Gulf of the St. Lawrence: risks

and richness

Names: Emily Farlam-Williams, Patrick Bourgon, Ibrahim Janjua

Class: ENSC 3509

Instructor: Kringen Heinen

Date: November 19, 2015

Introduction

What makes the Gulf of the St. Lawrence so unique?

geology: rich oil deposits

hydrology: mixing of fresh and salt water, cold and warm

water

biology: incredibly species diversity, many unique habitats

social: important for tourism, fishing, one of first places in

Canada to be settled

Introduction (con’t)

Economical significance of the Gulf:

fishing/aquaculture, tourism

Possibility of oil underneath the Gulf makes the area very

appealing

implications of oil drilling?

Overview

Part 1: Geomorphology and Hydrology

geological formation, ocean currents, oil deposits

Part 2: Ecology

biodiversity, some major habitats, anthropogenic pressures

Part 3: Pros/Cons of Off-Shore Oil Drilling

history of oil drilling, economical and social implications

Geomorphology and

Hydrology of the St.

LawrenceSpeaker: Patrick Bourgon

Part 1 Outline

1. Geomorphology of the Gulf of the St. Lawrence

How it formed

Conditions of the sea bottom

2. Oil and Natural Gas

How they originally formed

Where they are and their quantities

3. Hydrology of the Gulf of the St. Lawrence

Watershed of the St. Lawrence river

Warm North Atlantic current

Cold Labrador current

How the Gulf of the St. Lawrence Formed

Formed during last Glaciation

ended about 10 000 yrs ago

Rivers lead to the ocean

i.e. St. Lawrence River

Area of 250 000 squared kilometers

Source: smithsonianmag.com

Conditions of the sea bottom

Ranges from 60m near land to 500m further away

Differences in salinity, sediments

Differences in light concentrations

Source: Wikipedia

How the oil originally formed

Fossil fuels come from

living organisms

Sink to the bottom when

they die

We then extract the fuels

Source: Flickr

Where the oil deposits are and their

quantities

To this date, the exact

locations are not exactly

known

oil companies haven’t been

able to do much research

Site proposed – Old Harry

Highly controversial subject,

lots of debate

Source: www.rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/council-canadians

Hydrology: Watershed

of the St. Lawrence

“Rivers led to the

oceans”

St. Lawrence River

drains into the gulf

Drains 25% of Earth’s

freshwater

Source: www.ec.gc.ca

The North Atlantic Current

Brings warm equatorial

water

Allows for warm water

organisms to live in the

Gulf

i.e. smallmouth and

largemouth bass

Source: www.mountainguides.is

The Labrador Current

Also known as the Gulf

Stream

Brings cold Artic water

Some organisms prefer

cold water

i.e. salmon, trout

Source: Wikipedia

Hydrology of the Gulf of the St.

Lawrence

Mixing of fresh and salt water

Mixing of cold and warm water

Leads to unique ecosystems

Lots of diversity

Source: Wikipedia

Ecology of the

St. LawrenceSpeaker: Emily Farlam-Williams

Part 2 Outline

1. How species rich is the Gulf?

2. Major types of ecosystems:

Terrestrial

Estuarine

Marine

3. Anthropogenic pressures

Just how species rich is the Gulf?

• 6000 species found to breed along the St. Lawrence River in Quebec

• Possibly up to 27 000, most haven’t been recorded yet

• 10% at risk vascular flora

• 27% herpetofauna

• 399 birds

aquatic and terrestrial

Credit: jgbernard (Flikr)

Canada’s contribution to protection

• Signed the Convection of Biological

Diversity (1992) at Rio de Janeiro

• Ocean Act (1996)

defines requirement to

protect species, ecosystems,

overall health of ocean

• Canada still facing same issues as

other nations

overfishing, invasive species,

climate change, etc.

Three major types of habitat in the Gulf

• Terrestrial: shorelines, island archipelagos, forests near the

Gulf, Laurentians/Appalachians

• Estuarine: wetlands, estuaries, delta complexes

• Aquatic/marine: feeder rivers, Atlantic Ocean

Credit: Gail Mooney Credit: Isaac Regional Council Credit: Laura Cooper

Just how big is the St. Lawrence area?

• Drainage basins in Quebec cover 57 000 square kilometers

included are 4000 square kilometers of shoreline, unique

ecosystems, myriad of habitats

• St. Lawrence Estuary one of largest and deepest

nearly 250km long, widens into Gulf at Point-des-Monts

Terrestrial ecosystems

• Analysis of primary breeding habitats of birds

showed:

41% preferred aquatic habitats

36% preferred forested habitats

23% preferred agricultural/urban areas

• Decrease in species richness from upstream to

downstream St. Lawrence

• Cap Tourmente (Laurentians) – very high

biodiversity for herpetofauna, birds and vascular

flora

lots of at risk-species

Credit: Steve Maslowski

Credit: Google man (Wikipedia user)

Estuarine ecosystems

In the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary, spring phytoplankton bloom occurs

relatively late (mid-June)

however high biomass throughout summer months

Estuary significant to Calanus finmarchius production

zooplankton biomass may be influenced by surface circulation

Nitrogen runoff an issue for estuaries

Source: davidsuzuki.org Source: marinespecies.org

Aquatic/marine ecosystems

Atlantic Ocean is important for phytoplankton diversity – total 626 taxa

majority (274) are diatoms

Bay of Fundy: energy from the tides fuels productive and species rich ecosystem

Influences surrounding environment, tourism and fishing industries

Credit: John Clegg

Credit: New Brunswick Tourism and Travel

What pressures do these habitats face?

Little public land remains– difficult to create protected areas

Most threatened species live along narrow piece along river corridor

where most anthropogenic pressure is placed

Population growth and activity has led to decline of riparian habitats

i.e. wetlands

most notable in Montreal Archipelago

Credit: Jean Gagnon

Habitat pressures (continued)

Estuaries at higher risk of algal blooms – can lead

to eutrophication

Possibility of more forest fires (currently an issue

in boreal forests)

Decline of large vertebrates in some areas

Historical data important

most ecological research based in local

studies, short term (i.e. a few years)

majority of studies take place after 1950s, no

long-term perspectives

Credit: St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation

Oil Exploration and its

Impacts on the GulfSpeaker: Ibrahim Janjua

Part 3 Overview

Social, economic and cultural significance

Oil and gas in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence

history of oil exploration

Old Harry Geological Site

Drilling and its impacts

Mitigation

Socioeconomic impacts of oil and gas exploration

Social, economic and cultural

significance

St. Lawrence area can be considered the birthplace of

Canada

Fur trade, shipbuilding and shipping developed.

Fishing and Tourism played an important role in the

past and still does to this date.

Fishing industry makes about $1.5 billion in revenues

per year.

Tourism industry has generated $0.8 billion per year.

Lots of coastal communities depend on it for their

livelihood Source: Rolf Hicker

Oil and Gas in the Gulf of the St.

Lawrence

Source: Hydro-Quebec,2002

History of oil and gas exploration in the

Gulf

10 exploratory wells drilled

from 1942-1996

All of them drilled in the

Madeleine Basin

Environmental assessments

for offshore drillings

mandatory by 2002 in Eastern

Canada

Companies still struggle to

get oil

Source: www.publications.gc.ca

Old Harry Geological Structure

Vast Salt Dome

2/3 of the structure on Quebec Side.

Estimated 1-5 billion barrels alone in Old Harry.

Explanation as to why oil companies are so interested in the Gulf

Source: Modified from Corridor Resources

Exploration Techniques : Seismic

Surveying

Offshore drilling is very expensive, therefore it is important to survey the structures before proceeding.

Seismic surveys consist of large explosive blasts focused on seabed.

This gives us depth, position and shape of geologic formations underneath.

Can go from days to months.Source: www.biologicaldiversity.org

Impacts of Seismic Surveying

Noise from one seismic survey can cover tens of thousands of

km squaredPhysical Impact

Changes in

organisms

physical state.

Physiological Impact

Changes in

biological

functions.

Behavioral Impact

Changes in how organism act.

Source: William Keller

Exploratory Techniques: Exploratory

Drilling

Exploratory drilling is the only

means to determining whether

there is a presence of oil or gas.

One of the riskiest step in the

whole oil and gas exploratory

cycle.

Two of the largest oil spills in

history occurred during the

exploratory drilling phase

Source: Wikipedia

Impacts of Oil Drilling

Oil spill End of endangered species

Sources: NOAA, Brian Skerry

Mitigation

Mitigation measures have been developed to

lessen the impact of seismic surveys.

Planning the seismic survey, establishing safety

zone and measures to detect marine mammals.

For drilling, specialized equipment is introduced.

However, numerous marine mammal specialists

have severely criticized these mitigation

measures.

Socioeconomic Impacts of Oil and Gas

Activities

This is an important topic of debates to see how much

influence certain factors have on the economy and whether it

benefits society

Cost Jobs Fishing Industry

Sources: Eric,Daniel,shutterstock.com

Conclusion

From a geological and

ecological standpoint, the

Gulf of the St. Lawrence is

incredibly unique

When considering the

implications of oil drilling

in the Gulf, it was

determined that there are

more negatives than

positivesSource: boatingtales.com

Future Areas of Research

Ecology of estuaries, coastlines and ocean near the Gulf

and how human pressures are influencing them

Oil deposits – more exact location, amount, quality and quantity

A thorough cost-benefit analysis on the economic impact of oil drilling

Thank you!

Any questions?

Source: bradscribe.wordpress.com