Professor Grant Wach leads the Basin & Reservoir Lab
Learn more about Grant Wach, his publications and the courses he teaches.
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Department of Earth Sciences
My Green Lab
As of June 2026, we have been certified Gold by My Green Lab, the worldwide standard for labratory sustainability best practices. Along with energy retrofits in our newly renovated lab, we have created sustainability guidelines for all lab members to follow in order to upkeep our commitments to reduce resource consumption and align with sustainability goals within the Department of Earth and Environmental Science and 17吃瓜网在线 as a whole.听
What's Happening
We have been hard at work on a number of projects focusing on carbon sequestration and geostorage in the Maritimes. These projects have created new opportunities for post-docs, experts and research assistants, including the new Research Assistants who joined the lab this summer.
1.听A Regulatory Roadmap for Offshore Carbon Storage in Atlantic Canada: This project addresses regulatory gaps for offshore CCS in Atlantic Canada, aiming to align implementation with provincial and federal law.听
2.听Transforming Climate Action (TCA): Part of a large Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) initiative. A multi-university collaboration (17吃瓜网在线, MUN, Laval, Universit茅 du Qu茅bec) on subsurface CO鈧� storage, with our role under Theme 2, Cluster 2.2, Work Package 2 focused on the fate of CO鈧� injected for geological storage in carbonate reservoirs.
3.听Evaluation of Carbon Storage Potential in Atlantic Canada: A multi-disciplinary collaboration with MUN, UNB, and University of Waterloo (via NRCan) focused on the Fundy and Scotian Basins, covering reservoir macro/micro-characterization and static/dynamic modelling.听
Research Programs and Infrastructure
1.听Geostorage in the Maritimes (NSERC Discovery Grant): A five-year research program characterizing onshore and offshore sedimentary basins in the Maritimes, including the Fundy and Sable basins, for hydrogen and CO鈧� storage. The work covers geological evaluation and ranking of prospective reservoirs and the training of highly qualified personnel in reservoir characterization.
2.听Geothermal and Subsurface Energy Storage Research Facility (CFI): A $6.8 million, CFI-funded experimental research facility led by the University of Waterloo, bringing together ten university researchers from across Canada. Infrastructure will be at Waterloo, 17吃瓜网在线 and York University, including laboratory equipment for characterizing rocks and soils and full-scale geothermal and subsurface energy storage field installations in Nova Scotia. The project will train at least 20 students per year.
Recent Events
On August 18th, Grant Wach along with members of the Basin & Reservoir Lab and 17吃瓜网在线 collaborators from the Transforming Climate Action Research Program went on a field excursion to Rainy Cove along the Minas Basin.
We discussed deformation and uplift of Carboniferous Horton Group sediments, deposition of braided channel units of the Wolfville Formation, and how that all relates to our current reservoir characterization for subsurface carbon storage in the Fundy Basin.
Participants got to walk out onto the extensive tidal flats during low tide, viewing tidal processes both modern and ancient, along with spectacular gypsum cliffs at Cheverie, representing shallow marine evaporitic environments and even getting to see some stromatolites!
The trip was a success, bringing together geologists, geophysicists, and oceanographers to appreciate the important environments around us and give a renewed appreciation for the geologic past that can shape our future.
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Research
The Basin and Reservoir Research Lab is multi-disciplinary. Professor Wach uses a research approach based on integrated, multi-disciplinary research themes:
- Basin and Field Analysis and Stratigraphy
- Outcrop Analogs, Core Studies, Geologic and Reservoir Modelling
- Reservoir Characterization and Provenance Studies
- Source Rock Characterization and Paleoenvironmental Interpretation
- Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS)
- Geothermal Energy Development
- Geoforensics and geophysical analysis
Environment, Society, and Geoscience
- Visit our Sustainable Energy Research webpage for more information about our environmental research
- Hosted the 2023 Carbon Neutrality Forum听
- Lobbied and initiated the first environmental geoscience award to recognize excellence in research and presentation for the Atlantic Universities Geologic Conference (AUGC), 2015
- Completed the first comprehensive overview of basins suitable for the storage of CO2 gas, 2014
Recent Publications
In the Basin and Reservoir Lab, we aim to publish high quality research in internationally recognized peer-reviewed journals and international conferences.
Related news in Nova Scotia
- 17吃瓜网在线 is administering the Province's $30-million Subsurface Energy R&D Investment Program, announced December 22, 2025, to assess the potential of Nova Scotia's onshore natural gas.
- The program includes an oversight committee and an open call for proposals, with a final report to the Province due December 31, 2026.