Research Document - 2012/051

A Physiographic Coastline Classification of the Scotian Shelf Bioregion and Environs: The Nova Scotia Coastline and the New Brunswick Fundy Shore

By M.E. Greenlaw, A.G. Gromack, S.P. Basquill, D.S. MacKinnon, J.A. Lynds, R.B. Taylor, D.J. Utting, J.R. Hackett, J. Grant, D.L. Forbes, F. Savoie, D. Bérubé, K.J. Connor, S.C. Johnson, K.A. Coombs, and R. Henry

Abstract

Physiographic coastline classifications have been developed at a variety of scales for different management purposes. In one of their more common applications, such classifications have been used for predicting spatial patterns in biological populations and communities when relevant data are otherwise absent. A physiographic classification of the coastline in the Scotian Shelf Bioregion is needed for the Government of Canada’s Marine Protected Area network planning process and will support other coastal management initiatives in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, such as the Nova Scotia Coastal Strategy and the implementation of the Coastal Areas Protection Policy for New Brunswick. In the coastal zone, existing classifications are primarily terrestrial and were created using varying approaches, often for single or narrow management applications. The need for a classification of Nova Scotia’s coastline to support a diversity of coastal management initiatives was recognized by several federal and provincial departments involved in coastal management. A working group was formed to develop a new classification for the entire province of Nova Scotia, building upon previous work. The working group includes representatives from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Nova Scotia Environment, the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Dalhousie University. To complete the classification for the rest of the Bioregion, representatives from the New Brunswick Government met to classify the Bay of Fundy. This classification involved a Delphic approach to identify regional-scale coastline classes using physical and oceanographic data including, but not limited to: geological character (bedrock, surficial geology), coastal substrate (intertidal and backshore), shoreline orientation, topography, tidal range, turbidity and coastal geomorphic features (e.g., sand dunes, beaches, estuaries, cliffs). The resulting physiographic classification defines 23 physiographically distinct coastline segments within three larger coastline environments (the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, the Bay of Fundy, and the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence). 

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