Dr. Tim Webster works at Nova Scotia’s shoreline while conducting coastal zone mapping research. (Photo Courtesy of NSCC)
A closer look beneath the shallow waters off Nova Scotia’s coast may soon be generating a new wave of economic opportunities.
A recent investment of $798,906 by the Nova Scotia Research and Innovation Trust – with matching support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation – is helping Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) researchers capture a treasure trove of information that exists along an elusive area of coastline known as the “white ribbon gap” as a result of the challenges of mapping this area.
The funding will allow Dr. Tim Webster of the College’s Applied Geomatics Research Group (AGRG) to purchase leading-edge equipment and hire staff to carry out advanced mapping in the coastal zone and freshwater environments that make up the “gap.”
Researchers will be able to use the new equipment to map seabed topography by air, unearthing a wealth of data to support initiatives including sustainable harvesting practices, aquatic vegetation health, wave predictions to better define storm surge detail, and nautical hazards plotting.
Technologies Inc. and Nova Scotia Power Inc. (Photo Courtesy of NSCC)
Industry partners in the research project include McGregor GeoScience Ltd., Acadian Seaplants Limited, Leading Edge, Geomatics, GeoNet Technologies Inc. and Nova Scotia Power Inc.
The ocean-based business partners believe the detailed results will allow them to make better decisions about harvesting ocean resources for food and medicine, as well as the planning of coastal developments.
