FORCE completes two underwater monitoring platforms

The Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) has completed two underwater monitoring platforms, now in their final stages of testing in Dartmouth before sea trials in the Bay of Fundy, Canada.

The Fundy Advanced Sensor Technology (FAST) platforms are recoverable instrument platforms designed to monitor and characterize the FORCE site.

Using onboard sensing equipment, the platforms enable real-time data from the Minas Passage, including:

• currents and turbulence,
• marine life activity,
• noise levels,
• seabed stability.

Tony Wright, FORCE General Manager, said: “To harness the enormous power of the Bay of Fundy responsibly, we have to understand it. We’ve built two subsea instrument platforms that will give us a clearer, moment-by-moment picture of what’s happening under the water.”

The smaller platform, FAST-1, weighs 650 kg and is 3 m long. It is designed for subsea data cable connection, enabling access to real-time data from the Minas Passage. FAST-1 will be transported to the FORCE site shortly to begin sea trials, FORCE’s press release reads.

FAST-2, at 4.5 tons and 4 m in length, is designed for more frequent deployment and recovery to enable instrument testing, and will begin trials later this year.

The platforms are part of a $6.8 million FAST program that has supported FORCE efforts to better understand the Minas Passage. This has included subsea data collection, subsea data cable installation, shore-based radar and meteorological equipment, as well as platform fabrication, instrumentation, and deployment.

FAST is supported by Encana Corporation, Natural Resources Canada, and FORCE developers.

FORCE is Canada’s lead centre for tidal energy technology research and demonstration, located in the Bay of Fundy.

FORCE collaborates with industry, government, and researchers to study the interaction between tidal turbines and the Bay of Fundy environment, providing research, environmental monitoring, and the electrical infrastructure for commercial development.

Image: FORCE