Measurements of Tidal Current Velocities in the Folda Fjord, Norway, With the Use of a Vessel Mounted ADCP

Measurements of tidal current water velocities is an important first step in evaluating the potential for a tidal site to be used as a renewable energy resource. For this reason, on site measurements are performed at the inlet of a fjord situated at the coast of Norway. The site has an average width of 580 m and a depth of 10–15 m which is narrow and shallow enough to give rise to water velocities that can be of use for energy conversion. With the use of an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) cross-section measurements are conducted along four transects. The measurements covered flood and ebb currents around one tide and the data give a first approximation of the magnitude and distribution of the flow field. Depth averaged mean current velocities are calculated along the transects for horizontal bins with sizes in the order of 50 × 50 m. Maximum mean velocity for the flood currents were 1.31 m/s and 1.46 m/s for the ebb currents. The measurements show that even a small amount of data can give an indication of the potential and characteristics of the site.