Stagiaire : Hugues Chanoine
Lieu : Institute of Biological and Environmental sciences, Aberdeen University, Aberdeen, Ecosse
Durée : 3 mois (juin-août 2009)
Contexte :
The Isle of May is located in the north of the outer Firth of Forth, approximately 8 km off the coast of mainland Scotland. It is just 1.8 km long and less than half a kilometre wide. The island is owned and managed by Scottish Natural Heritage as a National Nature Reserve. During the height of the breeding season, over 200,000 seabirds of 12 species nest on the island, including Puffins (Fratercula arctica), Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa trydactila), Razorbills (Alca torda), Guillemots (Uria aalge), Shags (Phalacrocorax aristotelis), Terns (Sternidae) and Eider Ducks (Somateria mollissima).
Facilities currently use a diesel generator as a power back up. 90% of the power is produced from solar energy. In order to reduce its carbon footprint, the Scottish Natural heritage wants to replace the generator with a tidal energy turbine. Because the island is a natural reserve, it is important that the turbine is installed in a spot where it is efficient and does not interfere with foraging birds.
Therefore the goal of the study carried out by Dr Scott and Tamsin Smith is to characterise the type of tidal flow a range of seabird species will use to forage within. Understanding how birds and seals use the water around the Isle of May will allow a more mechanistic understanding as to how the turbine will affect bird behaviour. It is also important to understand the links between the local weather (winds) and oceanography to be able to predict what climate conditions could affect both turbine efficiency and seabird behaviour.
The study began this year and is due to last three years. This year the objective is to analyse the data collected to see if instruments are collecting the data properly (for example in terms of data collection frequency) and to have a first understanding of if they are at a good place around the island.
Mots-clefs : environnement