Marine radar derived current vector mapping at a planned commercial tidal stream turbine array in the Pentland Firth, U.K.

A marine radar was deployed on a remote clifftop overlooking a 4.8km radius area of the Inner Sound of Stroma in the Pentland Firth for 3 months during spring 2013. The area viewed by the radar includes The Crown Estate lease areas for MeyGen Ltd (Inner Sound of Stroma) and Scottish Power Renewables (Ness of Duncansby), although the data analysis has focussed solely on the MeyGen area. Data were post processed to extract current vector maps based on determining the Doppler shift of sea surface waves by the tidal current. Comparisons between current time series from two Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) surveys and the radar derived data are presented and show excellent correlation. The quality of the data has enabled tidal analyses to be performed and spatial variations in tidal current constituents to be mapped.