Research

  

GaSP Objectives & Goals

(1) Identify mitigation opportunities, which are presently undefined for the Maritimes. Conduct a Field Research and Development project that results in atmospheric methane emission inventory estimates for legacy fossil resource extraction sites in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. 

(2) Conduct a techno-economic assessment of methane mitigation potential, and construct a Phase II project focusing on mitigation tests and R&D. 

(3) Where possible acquire our data with promising new technologies and methodologies from local SMEs, and provide them with valuable corroborating data to assist in product validation. 

Current Research (Phase I) 

GaSP has identified 5 potential methane emitting sites:

Nova Scotia (Coal Mines)

  • Joggins
  • Stellarton
  • Springhill Mines 
  • Sydney Basin (Cape Breton)

New Brunswick (Oil and Gas Field)

  • Stoney Creek Oil and Gas Field

An aspect of Phase I is to identify the best approach and methodology for evaluating methane emissions from potential emitting sites. Our team of researchers and industry partners have developed various methodologies of quantifying methane emissions from potential sites. This includes both surface emission and groundwater geochemical analysis assessments. Surficial indicators of potential emitting sites are also used to assess the environmental stresses that methane emissions may incur on local biota, and are used to provide a baseline for future post-mitigation site evaluation (Phase 2/3).