Tidal current predictions Gimsøystraumen, Lofoten, Norway
Dam Engineering is involved in tidal current predictions for generating tidal energy in Gimsøystraumen at the Lofoten in Norway. The client is Norwegian Ocean Power in Oslo. In the first animation below you see the current predictions in Gimsøystraumen over a tidal cycle (12.5 hours) during spring tide conditions.
The model is calibrated and validated agains current observations for one month at Gimsøystraumenbridge. The model has a local resolution of around 20m. This is necessary to be able to predict the currents correctly due to the highly variable coastline and bed level. The model is run in astronomical mode and in a later stage it is run with meteorological forcing (air pressure and wind) from the GFS weather model.
Simulation of currents through Gimsoystraumen at the Lofoten (Norway) from Dam Engineering on Vimeo.
In the second animation below you see the water level over the same tidal cycle of the complete Saltstraumen and Lofoten Model (SALM). The tidal wave that is coming from the south is 'catched' by the Lofoten islands. This causes a water level difference over the islands. This is generating the large tidal currents through the channels between the islands, one of which is the Gimsøystraumen.
Simulation of water level Nordland and Lofoten (Norway) from Dam Engineering on Vimeo.
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