Category Archives: PC Students at Race Rocks

Tidal Currents and Current Measurement at Race Rocks

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The current at Race Rocks had just changed to a flood – it would be getting up to 6 knots in a few hours, so it was probably at about 5 knots at this time.

currentnowsTidal Current Predictions for  Race Passage
Prediction: Graph 

 

Race Passage Current tables, 2021

 

 

 

ADCP6Along with the installation of the Tidal Current turbine,  an ADCP was installed to give real time profiles of the Currents at Race Rocks. See the attached file for the type of profile that was generated:Sample of the result of the data analysis at Site 1:

 

sw24mThe Creation of the Race Passage Current Tables

 

 

 

Map of Currents at Race Rocks from ADCP tests

 

 

 

 

awac2See the video on wave and current measurement using the Acoustic Wave and Current instrument.

 

 

waterpropertiesWater Properties in Juan de Fuca

 

 

 

 

cursymbField Lab on Current Studies using Drogues.

 

 

 

tomiondeck1stomiondeck1sOceanographic
Research on Mixing in upwellings
of Race Rocks

 

 

kallesKalle Kallestrom’s essay on The biotic associations on the Current meter Block

 

 

 

deweysStratified Tidal Flow over a Bump
Richard Dewey,et al–Interactions of stratified flow on an isolated topographic feature: a bump to the east of Race Rocks.

 

ebbs MATLAB charts of barotropic currents to the east of Race Rocks.

 

 

 

generatorsLink to the Tidal Current Power Project

 

Archived Video on History of Race Rocks.

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 Demolition at Race Rocks: Shows the stone building originally built at the base of the tower and the wooden foghorn tower. Both removed in the ’60’s and 70’s. See this file on the foghorns.  Darcy Mathews explains his research on Burial Cairns at Race Rocks to the Anthroplogy students from Pearson College.

Rusted parts of the old boiler from the engine room are carried up to a
collection of other old parts stored at the base of the tower.

History of Race Rocks with early photos.

Video of Substrate at Tidal Current Energy Site

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Chris Blondeau and Juan Carlos do another video of the substrate at the site of the piling installation prior to the pile drilling operation for the Tidal Current Energy Project. They document some of the species of hydroid, colonial ascidian and sponges which grow on the giant barnacles in the area. March 29, 2006.

Note: The video pauses on each clump in order to have a better view.

 

 

Turbine Site Hydroid Survey- 2006

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Chris Blondeau and Juan Carlos Yabar, did this survey to document the Invertebrates, particularly hydroids,sponges and colonial tunicates in the are where the turbine Piling was to be installed later in the year.

See other archived video with Pearson College Divers

Salinity as an Abiotic Factor

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Jeremias tests the salinity using a hydrometer. This manual method has been used at Race Rocks from 1935 until more recent years when a digital salinometer has been used.

 

 

 

For monthly records of Salinity refer to :

https://www.racerocks.ca/?s=Salinity&submit=Search

 

“During our project week at Race Rocks, Mike Slater, the Race Rocks Marine Protected Area Guardian asked us if we could make a video explaining the daily duties necessary to maintain the facility. Students who are relieving on the island during Mike’s absence will be able to use this data as a guide for performing their duties, as well as providing a useful information resource for students visiting the island.

These duties include two daily engine checks, a salinity check one hour before high tide, and keeping a record of the days weather, as well as explaining the functions and instructions for testing machinery located on the island.”

ABIOTIC EFFECTS OF SALINITY ON ORGANISMS

Organisms which live in Tidepools have to withstand changing salinities which may range from 0 parts per thousand to over 100 parts per thousand. Here is an example of an algae that in the summer lives in concentrated brine of the evaporated tidepool number 7.

 

 

Rob measures salinity with the salinometer in tidepool Number 4..This file shows the results that one class in environmental systems got when measuring the salinities of tidepools. Note there can be quite a variation in both temperature and salinity, depending on the elevation of the pool and therefore the frequency of flooding from the ocean.

Mean Monthly Sea Surface Salinity at Race Rocks-1936 to present .

Two decades of mean monthly Salinity records are compared in the following investigation.

Salinity Comparisons for 2 Decades
There are a number of interesting features of the two decades almost 50 years apart.

Some open-ended questions that you may wish to pursue:

  1. How do the individual months compare?
  2. Is there any evidence of a trend that distinguishes the earlier decade from the most recent one?
  3. Is there any evidence of a trend that distinguishes one period of the year from another?
  4. What could be the cause of any observable trends?
  5. Does geographic location of Race Rocks provide an answer to any findings?
  6. See the work done on comparing sea temperature from two decades for some other ideas.
  7. What would the graphs look like if you took the means of each month from the two decades and plotted them ?

You may also see the the raw data used to make the graphs in the two tables below. It may be useful in this format to clip and paste into an EXCEL workbook for further analysis. If you come up with any other interesting analysis of the data from this exercise or from looking at the complete data archive. We would be interested in carrying it attached to this page.

Raw Data 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951
Jan. 31.1 31.4 31.5 31.3 31.1 31.6 31 31.3 31.1 30.2
Feb. 30.9 31.3 31.5 31.2 31.2 31.2 31.4 31.5 31.1 30.2
Mar. 31.4 31.6 31.7 31.5 31.1 31.5 31.4 31.3 30.7 30.6
Apr. 31.5 31.2 31.9 31.5 31.4 31.7 31.5 31.5 31 31.3
May 31.5 31.5 31.7 31.7 31.3 31.6 31.3 31.3 31.3 31.5
June 31.6 31.5 32.1 31.6 31 31.2 30.8 31.2 31.3 31.1
July 31.2 31.3 31.8 31.5 30.7 31.4 30.4 31.8 30.9 31.3
Aug. 31.1 31.1 31.8 31.5 30.9 31 31.1 31.5 31 31.2
Sept. 31.3 31.1 31.7 31.6 31.4 31.4 31.1 31.4 31.1 31.5
Oct. 31.7 31.4 31.6 31.8 31.5 31.6 31.1 31.5 31 31.6
Nov 31.7 31.5 31.7 31.8 31.8 31.2 31.4 31.5 30.9 31.5
Dec 31.4 31.6 31.4 31.5 31.2 31.3 31 31 30.3 31.1
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Jan. 30.6 30.5 30.8 31.3 30.8 31 30.9 30.9 30.79 30.6
Feb. 30.3 30.3 30.8 31.1 30.8 30 30.7 30.5 30.23 30.7
Mar. 30.4 30.5 30.9 31.6 31.1 30.9 30.9 31 31.19 30.8
Apr. 30.5 30.6 31.1 31.8 31.3 30.7 31.1 31.1 31.2 30.8
May 31 30.7 31 31.7 31.4 31.1 31.2 31.1 31.07 30.8
June 30.6 30.7 30.9 31.8 31.3 30.7 31.3 31.1 31.07 30.8
July 30.8 30.2 30.5 31.4 30.8 31.1 31.1 30.8 30.81 30.6
Aug. 30.9 30.2 30.7 31.3 30.7 31.2 31.3 30.8 31 30.4
Sept. 31 30 30.7 31.3 31.2 31.4 31.4 31.1 31.46 30.7
Oct. 31.3 30.7 30.9 31.6 31.3 31.6 31.1 31.4 31.54 31.2
Nov. 31.2 31.2 31.2 31.4 31.7 31 31.1 31.18 31.15 31
Dec. 30.7 30.7 31.3 31 31.4 31 31.1 31.22 30.9 31

TIDAL CURRENT :RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR RACE ROCKS

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Complete Video Coverage of the Announcement at Pearson College

 TV and Print Media Coverage of the event.

Press Release : CANA PARTNERS TO ENABLE PEARSON COLLEGE – ENCANA – CLEAN CURRENT TIDAL POWER DEMONSTRATION PROJECT AT RACE ROCKS, BC Victoria

– Thanks to an innovative partnership between Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific, EnCana Corporation and Clean Current Power Systems Incorporated, Canada’s first free-stream tidal power project will be built at the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve, offshore of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The project will enable the world famous marine park to tap into surrounding ocean currents and convert tidal energy to electric power for its needs beginning in early 2006. Making the announcement were:
Gwyn Morgan, President and CEO of EnCana,
Glen Darou, President and CEO of Clean Current,
Richard Neufeld, British Columbia Minister of Energy and Mines,
and Stuart Walker, Director of Pearson College.

 

Gwyn Morgan

Gwyn Morgan

Officially known as the “Pearson College – EnCana – Clean Current Tidal Power Demonstration Project at Race Rocks,” the project is enabled by a $3-million investment from the EnCana Environmental Innovation Fund. “EnCana is pleased to be a partner in this first-class, alternative energy project,” said Morgan. “Our investment in this B.C.-based unconventional environmental and power technology reflectsour desire to tangibly encourage innovative energy solutions.” EnCana’s Environmental Innovation Fund was established to advance new technologies and solutions that improve environmental performance associated with consuming and producing energy. Commercial proceeds from financed projects will be re-invested into the fund to ensure their sustainability.

 

Richard Neufeld

“The commitment by Premier Campbell in promoting alternative energy sources has helped British Columbia become a world leader in sustainable environmental management,” said Neufeld. “The province commends projects like this one, as they show our commitment to developing clean energy solutions that will benefit all British Columbians.” The multi-year demonstration project will involve the installation, operation and monitoring of a 65kW free-stream tidal turbine generator in the water near Race Rocks, a provincial ecological reserve located 10 nautical miles southwest of Victoria.

Glen Darou

Clean Current is a private British Columbia-based company that designs and licenses technology that efficiently converts the energy of tidal currents into electricity. Clean Current’s proprietary technology consists of a horizontal-axis ducted turbine with a direct-drive variable speed permanent magnet generator. The turbine generator is equally efficient in both directions as the tidal currents reverse twice each day. “This Canadian technology is simple, efficient and environmentally friendly,” said Darou. “We believe it is highly exportable technology, with strong potential to succeed in international settings. Our company is delighted to have the support of EnCana, Pearson College, and technical partners AMEC, Powertech Labs Inc. and Triton Consultants Ltd.”

Pearson College, one of ten United World Colleges worldwide, is the custodian of the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve, located three nautical miles from campus. Diesel-powered generators currently provide electricity requirements at the reserve. Students and staff will work elements of the tidal power demonstration project into their studies. “This is a terrific project for Pearson College, in that it supports our goal of making the ecological reserve a showcase for alternative, low-impact technologies such as tidal power,” said Walker. “We would like to thank Clean Current for their commitment to developing the technology and EnCana for the financial support that is making this demonstration project possible.”

Second Year Pearson College student Alyssa Holland (year 30) concluded the presentation , by thanking the speakers. As a student involved in Environmental Systems and the diving program, she shared the enthusiasm she has for the resources of the area and emphasized the great importance she and other students attach to the effort of those involved in this project in the ongoing goal of producing energy sustainably.

Dave Skilling

Communications Coordinator
Lester B. Pearson College
250-391-2479
www.pearsoncollege.ca
www.racerocks.ca

 

Elassochirus tenuimanus The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthroppoda
Class Malacostraca
Order Decapoda
Family Paguridae
Genus Elassochirus
Species tenuimanus
Common Name: Wide-hand hermit crab

In this video, Elassochirus has been disturbed from eating a limpet (Collisella instabilis). It recovers and returns to eating. Note the colouration of the appendages of the hermit crab. Also note that one arm is much wider than the other. The Collisella which normally has a pale shell, is encrusted with the pink algae Lithothamnion.

General Description:
Named as wide-hand, this species hermit crab has a large and flattened right side of chela, carpus and propodus more than its left side. The right cheliped has a wider carpus than it is long. The walking legs have colours of white, reddish brown and purplish-blue on its merus.

Size:
The exterior length is up to 42 mm (1.6 inches).

Natural History, Habitat and geographical and depth range:
Mud, sand, shell bottoms, and especially rocks. The depth range is intertidal (infrequently) to 388 m (1272 feet). For the geographical range, the hermit crab lives in Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, from Alaska to Washington, and the northwestern Pacific.
Ovigerous females in Washington usually appear from August to May.  Larvae produce from March to May and Planktonic are in last months of the year.

Behavior
When the animal retreats inside, the right claw is used to block the access to the shell itself. The crab bents this claw beneath the body while walking.

References:
– Pacific Coast Crab and Shrimps, Gregory C. Jensen; Sea Challengers Monterey, California, 1995.

– Marine Invertebrate of the Pacific Northwest, Eugene N. Kozloff; University of Washington Press, Seattle and London, 1996.

http://people.wwc.edu/staff/cowlda/KeyToSpecies/Arthropoda/Crustacea/Malacostraca/Eumalacostraca/
Eucarida/Decapoda/Anomura/Family_Paguridae/Elassochirus_tenuimanus.html

 

Substrate analysis for the Tidal Energy Project

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Chris Blondeau and Juan Carlos video the substrate at the site of the tidal energy piling installation. This is prior to the pile drilling operation for the Pearson College-ENCANA_Clean Current Demonstration Tidal Current Energy Project. They find bedrock in the area 30 cm under the surface at a depth of 24 meters of water.


See other archived video with Pearson College Divers

Invertebrate Scenes from the video:

metrid2

Metridium anemone with hydrocoral

hydroid

Hydroids

cribrinopsis

Cribrinopsis anemone and brooding anemones

bloodstar

Blood star and yellow sponge
generatorsLink to the Integrated Energy Project at Race Rocks

the Racerocks.com Activity 2004-2005

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The racerocks.com  activity was designed to accommodate those students who had an interest in internet technology and webcasting live activities from Race Rocks and from  Pearson College Campus. This set of photos show some of their activities 

The Race Rocks Weather Station

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October, 2005 Chinyere and Juan Carlos inspect the Davis Weather Instrument that we have installed at Race Rocks for real-time monitoring and archiving of meteorological events.

 

Several individuals and groups have helped us in implementing this weather station. In particular we must mention the anonymous gifting to Race Rocks of two G4 Computers from our friend Julia from Boston. The weather instrument console originally interfaced with one of these computers and regularly transmitted the data by FTP to the Telus internet server.  Now a computer supplied by Pearson College transmits this data to a different server used by this website.
Thanks also to Mike Slater for an excellent job of installing the mast and the conduit for the instrument, and for the remote help in keeping the software running through our internet connection.

Funding of the weather instrument and installation work was originally funded byThe B.C. Ministry of Energy and Mines to assist in the upgrading of Internet services from the Island and to up-date monitoring of the environmental factors as part of the Pearson College, ENCANA, Clean Current Demonstration Tidal Power Project.

You may be able to find a Davis Weather Instrument in your neighbourhood too !

Imagine my surprize in April 2007 when I came across this Davis Weather Instrument operating behind the Bayon Temple at the Angkor Wat World Heritage Site in Cambodia.