Environment and Climate Change Canada

Environment and Climate Change Canada provides a petroleum product database to be used in oil spill research and response. This database includes the physical properties, chemical composition, and environmental behavior of various types of oils and petroleum products. Original publication:...

This spatial file includes the polygon boundaries of the four Pacific Great Blue Heron Conservation Regions in British Columbia, as described in the management plan. These Conservation Regions are recognized based on degree of isolation, population sizes, and differences in trends and threats....

The objectives of the fish component of the integrated oil sands monitoring program are to provide the necessary data/information to address key questions related to both environmental health of fish populations and fish health issues that can be used to inform human use and consumption. The...

Environment and Climate Change Canada’s cause-effect monitoring is focused on understanding how boreal songbirds, including several Species at Risk, are affected by human activity in the oil sands area, particularly the impact of the physical disturbance of forested habitats from exploration,...

Acid-Sensitive Lakes Nine hundred and thirty-three lakes located in Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories were sampled to establish current acidification status. Of the 933 lakes, 244 (or 26%) are considered acid sensitive, almost always because of naturally low calcium and...

Water quality and ecosystem health surveillance and monitoring data collected to complete assessments of beneficial use impairments of Areas of Concern (AOCs) and to track the effectiveness of remedial measures and confirm restoration of beneficial uses are included in this dataset. AOCs are...

Water quality and suspended sediment monitoring and surveillance data collected from the connecting channels of the Great Lakes to determine baseline water quality status, long term trends and spatial distributions, the effectiveness of management actions, determine compliance with sediment...

Sediment quality data from the Great Lakes collected to determine baseline status, long term trends and spatial distributions, the effectiveness of management actions, determine compliance with sediment quality objectives and identify emerging issues are included in this dataset.

River ice is a known occurrence in cold climate hydrological systems. The annual cycle of formation, growth, decay and clearance of river ice can include low flows and ice jams, as well as mid-winter and spring break-up events. Reports and associated data on river ice occurrence are often limited...

Air emissions from oil sands development can come from a number of sources including industrial smokestacks, tailings ponds, transportation, and dust from mining operations. Air quality monitoring under the Joint Canada-Alberta Implementation Plan for the Oil Sands is designed to determine the...

Tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) nest boxes are installed in oil sands area and in reference locations to monitor contaminant levels and impacts on tree swallow nestlings. The exposure to tree swallow nestlings to air-borne oil sands-related contaminants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons...

Air emissions from oil sands development can come from a number of sources including industrial smokestacks, tailings ponds, transportation, and dust from mining operations. Air quality monitoring under the Joint Canada-Alberta Implementation Plan for the Oil Sands is designed to determine the...

Assess the importance of atmospheric deposition of contaminants as a contributor to ecological impacts of oil sands development and identify sources. • Use snowpack measurements sampled across a gridwork to develop maps of winter-time atmospheric contaminant loadings for the region ~100 km from...

Waterfowl and mammals harvested and trapped at various locations in the oil sands region and in reference locations are assessed for contaminant burdens and toxicology. Wildlife samples are obtained from local hunters and trappers. Tissue samples are analysed for concentrations of oil...

Plant health assessments and vegetation surveys are undertaken at both terrestrial and wetland sites in the oil sands region and in reference areas. Plant monitoring is being conducted for biodiversity and contaminants, and because plants are important both as wildlife habitat and as...

Monitoring activities have collected bulk suspended sediment samples using continuous flow centrifuges and Phillips Tube samplers in the Lower Athabasca River and tributaries respectively. Further, in the absence of pre-development monitoring for this region, high fidelity dated lake sediment...

Aquatic bird eggs are being collected for contaminants analysis. Egg collections in the Peace-Athabasca Delta area support Parks Canada’s activities at Wood Buffalo National Park and the multi-stakeholder Peace-Athabasca Ecosystem Monitoring Program. This monitoring activity employs repeated...

Benthic invertebrates monitoring includes both lotic (rivers/streams) and lentic (wetlands) ecosystems. Aquatic biomonitoring provides a direct measure of change in biotic populations and communities in relation to benchmark or reference conditions and can help identify the ecological effects of...

The health of individual amphibians, amphibian populations, and their wetland habitats are monitored in the oil sands region and at reference locations. Contaminants assessments are done at all sites. Amphibians developing near oil sands activities may be exposed to concentrations of oil...

Spanish Harbour was identified as an Area of Concern (AOC) due to degraded water quality and environmental health and was recognized as an Area in Recovery in 1999. As part of the Great Lakes Action Plan, assessments of benthic conditions in Spanish Harbour have been conducted periodically since...