OCEANS, LAKES & RIVERS.   INNOVATION, EXCELLENCE & SERVICE.

Great Lakes Data in Offshore Wind ApplicationsAndrew McGillisDetroit, MI21 June 2011

Outline• Introduction to Baird’s Perspective• OW Backgrounder & Study Scales• Required Data• Substrate, wind, hydrodynamics, waves,

ice, morphology, overlay linkages• Further Data Needs• Limits of Capabilities / Challenges

Baird & Associates• Coastal, ocean and river engineering

consultants• Canadian firm founded in 1981 • 75 people with offices in Canada,

U.S.A, Chile, Barbados, UAE, and Australia.

• Recognized worldwide for innovative, ecologically sensitive, and cost-effective solutions

Offshore Wind Experience• Regulatory

• MMS in US for OCSimpacts• Great Lakes Impacts

(Ontario MNR)• EIS on Bay of Fundy• Review of submitted

EIS for CA• Developers

• Two developers on Great Lakes• Design of foundations in Baltic Sea• Four potential developments on US Atlantic

Coast

UpstreamPressureSurface

DownstreamPressureSurface

DragSurface

SliceThickness

SliceThickness

Dslice

Dslice

Denotes locations wherePressure or velocity is taken

UpstreamPressureSurface

DownstreamPressureSurface

DragSurface

SliceThickness

SliceThickness

Dslice

Dslice

Denotes locations wherePressure or velocity is taken

Offshore Wind Backgrounder

• Immediate future:• Monopiles and GBS

• Long term:• Jackets, tripods, floaters

Physical Study Scales• Far-field, Near-field, Local near-field

These scales are selected for coastal engineering purposes… there could be different ones for different studies

Required DataSiting EA Design Ops

Substrate Information Bed Morphology ~Shoreline Morphology ~Wind Climate Wave Climate Lake Levels ~Hydrodynamics Ice Conditions

Utility Infrastructure Fisheries ~Avian Demands ~UXO ~Archaeological Navigation ~

Overlays

Bed & Sediment

Issues

Data Type

Metocean Issues

Lakebed Characteristics

EA

& D

esig

n

S

iting

• (Bathymetry)• Grab samples• Shallow cores• GSC/USGS atlas

and datasets

• Sidescan• Grabs & full cores

at each foundation location

Wind Climate• Many options at

regional scale• LS Anemometers• Buoys• Wind Field Data• Atlases

• Also need site-specific measurement

How it’s Used:• Siting (critical)• Development of Wind

Fields• Business Models• Design (hub height and loads)• Wave hindcasting• Hydrodynamic and ice forcing• Real-time operations (forecast)

Wave Climates• Moderately well

understood• Observations are still

critical to our understanding

• Wind-driven• Data Sources:• Buoys• Hindcasted data• Need measurements

at site

How it’s Used:• Design• Wave loads (ULS, FLS)• Navigation conditions• Driving force for sed. trans.

• Operations• Access restrictions

Wave Climates (Challenges)• Site-specific spectra• Lack of winter

observations• Changed buoys• 12m Discus is too

large• Great Lakes are

fundamentally different

Hydrodynamics• Extensively studied

and modelled• Wind and gravity

driven • Relatively easy to

measure in field• Difficult to calibrate

at a site• Need 3D models• Far-field models

such as the POM exist

How it’s Used:• Siting and design• Not critical

• EA, Construction, and Operations• Turbidity• Spill response

Ice Climate• Some elements are

captured• GLERL (NIC), CIS• Ice coverage

• Some elements are not well captured• Ice type• Thicknesses• Scour• Short-term motions

How it’s Used:• Design• Critical (ULS, FLS, Dynamics)

• Operations• Winter access challenges

Morphology• Far-field

• Site specific – normallynone

• Near-field• Global scour and migration

• Local near-field• Local scour (3-5 m change)

• Mitigated with protection

What we have:• Field sheets, charts,

GEODAS

Data Needs (Next Steps)• Ice Data

• Thickness stations closed• Ice scour• Resolution• Climate change

• Temporal bed feature morphology

• Winter events• Uncertainty• Bed-mounted instruments

• Navigation Data• Traffic• Accidents

Implementation:(from an offshore wind perspective)

• BOEMRE Marine Cadastre

Incorporate: Uncertainty and Climate

Change

(Pushing the) Limits of CapabilitiesRisk-Based Design• Monte Carlo, Bayesian• Isolate uncertainties• Include climate change

Spill & Event Modeling• Linkages to real-time

datasets• Supports construction and

operations• Multiple transport

mechanisms

Linkages to Bio-indicators• Stable Isotope Analyses• Link physics to biological

demands

Climate Change• Great Lakes scale estimates

are now available• Still a lot of uncertainty• We can include this

• Data Impacts: winds, waves, ice, lake levels

Thanks!

Andrew McGillisamcgillis@baird.com

(905) 845-5385