MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Friends of McNabs Island SocietyApril 19, 2011
Climate changes could have an environmental impact on McNabs Island
Halifax: Combining historical documents and up-to-date research, a coastal geoscientist will illustrate the environmental impact of the changing climate on McNabs Island caused by centuries of rising sea levels and erosion at the Society's Annual General Meeting on May 2 at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Gavin Manson is a researcher with the Geological Survey of Canada (Natural Resources Canada). Manson, who is based at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, will discuss his findings from a 15-year investigation of the island's dynamically changing shoreline. He will draw on archival maps and nautical charts that date back to Halifax's founding, aerial photography from the 1930s as well as recent satellite images and bathymetric charts of the seabed.
"Early maps of the island show us that there has been significant change to the island's shoreline over the past three hundred years," says Cathy McCarthy, President of Friends of McNabs Island Society.
The presentation topic, the Shorelines of McNabs Island in a Changing Climate, also has a historical perspective. Scientific documents show that sea levels in HRM are rising relatively quickly and that the shoreline of the southern part of McNabs Island has eroded in places at rates up to about six metres per year.
McCarthy says the talk will give the audience a broader understanding of the dynamics of the coastal processes on McNabs Island. The impact of rising sea levels on the island's drumlin soil, which was formed of sediment deposited by glaciers, is dramatic. The sand and gravel mixture forming the island's beaches is constantly changing.
Over time, explains McCarthy, the forces of nature have notably affected the island's shape and size. "Visitors to the island will notice the changes to the shoreline," she says. "In particular, in the aftermath of Hurricane Juan that slammed into McNabs Island in September 2003, the changes to the island's beaches and shoreline are quite dramatic." For example, Hangmans Beach has experienced storm surges in recent years that have destroyed a manmade, timber, protective breakwater leading to the lighthouse. (See attached picture.) And Garrison Road, the main trail on the island is over-washed frequently during winter storms. As well, the wide sandy stretch known as Maughers Beach is growing as more and more sand and sediment are deposited there.
Manson's presentation will offer fresh insights to those who visit McNabs Island, says McCarthy, adding that photographs and maps will document different types of erosion and the resulting coastline changes.
"He will present a photographic tour around the southern part of the island, focusing on climate changes and looking at the past, present and future erosion processes," McCarthy says.
Manson's presentation is free and open to the public. His talk will take place at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic at 7 p.m.
The Friends of McNabs Island Society is a volunteer, non-profit, registered charity, based in Halifax, dedicated to the preservation of McNabs and Lawlors Islands Provincial Park. The Society was incorporated in March of 1990 with the objective to promoting the islands as a Nature Park and Outdoor Classroom. The Society hosts events on McNabs Island such as picnics, nature and historical tours, and annual beach clean-ups. It maintains the trails with co-operation from the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Parks Canada.
For more information contact:
Cathy McCarthy
President
Friends of McNabs Island Society
902-434-2254 home
902-456-9167 cell
Kristie Hickey
Communications Officer
Natural Resources Canada (Geological Survey of Canada)
902-426-3747