Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

The research outlined in this proposal aims to improve our understanding of the interaction of the Saint John River with the Bay of Fundy to explain the movement of sediments and governing currents in the Saint John Harbour, and the impacts of the Port of Saint John's dredging activities on the animals that live in the Harbour. The Port of Saint John has a huge financial investment in maximizing the access to, and use of, the shipping berths. The port lies at the mouth of the Saint John River on the north side of the Bay of Fundy. The Saint John River provides approximately 60% of all the fresh water that drains into the Gulf of Maine, and this fresh water carries a seasonably varying load of suspended sediment. At the river mouth, the Bay of Fundy tides have spring ranges in excess of 7 m and there is known to be significant offshore resuspension of sediment due to wave and tide activity. The fresh water discharge and the offshore tidal forcing and current resuspension combine within the narrow constriction of the inner harbour to create a very complex hydrodynamic regime that controls the level of sedimentation. The intense current regime is a particular complication for safe berthing of vessels and adequate understanding of the sedimentary regime is critical to the Port Authority for dredge volume predictions. Also, insufficient data exist at present to assess potential changes in the environment associated with either present or future dredging activities and deposition of dredged materials. The proposed studies will be important for integrating science into the decision-making process and for ensuring environmental sustainability.