Modelling seabed shear stress, sediment mobility, and sediment transport in the Bay of Fundy

Information about seabed stability and sediment dynamics is part of the fundamental geoscience knowledge required for the extraction of tidal energy in the Bay of Fundy and for the integrated management of the Bay. Waves, tidal currents, and wind-driven and circulation currents were obtained from oceanographic models to assess the wave and current processes for the broader Bay of Fundy. The wave and current outputs were coupled with observed grain size in a sediment transport model to predict, for the first time, the seabed shear stresses, sediment mobility, and sediment transport patterns for the entire Bay. The root mean square tidal current, highest in the upper Bay (>1.4 m·s−1), is reduced to moderate in the central Bay (0.5–0.8 m·s−1) and decreases further in the outer Bay (0.2–0.5 m·s−1). The maximum tidal current occurs in the Minas Passage and is >5 m·s−1. The mean significant wave height, in contrast, is the greatest in the outer Bay (∼1.3 m) and gradually decreases to the northeast in the centra...