Rockland’s equipment ready for turbulent seas (photos)

August 30, 2016

MicroRider and MicroPod ready for long-term deployment at EMEC

Rockland Scientific, a Canadian company specializing in marine turbulence, is preparing its tidal turbulence measurement devices for deployment in Canada and the UK.

The company reported yesterday that its Nemo Turbulence Mooring is ready to be deployed in the Minas Passage, Bay of Fundy. Rockland will measure water turbulence at FORCE’s site where Black Rock Tidal Power plans to install its tidal energy platform.

The Nemo Turbulence Mooring ready for deployment in the slack water of the Minas Passage

Gathering information on natural water turbulence in the Minas Passage is part of the InSTREAM project, involving both academia and industry from the UK and Canada.

Furthermore, Rockland Scientific is about to launch a long-term deployment of MicroRider and MicroPod devices at EMEC’s site in Orkney.

The trans-Atlantic research project is being carried out in both UK and Canadian waters – at EMEC, and at FORCE in Nova Scotia, Canada – as well as utilising the University of Edinburgh’s FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility which can replicate tidal characteristics found at EMEC’s tidal test site at the Fall of Warness, in Orkney.

Led by Rockland Scientific, the project involves UK-based FloWave TT, Ocean Array Systems and EMEC, and Canadian companies Dalhousie University and Black Rock Tidal Power.

Aiming to improve the industry’s understanding of turbulence, the project will enable developers to optimise design, and deploy technology that can withstand the effects of strong tides and currents.