Numerical simulations of the spread of floating passive tracer released at the Old Harry prospect
The Gulf of St Lawrence is under immediate pressure for oil and gas exploration, particularly at the Old Harry prospect. A synthesis of the regulatory process that has taken place over the last few years indicates that important societal decisions soon to be made by various ministries and environmen...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/5/054001 https://doaj.org/article/52055c4b750c4d4d865706d359d1d5c7 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:52055c4b750c4d4d865706d359d1d5c7 2023-09-05T13:21:14+02:00 Numerical simulations of the spread of floating passive tracer released at the Old Harry prospect Daniel Bourgault Frédéric Cyr Dany Dumont Angela Carter 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/5/054001 https://doaj.org/article/52055c4b750c4d4d865706d359d1d5c7 EN eng IOP Publishing https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/5/054001 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/9/5/054001 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/52055c4b750c4d4d865706d359d1d5c7 Environmental Research Letters, Vol 9, Iss 5, p 054001 (2014) spill Old Harry Gulf of St. Lawrence surface currents dispersion policy and law Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 article 2014 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/5/054001 2023-08-13T00:37:22Z The Gulf of St Lawrence is under immediate pressure for oil and gas exploration, particularly at the Old Harry prospect. A synthesis of the regulatory process that has taken place over the last few years indicates that important societal decisions soon to be made by various ministries and environmental groups are going to be based on numerous disagreements between the private sector and government agencies. The review also shows that the regulatory process has taken place with a complete lack of independent oceanographic research. Yet, the Gulf of St Lawrence is a complex environment that has never been specifically studied for oil and gas exploitation. Motivated by this knowledge gap, preliminary numerical experiments are carried out where the spreading of a passive floating tracer released at Old Harry is examined. Results indicate that the tracer released at Old Harry may follow preferentially two main paths. The first path is northward along the French Shore of Newfoundland, and the second path is along the main axis of the Laurentian Channel. The most probable coastlines to be touched by water flowing through Old Harry are Cape Breton and the southern portion of the French Shore, especially Cape Anguille and the Port au Port Peninsula. The Magdalen Islands are less susceptible to being affected than those regions but the probability is not negligible. These preliminary results provide guidance for future more in-depth and complete multidisciplinary studies from which informed decision-making scenarios could eventually be made regarding the exploration and development of oil and gas at the Old Harry prospect in particular and, more generally, in the Gulf of St Lawrence. Article in Journal/Newspaper Newfoundland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Magdalen ENVELOPE(17.098,17.098,69.017,69.017) Old Harry ENVELOPE(-54.781,-54.781,49.733,49.733) Environmental Research Letters 9 5 054001 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
spill Old Harry Gulf of St. Lawrence surface currents dispersion policy and law Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
spellingShingle |
spill Old Harry Gulf of St. Lawrence surface currents dispersion policy and law Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 Daniel Bourgault Frédéric Cyr Dany Dumont Angela Carter Numerical simulations of the spread of floating passive tracer released at the Old Harry prospect |
topic_facet |
spill Old Harry Gulf of St. Lawrence surface currents dispersion policy and law Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
description |
The Gulf of St Lawrence is under immediate pressure for oil and gas exploration, particularly at the Old Harry prospect. A synthesis of the regulatory process that has taken place over the last few years indicates that important societal decisions soon to be made by various ministries and environmental groups are going to be based on numerous disagreements between the private sector and government agencies. The review also shows that the regulatory process has taken place with a complete lack of independent oceanographic research. Yet, the Gulf of St Lawrence is a complex environment that has never been specifically studied for oil and gas exploitation. Motivated by this knowledge gap, preliminary numerical experiments are carried out where the spreading of a passive floating tracer released at Old Harry is examined. Results indicate that the tracer released at Old Harry may follow preferentially two main paths. The first path is northward along the French Shore of Newfoundland, and the second path is along the main axis of the Laurentian Channel. The most probable coastlines to be touched by water flowing through Old Harry are Cape Breton and the southern portion of the French Shore, especially Cape Anguille and the Port au Port Peninsula. The Magdalen Islands are less susceptible to being affected than those regions but the probability is not negligible. These preliminary results provide guidance for future more in-depth and complete multidisciplinary studies from which informed decision-making scenarios could eventually be made regarding the exploration and development of oil and gas at the Old Harry prospect in particular and, more generally, in the Gulf of St Lawrence. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Daniel Bourgault Frédéric Cyr Dany Dumont Angela Carter |
author_facet |
Daniel Bourgault Frédéric Cyr Dany Dumont Angela Carter |
author_sort |
Daniel Bourgault |
title |
Numerical simulations of the spread of floating passive tracer released at the Old Harry prospect |
title_short |
Numerical simulations of the spread of floating passive tracer released at the Old Harry prospect |
title_full |
Numerical simulations of the spread of floating passive tracer released at the Old Harry prospect |
title_fullStr |
Numerical simulations of the spread of floating passive tracer released at the Old Harry prospect |
title_full_unstemmed |
Numerical simulations of the spread of floating passive tracer released at the Old Harry prospect |
title_sort |
numerical simulations of the spread of floating passive tracer released at the old harry prospect |
publisher |
IOP Publishing |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/5/054001 https://doaj.org/article/52055c4b750c4d4d865706d359d1d5c7 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(17.098,17.098,69.017,69.017) ENVELOPE(-54.781,-54.781,49.733,49.733) |
geographic |
Magdalen Old Harry |
geographic_facet |
Magdalen Old Harry |
genre |
Newfoundland |
genre_facet |
Newfoundland |
op_source |
Environmental Research Letters, Vol 9, Iss 5, p 054001 (2014) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/5/054001 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/9/5/054001 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/52055c4b750c4d4d865706d359d1d5c7 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/5/054001 |
container_title |
Environmental Research Letters |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
054001 |
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1776201826658418688 |