Beaufort Shelf Seabed Mapping Project
Principal Investigator: Blasco, Steve M (9)
Licence Number: 13532
Organization: Geological Survey of Canada (Atlantic)
Licensed Year(s): 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003
Issued: Aug 19, 2003
Project Team: Dr. Richar

Objective(s): This Beaufort Seabed Mapping Project is designed to assess the environmental impact of offshore hydrocarbon exploration and transportation on the renewable resources of the Beaufort Sea. This project has 3 objectives: 1) seabed sampling using grab samplers and gravity corers to acquire sediment samples for physical property assessment including stratigraphy, grain size, density, strength properties; 2) multibeam and sub-bottom profiling systems testing to determine their impact on the marine mammals in the Beaufort Sea; and 3) multibeam/single beam sonar, sidescan and sub-bottom profiling to map the topography of the seabed, ice scours, mud volcanoes and the stratigraphy of sediments up to 10 m below sea bottom. The Coast Guard vessels CCGS Nahidik and CCGS Sir Wilfred Laurier will be used as research platforms to collect seabed sediment samples and to conduct offshore surveys of the Beaufort Shelf. The overall plan is to conduct a regional survey of the Beaufort Shelf over the next 3 years. Sea-ice and sea-state conditions and the distribution of marine mammals will control the access to research sites on the shelf in any one year. Over the 3-year survey period it is anticipated that all critical areas and features will have been surveyed.