TIDAL TURBULENCE SPECTRA FROM A COMPLIANT MOORING

A compliant mooring to collect high frequency turbulence data at a tidal energy site is evaluated in a series of short demonstration deployments. The Tidal Turbulence Mooring (TTM) improves upon recent bottom-mounted approaches by suspending Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters (ADVs) at mid-water depths (which are more relevant to tidal turbines). The ADV turbulence data are superior to Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) data, but are subject to motion contamination when suspended on a mooring in strong currents. In this demonstration, passive stabilization is shown to be sufficient for acquiring bulk statistics of the turbulence, without motion correction. With motion correction (post-processing), data quality is further improved. Results from two field sites are compared, and the differences are attributed to the generation of large eddies by headlands and sills.

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