Knowing that time and tide wait for no woman Christelle Auguste seized a chance to renew her love of the ocean and move to Tasmania to begin a PhD at the Australian Maritime College in November 2017.

Now the French national’s passion has been rewarded with a $14,000 Laurie Prandolini Research Fellowship from the London-based Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology.

She will use the award funding to further her studies into the effect of tidal energy turbines on sediment movement and  the undersea environment.

Christelle grew up in Brittany, France playing in rock pools and sailing on the Atlantic Ocean before graduating with a master’s degree in Marine Science from the Seatech School of Engineering /University of Toulon.

After working as a hydraulic engineer with the French national railways (SNCF) for ten years Christelle again felt the pull of the ocean and took the big step to the AMC.

“After ten years I thought okay I did a Master’s degree for one reason and that was because I wanted to work with the ocean-I want to go back,” she said.

“So I took a sabbatical year and I visited good friends in Tasmania and I found the place beautiful, natural  and I thought I love this place.

She said the PhD study allowed her to combine her love of Tasmania with a passion for renewable energy and the ocean.

“ I really want to do something for the planet,” she said.

As part of the PhD she has studied tidal energy in Banks Strait between Clarke Island and Cape Portland in the north east tip of Tasmania and the Clarence Strait, Northern Territory under the auspices of the AUSTen (Australian Tidal Energy) project.

She is a passionately believes in the role of tidal energy to cut greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change.

Her  work is to examine whether a tidal farm in Banks Strait could impact the marine environment, in particular the movement of sediment, rock, gravel and grades of sand on the ocean floor.

Turbines could be as high as 30 metres with a 20-25 metre rotor diameter and have a base that is 25 metres in circumference.

"When multiple devices are present the energy absorption of the farm may affect the natural tidal flow and therefore the sediment transport characteristics," she said.  

“Sediment plays a crucial role in the function of the coastal ecosystem.

She has developed a model of sediment transport which will need to be calibrated.

She will use the funds from the Fellowship to hire a vessel with an echo sounder to survey changes in the movement of undersea sand dunes and calibrate the model.

“We need to assess the sediment movement to see if there is a huge impact on the marine environment,” she said.

“It needs to be proved that there is no harm for the marine environment from a tidal farm.”

She will also present a conference paper in Naples, Italy in September.

Greg Hellessey, chairman of the Management Committee for the Laurie Prandolini Research Fellowship said Christelle was the third straight Australian Maritime College recipient after Fletcher Thompson in 2017 and Jarrah Orphin in 2018.

“Each year IMarEST assesses a number of applications and this year Christelle’s application stood out,” he said.

“Her attention to detail, while clearly and concisely putting forward her argument were certainly factors the Management Committee considered were Christelle’s strengths.

The Laurie Prandolini Research Fellowship (LPRF) was established in 2011 to honour the memory of the late Lawrence Prandolini, OAM, CEng, FIMarEST, MIEAust MRINA.

“Laurie made an outstanding contribution to the maritime community in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific region and in particular to the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and technology (IMarEST), nationally and internationally,” Mr Hellessey said.

The LPRF Award provides an annual grant of up to $7000, for up to two years, to a Doctoral candidate or Post-Doctoral researcher in the maritime domain such as Marine Engineering, Marine Science, or Marine Technology.

Published on: 19 Jul 2019