Posts tagged environmental
Evaluating the eutrophication risk of an artificial tidal lagoon
A new study in the Ocean & Coastal Management journal documents results from our simple approach on evaluating the eutrophication risk of an artificial tidal lagoon. The work was led by Dr Margaret Kadiri and Holly Zhang of King’s College London, in collaboration with Prof Matthew Piggott from Imperial College London.
Modelling an energetic tidal strait: investigating implications of common numerical configuration choices
Our latest study for 2021 published in the Applied Ocean Research journal documents our recent work on the calibration of coastal ocean models for tidal energy sites. The work was led by Lucas Mackie, in collaboration with Prof Matthew Piggott from Imperial College London, Dr Paul Evans from Intertek Energy & Water, Dr Magnus Harrold from the ORE Catapult and Prof Tim O’Doherty from Cardiff University. The study uses observed data from the Ramsey Sound in Wales and we are examining how well a depth-averaged model can reproduce the conditions, before dismissing results on the grounds of 3-D limitations.
Hydro-morphodynamics 2D modelling using a discontinuous Galerkin discretisation
In a recent article appearing in the January 2021 issue of Computers & Geosciences, we document recent developments on an unstructured DG Finite Element Model implemented within the Firedrake code generation framework. This work stems from the MRes and PhD of Mariana Clare who is working on hydro-sediment-morphodynamics applications supported by the Mathematics of Planet Earth CDT.
The potential for tidal range energy systems to provide continuous power: a UK case study
A study published in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering on our recent work on the operation capabilities of tidal range energy systems. The work was led by Lucas Mackie, in collaboration with Daniel Coles from Plymouth University and Matthew Piggott from Imperial College London. The study refines our tidal power plant optimisation framework to consider multiple schemes cooperating to maximise the value of the overall tidal range system. The study highlights the potential but also the limitations of the technology due to the nature of the resource
Modelling the impact of tidal range energy on species communities
A study published in Ocean & Coastal Management expands on our recent ecohydraulics applications. The work was conducted jointly with researchers led by Dr Jon Hill from the University of York. The study employs our estuarine modelling to extract information that can be correlated with the behavior of sensitive marine species. A machine learning technique (MaxEnt) is in turn applied to predict changes in their habitat distribution.
Tidal range energy resource assessment of the Gulf of California, Mexico
Our tidal range energy modelling has been applied to assess the available tidal range energy resource in the Gulf of California. The study, published in Renewable Energy, was conducted in collaboration with the National Oceanographic Centre, and the Bangor School of Ocean Sciences.
Tidal range structure operation assessment and optimisation
A publication is now available on the assessment of tidal range structure operations at Dams and Reservoirs. It highlights that operation optimisation using simplified models is mostly accurate for small schemes, as the larger impact on tidal dynamics invalidates simplified model assumptions.
Tidal range energy research challenges - Energy Futures Lab 2018
I presented research updates and an overview of tidal engineering research challenges at the Energy Futures Lab . A blog post regarding the theme of the talk can be found here.
Tidal energy conference contributions in RENEW2018
Research together with colleagues from Imperial College was presented at the biennial Conference on Renewable Energies Offshore in Lisbon (RENEW 2018). Zoe Goss presented her progress on tidal stream energy in Alderney race and I gave a talk on the feasibility and characteristics of twin-basin lagoons.
Fate of large scale vortices in idealised tidal lagoons
Our paper on tidal lagoon vortices with Carolanne Vouriot, Stephan Kramer and Matt Piggott reports on some insights about the evolution of shallow water vortices and how these are affected by friction, bathymetry and coastal bathymetry. The paper is open access funded by NERC and EPSRC and is accessible at Environmental Fluid Mechanics.