Oil and gas deposits are found beneath Canada's continental shelf and slope, but severe weather and geological conditions make these remote resources among the most challenging in the world to extract. Some of these energy resources will remain untouched unless they can be produced safely and cost-effectively. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) conducts geoscience research to ensure that geological risks and hazards are properly understood and predicted prior to designing or approving plans to develop and extract offshore energy resources.
The Bay of Fundy, famous for the highest recorded tides in the world (17 metres), is home to rich fisheries and significant tidal power potential. There are currently plans to utilize this renewable tidal energy source, but a better understanding of the bay's underwater geography is needed to identify safe and suitable turbine locations. Natural Resources Canada's Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) has responded to this need by mapping the Bay of Fundy seabed, providing geological maps and knowledge to guide tidal power generation decisions and aid efforts to manage the bay's biological resources.
The continental shelf is an underwater extension of land that can stretch out to sea for many kilometres. Government scientists are studying the Canadian continental shelf in the Atlantic Ocean as part of the Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) Program, a large initiative set up to identify characteristics of the shelf under the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. The aim of the Program is to define the outer limits of the shelf where it extends beyond 200 nautical miles (NM) from coastal baselines, thereby determining with precision where Canada may exercise its existing sovereign rights over the natural resources of the seabed and subsoil. The scientific data collected as part of this initiative will be used for Canada's submission to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS).
The environmental effects of early gold production in Canada were unregulated. Many abandoned mine sites are now contaminated with metals and other potentially hazardous substances because of poorly controlled waste disposal. Recent studies in Nova Scotia by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and its partners are helping to characterize the environmental and human health hazards associated with these historical mine wastes.
Placentia Bay, in Newfoundland, is an environmentally sensitive area, hosting a diverse marine ecosystem. It is fringed by small coastal communities which rely on the adjoining waters for their livelihood. It is also the scene of significant industrial activities including oil refineries, a shipyard, and a mineral refining plant. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is producing a new series of ocean-floor maps, based on multibeam sonar technology, a technique of reflecting many “beams” of sound off of the ocean floor to produce images. These maps will assist ocean sector industries, such as oil and gas and telecommunications, to locate safe and appropriate places to lay underwater equipment. They will also help improve fishing industry efficiency and management practices.
Sea levels along Nova Scotia have been rising for thousands of years and most shorelines are retreating and migrating landward. Responsible coastal development must account for natural rates and processes of shoreline change to avoid costly damage and adverse alteration to natural shoreline processes.
Canada and many other nations need a stable and secure supply of oil and natural gas; this has led to increased exploration, including around Atlantic Canada. Exploring for petroleum in the offshore is very costly, therefore a good understanding of the regional geology and petroleum systems is necessary to improve the chance of successfully finding oil and gas. Researchers at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) are studying the subsurface beneath the continental shelves and slopes of Atlantic Canada to better understand how these regions were formed and to identify areas with oil and gas potential.
Canada is a coastal state, bordering three oceans, the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic. About 40% of Canada’s territory lies beyond the coast line beneath the sea and extends to 200 nautical miles (nm) offshore. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) coastal states that have a wide continental margin, like Canada, can obtain sovereign rights over an area beyond the 200 nm - the extended continental shelf. This will give Canada the exclusive rights to the resources on and below the seabed in this area.
The continental shelf is an underwater extension of land that can stretch out to sea for many kilometres. Canadian scientists are studying the Canadian continental shelf in the Arctic as part of the Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) Program, a large research initiative set up to identify characteristics of the shelf under the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. The scientific data collected by this study will be required for Canada's submission to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), the aim of which is to define the outer limits of the shelf where it extends beyond 200 nautical miles from coastal baselines.
