Mid Cretaceous Sand Supply to Offshore SW Nova Scotia: Tectonic Diversion of Labrador Rivers during Naskapi Member Deposition

This study tests the hypothesis that tectonic diversion of Labrador rivers during the Aptian resulted in sand supply through the Bay of Fundy to the Shelburne sub-basin, allowing shales to accumulate farther east in the Scotian Basin. It also tests the hypothesis that rivers from Maine contributed to the Shelburne sub-basin, despite the Yarmouth Arch. It provides an assessment of the largest potential supply of reservoir sand to the deep water Shelburne sub-basin, allowing estimates of total volume of sand supply and its likely reservoir quality based on petrography. The likely reservoir quality of sands sourced from Maine is also evaluated. It provides improved information on basement tectonics and volcanism in the mid Cretaceous, both significant for thermal modelling of the basin. The results expand upon the initial hypothesis of the diversion of the Sable River and provide more regional information on sandstone provenance in the southwest Scotian Basin.