The Scotian Shelf is a geological formation, part of the Continental shelf, located southwest of Nova Scotia, Canada.[1] It covers an area of 120,000 square kilometres (46,000 sq mi),[2] is 700 kilometres (430 mi) long and ranges in width from 120 to 240 kilometres (75 to 149 mi). It has an average depth of 90 metres (300 ft).[3] The Scotian Shelf contains the ecologically important Scotian Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) and the Scotian Shelf Waters (SSW).[4][5][6]
The northeastern boundary is defined by the Laurentian Channel, where it drops off to 400 metres (1,300 ft). Further south is the continental slope, which sharply drops off to a depth of more than 3,000 metres (9,800 ft).[2] The southwestern boundary ends at the Northeast Channel, including the Gulf of Maine.[3]
The Scotian Shelf is characterized by shallow, offshore banks 25 to 100 metres (82 to 328 ft) under the ocean surface, with deep basins and troughs between that vary in depth from 160 to 300 metres (520 to 980 ft).[2][3] These culminate at Sable Island.[2]
A southwesterly ocean current, (occasionally containing runoff from the Gulf of St Lawrence) flows over the inner shelf. The water flow over the banks is weaker and tends have greater variation.[3] The Scotian Shelf contains a canyon called the "Gully", which is more than 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) deep. Currents flow through this canyon southward, mixing offshore waters with the Nova Scotia Current. This causes an increase in biological productivity toward the east, across the Continental Shelf and contains body parts from multiple decades of animals.
The Scotian Shelf is heavily influenced by the Gulf Stream, resulting in a variety of marine species being present which are normally found further south. These appear at regular intervals due to the main current spinning off cores of warm water.[2]
^"Scotian Shelf". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
^ abcdePark Establishment Branch, National Parks Directorate (2006-11-17). "Parks Canada - National Marine Conservation Areas of Canada". Pc.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2007-02-17. Retrieved 2012-05-28.
^ abcdP.C. Smith; R.J. Conover (December 16, 2013). "Scotian Shelf". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2020-05-11. Retrieved 2012-05-28.
^"Scotian Shelf large marine ecosystem". Eoearth.org. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
^"Air-Sea CO2 fluxes on the Scotian Shelf: seasonal to multi-annual variability" (PDF). Ccg.sr.unh.edu. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
^D.W. Townsend. "Biological Importance of Scotian Shelf Water" (PDF). Grampus.umeoce.maine.edu. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
The ScotianShelf is a geological formation, part of the Continental shelf, located southwest of Nova Scotia, Canada. It covers an area of 120,000 square...
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in the Western North Atlantic Ocean, Cape Hatteras to the Southern ScotianShelf." Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science 4 (1983): 46-61, 1 July...
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July 2014 version. 1. Reed D, Plourde S, Cook A, et al. Response of scotianshelf silver hake (merluccius bilinearis) to environmental variability. Fish...
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Sandstrom, H.; Elliott J. (1984). "Internal tide and solitons on the Scotianshelf: A nutrient pump at work". Journal of Geophysical Research. 89 (C4):...
produced natural gas near Sable Island on the edge of the Nova Scotian continental shelf in eastern Canada. SOEP produced between 400 and 500 million cubic...
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