Marine hydrokinetics (MHK) comprises a range of energy technologies for electricity generation from wave and tidal power. MHK installations can require large areas of ocean, which competes with other marine resources and can be detrimental to marine life and habitats. MHKs are often located at the mouths of ecologically-sensitive estuary systems. This can alter the hydrodynamics and salinity of the system and negatively impact animal and plant life.
Environmental regulations require the development and implementation of watershed plans to meet water quality standards and protect water resources. Engineers and regulators working with impaired or threatened waters must undertake watershed planning that considers all stages in the land development process from land use planning through to land development and post occupancy.
Water temperature has significant and systematic effects on biological processes at all levels of organization, from phytoplankton to whole ecosystems. Temperature influences several other parameters and can alter the physical and chemical properties of water such as dissolved oxygen and photosynthesis production. Some organisms, particularly aquatic plants, flourish in warmer temperatures, while some fishes such as trout or salmon prefer colder streams.
Flood extents modeling is typically carried out to determine impacts of a dam break scenario. Often operators also need to determine the significance of their dam releases in relation to impacts from natural flood events.
Assessing the potential for tail-water scour downstream of a dam is a key issue in hydro projects. Dam failure due to poorly designed spillways and forebays can result in significant loss of life and property. Furthermore, dams often withdraw water from the hypolimnion where dissolved oxygen levels are lower, impacting water quality in the tailwater.
Engineers often need to consider a range of layouts for hydropower intake design. The optimal design can depend on a range of factors including the type, number and location of intake structures.
Coastal waters and estuaries, as well as dams and rivers, are environments with significant impact on the regional economic and recreation activities as well as bio-diversity. These systems have a great range of…
Offshore energy activities can pose significant risk to the environment as demonstrated by Deepwater Horizon and many other historic oil spills. These spills can kill marine mammals and fish and contaminate their food supply for extended periods of time. Determining the transport and fate of spilled oil and/or oil spill responsiveness planning is a pressing need.
Dredging is commonly undertaken to provide deep enough water for vessels to transit safely into, out of, and around harbors by maintaining the depths of navigation channels and berths. Sediment can consist…
Erosion of shorelines can be a significant problem in both open and confined waters. Natural events such as rainfall and run-off, and large ships navigating restricted waterways can cause sediment resuspension….
Extreme weather events such as flooding, hurricanes and storm surge put extra pressure on coastal defenses and adjoining regions. Forecasting and warning services for natural disasters can help save lives but often require installation of flood forecasting and warning systems, along with decision support systems.
Salinity intrusion is of growing concern in many regions where natural fresh water flows are impacted because of direct human activity such urbanization and dam construction, as well as climate change. Mathematical model of these natural systems can be efficiently used for estimating and evaluating the nature of the salinity intrusions on a seasonal and long-term basis.
Changing atmospheric temperatures affects water temperature and has adverse impact on a wide range of aquatic life. Simulation of the thermal regime coupled with forecast temperature scenarios helps regulators minimize the impacts of climate change and evaluate mitigation options.
Adapting to rising sea levels and mitigating the impacts of storm surges and associated flooding is a pressing need in coastal areas.
Salinity intrusion is of growing concern in many regions where natural fresh water flows are impacted because of direct human activity such as urbanization and dam construction, and sea-level rise due to climate change. Estimating and evaluating the nature of the salinity intrusions on a seasonal and multi-year basis is a complicated process for which numerical modeling can bring great benefits.
Instream habitat suitability studies are required for a wide variety of planning applications where aquatic organisms are an important consideration in the decision-making process. At certain flows, for example, the water may be too fast for juvenile fish or velocities may be too high for fish to spawn. At other flows, the water may be too shallow for spawning or suitable spawning gravel may not be covered by water.
Water temperature has significant and systematic effects on biological processes at all levels of organization, from phytoplankton to whole ecosystems. In addition to its own effects, temperature influences several other parameters and can alter the physical and chemical properties of water such as dissolved oxygen and photosynthesis production. Some organisms, particularly aquatic plants, flourish in warmer temperatures, while some fishes such as trout and salmon prefer colder streams.