ESTS Shoreline surveys data
Description
This dataset contains baseline environmental data collected by the Shoreline Unit of the Emergencies, Science and Technology Section (ESTS) of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) as part of the Pre-Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (pre-SCAT) survey program. The data were gathered through pre-SCAT surveys conducted at sites located in high marine vessel traffic corridors across Canada, with the primary objective of documenting conditions along shorelines prior to any spill event.
Pre-SCAT surveys systematically characterize the physical and chemical baseline state of intertidal and freshwater shorelines. For each survey site, data are collected across multiple parameters including sediment chemistry (total petroleum hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, n-alkanes, biomarkers, metals, and carbon), grain size distribution, beach transect elevation profiles, and site-level metadata such as geographic coordinates, sampling zone, and observed hydrocarbon presence. Sampling follows standardized ESTS analytical protocols to ensure consistency and comparability across survey campaigns conducted between 2014 and 2025.
These baseline data serve two complementary purposes: they support operational spill response preparedness by providing responders with pre-disturbance conditions for shoreline assessment, and they contribute to the scientific knowledge base on the natural and anthropogenic chemical background of Canadian coastal and riverine environments. The dataset covers 16 survey projects, 467 sampling sites, and over 82,000 analytical records distributed across six relational tables available in SQLite and CSV formats. The data dictionary and explanation document is available in HTML.
Resources
| Name |
Format |
Description |
Link |
| View ECCC Data Mart (English) |
HTML |
|
https://data-donnees.az.ec.gc.ca/data/water/scientificknowledge/ests-shoreline-surveys-data?lang=en |
| View ECCC Data Mart (French) |
HTML |
|
https://data-donnees.az.ec.gc.ca/data/water/scientificknowledge/ests-shoreline-surveys-data?lang=fr |