Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Ship Time

Two primary classes of rifted continental margins, volcanic and non-volcanic, have been recognized based on the amount of volcanism that occurs during lithospheric extension. The Nova Scotia margin is located in a unique position bounding volcanic margins to its south and non-volcanic margins to its north, providing an opportunity to study the nature of the transition between the two margin types. Major structures within crystalline basement offshore Nova Scotia have been imaged on multi-channel seismic reflection profiles, recently made available to us, that may be related to this transition. The volcanic to non-volcanic margin boundaries, in addition, are coincident with significant changes in sedimentary structures. We propose to conduct geophysical measurements, including two seismic refraction lines and the completion of four marine heat flow transects, on profiles across and along the Nova Scotia continental slope to better understand the nature of the transitional structures, including their potential influence on the generation of hydrocarbon resources. These data are directly related to our Discovery Grant research awards and are specifically required by two other joint research projects that have been funded.