Bay of Fundy

The Bay of Fundy is a bay located on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. A small portion of the northwest corner of the bay's coastline fronts the US state of Maine. The name "Fundy" is thought to date back to the 16th century when the Portuguese referred to the bay as "Rio Fundo" or "deep river".

Tides

Folklore in the Mi'kmaq Nation claims that the tides in the Bay of Fundy are caused by a giant whale splashing in the water. Oceanographers attribute it to tidal resonance resulting from a coincidence of timing: the time it takes a large wave to go from the mouth of the bay to the opposite end and back is the same as the time from one high tide to the next. In fact, the 12.4 hour period of the lunar tides is close to the natural "sloshing" period of the bay.

Related Topics:
Mi'kmaq - Oceanographers - Tidal resonance

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The quest for world tidal dominance has also led to a pseudo-rivalry between the Minas Basin in the Bay of Fundy and the Leaf Basin in Ungava Bay over which water body lays claim to the highest tides in the world, with supporters in each region claiming the record.

Related Topics:
Minas Basin - Ungava Bay

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The Canadian Hydrographic Service finally declared it a statistical tie, with measurements of a 16.8 metre tidal range in Leaf Basin for Ungava Bay and 17 metres at Burntcoat Head, Nova Scotia for the Bay of Fundy.http://www.canadainfolink.ca/pqmap.htm The highest water level ever recorded in the Bay of Fundy system occurred at the head of the Minas Basin on the night of October 4-5, 1869 during a tropical cyclone named the "Saxby Gale". The water level of 21.6 metres resulted from the combination of high winds, abnormally low atmospheric pressure, and a rare alignment of the earth, sun and moon.

Related Topics:
Canadian Hydrographic Service - Metre - Burntcoat Head, Nova Scotia - October 4 - 5 - 1869 - Tropical cyclone - Atmospheric pressure - Earth - Sun - Moon

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It should be noted that Leaf Basin has only been measured in recent years, whereas the Fundy system has been measured for many decades. Tidal experts note that Leaf Basin is consistently higher on average tides than Minas Basin, however the highest recorded tidal ranges ever measured are at Burntcoat Head, and result from spring tides measured at the peak of the tidal cycle every 18 years.

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Tidal electrical power generation

Several proposals to build tidal harnesses for electrical power generation have been put forward in recent decades. Such proposals have mainly involved building barrages which effectively dam off a smaller arm of the bay and extract power from water flow through them.

Related Topics:
Tidal harnesses - Electrical power generation

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One such facility exists, a dam and 18 megawatt generating station on the Annapolis River at Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, but larger proposals have been held back by a number of factors, including environmental concerns. The Annapolis Royal Generating Station has been studied for its various effects, including an accelerated shoreline erosion problem on the historic waterfront of the town of Annapolis Royal, as well as increased siltation and heavy metal and pesticide contamination upstream due to lack of regular river/tidal flushing. There have also been instances where large marine mammals such as whales have become trapped in the head pond after transiting the sluice gates during slack tide.

Related Topics:
Annapolis River - Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia - Whales

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Damming a large arm of the Bay of Fundy would have significant and not well-understood effects both within the dammed bay itself and in the surrounding regions. Intertidal habitats would be drastically affected and a facility would bring the bay closer to resonance, increasing tidal range over a very large area. One effect could be an increase in tidal range of 0.2 m (from approximately 1 m) for certain coastal sites in Maine, possibly leading to flooding.

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There have been proposals in recent years for installing aquanators, the underwater equivalent to windmills, which would not require any damming or blockading of parts of the bay but would instead generate electricity solely by being placed in areas of high water flow, such as at chokepoints or merely along the floor of any part of the bay which sees signficant water movement.

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