Past Webinars and Events

Webinar Series

Introduction to the Fisheries Act and Species at Risk Act (SARA)

December 11, 2018 1:00pm – 2:00pm AST

This is part one of a two-part webinar series focused on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Ecosystem Management Branch – Fisheries Protection Program, Species at Risk Management Division, and Protected Areas and Conservation Planning. A representative from each division will be available to lead the webinar and answer some questions.

Webinar Series

Measuring the Acoustic Detection Range of Large Whales from Autonomous Platforms to Improve an Acoustic Whale Alert System

October 25, 2018 1:00pm – 2:00pm ADT

There is significant concern about the risk that offshore marine industries pose to endangered whales. One mitigation strategy is to use autonomous platforms (e.g., ocean gliders and buoys) equipped with a near real-time passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) system to alert ocean users to whale presence. To effectively use passive acoustics to monitor marine mammals, an understanding of the area over which the monitoring system can detect each species of interest is absolutely critical.

Webinar Series

Examining Cable Strumming in Tidal Flows

September 20, 2018 1:00pm – 2:00pm ADT

The potential ongoing cost of cabling and moorings is a major risk for the nascent tidal energy sector. The sector is aware that cabling failures are documented to be the most significant insurance risk for the commercially-viable offshore wind industry. Floating tidal turbine developers have unanswered questions about the longevity of their power cables and moorings which are subject to turbulent tidal flows which can induce wear, corrosion, fatigue, and vortex induced vibration (VIV) distinct from offshore environments.

Webinar Series

Acoustic Assessment of Fish Presence and Vertical Distribution at the FORCE Tidal Turbine Test Site in Minas Passage, Bay of Fundy

August 23, 2018 1:00pm – 2:00pm ADT

The effects on fish of large tidal in-stream energy conversion (TISEC) devices deployed in very high flow environments (>2 m/s) are generally unknown.

Webinar Series

Going with the Flow, While Mapping and Predicting Future Flow Speeds

June 21, 2018 1:00pm – 2:00pm ADT

The tide is one of the most accurately predictable natural phenomena. Following standard practice accurate long-term predictions of water levels are generated using harmonic analysis.  However, when applied to tidal currents harmonic analysis does not accurately capture turbulence, eddies, and large flood-ebb asymmetries.

Webinar Series

Finite Element Analysis to Assess Fish Mortality from Interactions with Tidal Turbine Blades

May 24, 2018 1:00pm – 2:00pm ADT

To date there has been a lack of suitable methodologies to investigate and obtain evidence that there is little to no fish mortality from collisions with tidal turbine blades. One potential solution to this problem is the use of computer modeling to simulate and assess whether a tidal turbine blade strike will result in the mortality of a fish.

Blumara Corp. has conducted a research project which uses finite element analysis to simulate the impact of a tidal turbine blade on fish and assess whether mortality of marine life can be expected in such an event.

Webinar Series

Live Mapping of Minas Passage Flow with X-band Radar

April 19, 2018 1:00pm – 2:00pm ADT

Mapping a flow field consists of the measurement of currents and eddies in time and space. This is a key endeavour in support of the tidal stream technology sector, which requires detailed knowledge of the flow field for resource assessment, for understanding the environmental impact of tidal devices. Although there are relatively established methods for measuring velocity at a single point in horizontal space (e.g., with ADCPs), observations over horizontal space (e.g., of large eddies swirling through the FORCE region) are very limited and very difficult to obtain.

Webinar Series

Advanced Coastal Mapping to Support Hydrodynamic Modeling

March 22 – 23, 2018

This webinar will present an innovative application of LIDAR mapping and ocean modeling technologies.

Nova Scotia’s Atlantic coast exhibits a variety of shorelines that may be vulnerable to contamination in the event of an offshore oil spill.  In turn, variable currents, changing water levels, shoals, and exposed seaside conditions make effective spill response difficult for tidal inlets.  These conditions also present risks to the health and safety of first responders with respect to secure access and safe navigation.