bottom density currents at high latitudes• Super critical flows related to topography in fjords and inlets
Hydrostatic approximation: Equilibrium between pressure gradient and gravitational force
EMBS – Edinburgh, 25th August 2010
SUNTANS model
EMBS – Edinburgh, 25th August 2010
The developer and the environmentalist/ecologist must avoid
Confrontation and achieve Mitigation for successful growth of the
marine renewable industry
There is a common demand from all stakeholders: the definition of a
standard monitoring protocol and a clearer understanding of physical
conditions and environmental effects
There is a requirement for cost effective accurate long term spatial
modelling of the environment
The SUNTANS model is a valuable tool, capable of providing
information leading to a better understanding of the resource and
intervention effects at MEC sites. Reducing confrontation and
facilitating mitigation through improved understanding.
Conclusions
EMBS – Edinburgh, 25th August 2010
Towards understanding the Environmental Consequences of
Marine Renewable EnergyConfrontation vs Mitigation
Thanks for your attention!
Email: [email protected]
http://www.icit.org.uk/