Study of the Effective Factors on Shelf Currents in the Southern Caspian Sea

The current and wind records and the physical parameter structures such as temperature and salinity in the southwestern part of the Caspian Sea adjacent to Anzali Port were investigated from November 2004 up to the end of January 2005. Results show that, despite the existence of relatively weak winds along the coast in the area, the measurements indicate strong long shore currents. However, when heavy wind tension is observed in the area, then strong currents are also present, which - from the perspective of direction – also have good coordination with the wind. The direction of dominated currents was parallel to the coast from the west to the east. In most cases, the flow rate was identical from the surface to the seabed, and in this condition - because the values of the measured temperature points were almost identical-barotropic currents were present. However, in the autumn at some region, a significant difference was observed between the surface currents and subsurface currents due to temperature differences that affected the density and caused the creation of barocilinic currents. Due to the high velocity of currents compared to wind velocity, and the intense slope of the coast and low-frequency movements in the area, we can hypothesize the existence of motions such as Kelvin waves and conclude that the effect of the wind compared to the other factors of the coastal current in the area was weaker.

Perspectives on offshore wind farms development in Great Lakes

Global warming emissions and carbon dioxide caused by human activities are overloading our atmosphere which cause web of significant and harmful impacts.There are little to no global warming emissions by renewable energy.To date,offshore wind farms generally have been installed in shallow ocean-coastal areas.The Great Lakes with freshwater have shown high potential for installing offshore wind farms,and significant advantages.There are more than 5 offshore windfarms in progress at the end of 2019 in Great Lakes.The object of this study is to present the capacity and prospects of offshore wind farms development in Great Lakes.Also,the power of wind farms,barriers,issues,wind vision,advantages and disadvantages,the criteria related to the location of the offshore wind farms in Great Lakes have been analyzed and presents statistics for decision-makers,interested communities,investors and academic researchers.This paper is among the rare works that have been done in aspect of statistical and data gathering for the wind offshore in Great Lakes as the moratorium in the Canadian side and the difficulties in obtaining permissions in the American side put the offshore wind sector on pause for a long time,and recently(since 2016)it started to get some momentum.The research has been conducted based on the analysis of acts,regulations,the subject’s literature and information from websites.

A Review of Tidal and Wave Energy in Southern Waters of Iran

This paper discussed the historical review and current status of tidal current energy,problems,and challenges in this energy commercialization.Fossil fuels are nonreplicable and also have negative greenhouse effects on the environment,so the world needs new and sustainable energy resources such as the ocean,wind,solar,biofuels,etc.This review paper focused on the initiative tidal current energy technology and efforts in the development of such energy to extract power from.Iran’s southern waters have been selected in this review.Some former projects and studies,current status,and impact of the tidal current and wave energy on the environment and aquatic life are discussed.Also,the limitations,challenges,and problems in the way of using this energy and infrastructure to transfer the generated power such as grid connections are proposed.It is decided that Chabahar,Bushehr,and Khowr-Moussa are the best locations for harnessing tides and wave energy.This study is among the first review of works done in the aspect of the tidal current energy in Iran and the results will help the investors,policymakers,companies,and researchers to have access to a comprehensive list of up-to-date studies and statistics to better understand the current situation to secure the projects in this field.