Environment and Climate Change Canada

This study aimed to identify chemical components that could distinguish chemical mixtures in oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) from natural groundwater sources. Oil sands process-affected samples were collected from two different oil sands development tailing ponds, and natural groundwater...

In the oil sands air monitoring component, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) levels are monitored by ground-based instruments, satellites and other measurements. Monitoring of air pollutants from satellites is becoming an alternative to surface and aircraft measurements, and allows...

Expanded Geographic Area (M9, M10, M11a, M12, BI1, RI1, SL1, SL2, QU1 [2013] and M9, M10, M11a, M12, BI1, BU1, BU2, RI1, SL1, SL2, QU1, MC2 [2011-March 2018]) Water quality chemistry data for 17 sites in the lower Athabasca River (LAR), the Peace and Slave rivers, and their tributaries, including...

Shallow groundwater and the interaction of these waters with surface water in the mineable area of the Athabasca oil sands region are being examined to assess the role and importance of groundwater in the regional river ecosystems. Groundwater quality chemistry data is available from 182 shallow...

Water chemistry, 26 different metals, and polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) were measured at 21 wetland sites where studies of amphibian health are being conducted. The water chemistry measurements (pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids, etc.) are used to further assess water quality,...

Avian Health and Contaminants Data on tree swallow clutch size and nestling weight, wing length, organ size, and measures of thyroid function were collected from study sites near active mine pits, tailings ponds and processing plants on oil sands leases in Alberta, and at relatively undisturbed...

Metals in Mallards (pooled 2013 collections) Adult male mallards were collected in 2013 in the area surrounding five Alberta communities south of the Athabasca oil sands industrial region (Mayerthorpe, Barrhead, Lac La Biche, St. Paul and Vermilion) and from two communities north of the...

Assessing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and naphthenic acid concentrations in soils collected in 2012 – Field and Laboratory Assessment of Contaminants The concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and naphthenic acids (NAs) were measured in soil samples collected in 2012....

Colonial Waterbird Health and Contaminants This data set contains concentrations of heavy metals, including mercury, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and stable nitrogen isotopes in five species of colonial waterbird eggs (California Gull, Herring...

Plant species richness, composition, and soil chemistry parameters were assessed in wetlands and uplands in the oil sands region of northern Alberta. The concentrations of metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in soil and plant samples collected from 2012-2014, and...

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...

This study examined the toxicity of aged oil sands tailings waste, and it's affect on eight species of freshwater aquatic organisms: Pimephales promelas (fathead minnow), Oryzias latipes (Japanese medaka), Hyalella azteca, Daphnia magna, Vibrio fischeri, Lampsilis cardium, Ceriodaphnia dubia, and...

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) began ambient air monitoring of several nitrogen and sulphur species southeast of the Athabasca oil sands region in February 2015. Continuous measurements of NO, NO2, NOy, NH3, and SO2 are currently being conducted at two sites in Saskatchewan....

This study aimed to develop and improve upon analytical methods and sampling techniques for detecting oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) seepage from mining containments and discriminating any seepage from the natural bitumen background in groundwaters influenced by the Alberta McMurray...

The Joint Canada-Alberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring (Environment Canada and Alberta Environment 2012) included the initiation of new biomonitoring sites on the Lower Athabasca River mainstem and its major tributaries following the study designs proposed in the Integrated...

Tributary Biomonitoring (Lower Athabasca River) Benthic macroinvertebrates, comprising insects, crusteaceans, molluscs and worms, represent a group of organisms used widely in environmental monitoring programs as early warning indicators to assess the effects of change in water quality...

This project examined the use of parasites of slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) as indicators of water quality in the Athabasca River. Specimens of C. cognatus were sampled from four tributaries to assess patterns of helminth parasite community structure in this fish and to study the composition...

During August 2013, September 2013, April 2018, May 2018, and June 2018, a research aircraft was deployed in the oil sands region. The flight paths of the aircraft were designed to measure air pollutants in plumes around the immediate vicinity of the major oil sands surface mining facilities...

Water level and discharge data are available from Water Survey of Canada’s Hydrometric Network. The Water Survey of Canada (WSC) is the national authority responsible for the collection, interpretation and dissemination of standardized water resource data and information in Canada. In...

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...