Dam Stories: Salmon Transport and Robotic Fish

If you’ve ever had a hard time visualizing what happens to salmon that reach a modern dam that is managed to enable migrating fish to return to their natal waters, you’re not alone.  Popular Science just published a new piece on the mechanics of salmon transport, using a recently installed $109-million facility on the Deschutes River as an example.  As the article illustrates, it’s a complicated process.

In a related story, Popular Mechanics author Tom Ferris writes about the robotic fish invented by Tom Carlson, a fisheries specialist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.  Carlson’s device simulated the effects of dams on fish health and enabled engineers to develop turbines that did less damage.

 Photo Credit: Duncan Stephen