Open File 7070

Natural oil seeps are known to occur in offshore basins in Canada, but are still relatively unstudied. No systematic surveys have been carried out for determining natural baselines or to assist with identifying prospective areas for petroleum exploration from locations of seeps. They are of particular interest to the oil and gas industry, northern communities, environmentalists and the public in general. Remote sensing SAR systems are now used routinely to monitor and detect illegal waste oil discharge from vessels, however, SAR hasn’t been used often for locating natural oil seeps in Canada. In the context of Natural Resources Canada GEM-Energy program initiated by the Geological Survey of Canada, this activity has focused on the development of SAR data processing methods to extract and convey location and descriptive information on possible suspected hydrocarbon seeps in northern environments. Hudson Bay, Foxe Basin and Baffin Bay are three priority districts being examined. The principal objective is to create a baseline multi-temporal database of described sea slick features as an aid to understanding the subsurface geology and hydrocarbon potential. Oil and other surfactants have different surface tension than water, often reducing sea surface roughness and lowering backscatter. Dark target look a-likes or false positives, such as weed beds, biogenic materials, grease ice, weather fronts near coastlines, rain cells, current shear zones, and up-welling areas can easily mimic oil and are frequently encountered.

Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Natural Resources (“Canada”), does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information (“Data”) on this map and does not assume any responsibility or liability with respect to any damage or loss arising from the use or interpretation of the Data. The Data on this map are intended to convey the potential for naturally occurring oil seeps and should be used as a guide only.