PREFACE 



The purpose of this workshop was to provide a forum for the presentation 

 and discussion of the available environmental information on the geological, 

 biological, chemical, and physical characteristics of the North Atlantic 

 Submarine Canyons which incise the continental shelf of the Minerals 

 Management Service's North Atlantic planning area. This environmental 

 information was presented by scientific experts from their respective fields. 



The format of the workshop was designed to foster an open and free 

 scientific exchange of ideas, and opinions, with the primary focus placed on 

 reaching consensus with respect to the environmental effects of offshore 

 petroleum exploration and development activities on these submarine canyon 

 environments. 



This report is organized into three major sections. The first section 

 contains the formal papers that were presented during the first day of the 

 workshop and the follow up questions and answers. The second section 

 consists of the roundtable discussions held on the second day focusing on the 

 geology and geochemistry, and biological communities of the North Atlantic 

 submarine canyons. The third section is the Final Summary Synthesis and 

 Conclusions reached by the workshop panel members. 



This workshop was sponsored by the Atlantic OCS Regional Office of the 

 Minerals Management Service. 



