Marine Geology in Atlantic Canada—A Government Perspective

Abstract

The two priorities for government marine geoscience over the next decades are: (1) seabed mapping for ocean management, including safe and sustainable use of natural resources; and (2) societal responses in the coastal zone to natural hazards, global climate change and anthropogenic pressures including environmental degradation. Meeting these priorities will require scientific study of the history of past glaciations; erosion, transport and flocculation processes of sea-floor sediments, particularly of muds; and sediment transport and deposition and their interaction with environmental quality in estuarine systems, including the role of ice and storms. Numerical models are required to predict the consequences of natural rise in sea level and human interference in coastal systems and for predictive decision making in ocean management. Three recent revolutionary developments in technology will influence how science is done: these are the development of Global Positioning Systems (GPS), of multibeam sonar, and of digital data collection, storage and dissemination. However, other capital acquisitions and technological developments are necessary. These include new ships, expanded multibeam capability, and underwater autonomous vehicles. New photographic/video systems will provide resolution higher than that of multibeam bathymetry. In the coastal zone, remote sensing tools such as Light Detection And Ranging (Lidar) and kinematic GPS will accelerate monitoring of coastal change. Cabled seabed observatories will provide time series and real-time information on extreme events. Research boreholes are essential to understand geological framework.