Estimation of vanadium water quality benchmarks for the protection of aquatic life with relevance to the Athabasca Oil Sands region using species sensitivity distributions

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (11) ◽  
pp. 3034-3044 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Schiffer ◽  
Karsten Liber
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Species Sensitivity ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands ◽  
Aquatic Life ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands Region ◽  
Species Sensitivity Distributions

scholarly journals Assessing the Impacts of Chloride and Sulfate Ions on Macroinvertebrate Communities in Ohio Streams

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 1815
Author(s):  
Robert Miltner
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Logistic Regression ◽  
National Level ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Species Sensitivity ◽  
Aquatic Life ◽  
Urban Catchments ◽  
Hazard Concentration ◽  
Species Sensitivity Distributions

Salinization of freshwaters is a growing concern, especially in urban catchments. Existing aquatic life criteria for chloride (230 mg/L; a US standard) or total dissolved solids (1500 mg/L; specific to Ohio) do not protect sensitive species, and standards for sulfate have yet to be promulgated on the national level. To help identify water quality thresholds for protection and restoration, species sensitivity distributions were compiled for chloride and sulfate based on field observations of macroinvertebrate communities co-located with water quality samples obtained from rivers and streams throughout Ohio. Additionally, attainment of biological benchmarks for macroinvertebrate communities found in headwater streams were modeled against chloride and sulfate using Bayesian logistic regression. The hazard concentration based on statewide data for chloride was 52 mg/L. The hazard concentration for sulfate based on data from the Western Allegheny Plateau ecoregion was 152 mg/L. The median effect levels from logistic regression for chloride and sulfate varied by ecoregion. Mayfly taxa were disproportionately represented in taxa comprising the lower 5th percentile of the species sensitivity distributions for chloride. However, logistic regression models of individual taxa response (as presence/absence) revealed that some taxa considered sensitive to pollution in general were highly tolerant of chloride. For 166 taxa showing directional response to chloride, 91 decreased and 75 increased. For the 97 individual taxa showing directional responses to sulfate, 81 decreased. Of the 16 taxa showing an increase, 6 are considered tolerant of pollution, 9 facultative and 1 moderately intolerant, the latter being taxa in the dipteran family Tipulidae. The hazard concentrations are useful as protective thresholds for existing high-quality waters. The logistic regression model of attainment can be used to inform management goals conditional on site-specific information.

scholarly journals The Effects of Plume Episodes on PAC Profiles in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region

2021 ◽  
pp. 117014
Author(s):  
Narumol Jariyasopit ◽  
Tom Harner ◽  
Cecilia Shin ◽  
Richard Park
Keyword(s):  
Oil Sands ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands Region

Extracts from Dated Lake Sediment Cores in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region Alter EROD Activity and Gene Expression in Avian Hepatocytes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre P. J. Salat ◽  
Kim L. Williams ◽  
Suzanne Chiu ◽  
David C. Eickmeyer ◽  
Linda E. Kimpe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Lake Sediment ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Erod Activity ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands Region

Understanding the peak growing season ecosystem water‐use efficiency at four boreal fens in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olena Volik ◽  
Richard Petrone ◽  
Eric Kessel ◽  
Adam Green ◽  
Jonathan Price
Keyword(s):  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands Region ◽  
Ecosystem Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Use Efficiency

scholarly journals Quantification of methane sources in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region of Alberta by aircraft mass balance

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 7361-7378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabour Baray ◽  
Andrea Darlington ◽  
Mark Gordon ◽  
Katherine L. Hayden ◽  
Amy Leithead ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Surface Mining ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Emission Rates ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands ◽  
Emissions Inventory ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands Region ◽  
Major Surface ◽  
Tailings Ponds

Abstract. Aircraft-based measurements of methane (CH4) and other air pollutants in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) were made during a summer intensive field campaign between 13 August and 7 September 2013 in support of the Joint Canada–Alberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring. Chemical signatures were used to identify CH4 sources from tailings ponds (BTEX VOCs), open pit surface mines (NOy and rBC) and elevated plumes from bitumen upgrading facilities (SO2 and NOy). Emission rates of CH4 were determined for the five primary surface mining facilities in the region using two mass-balance methods. Emission rates from source categories within each facility were estimated when plumes from the sources were spatially separable. Tailings ponds accounted for 45 % of total CH4 emissions measured from the major surface mining facilities in the region, while emissions from operations in the open pit mines accounted for ∼ 50 %. The average open pit surface mining emission rates ranged from 1.2 to 2.8 t of CH4 h−1 for different facilities in the AOSR. Amongst the 19 tailings ponds, Mildred Lake Settling Basin, the oldest pond in the region, was found to be responsible for the majority of tailings ponds emissions of CH4 (> 70 %). The sum of measured emission rates of CH4 from the five major facilities, 19.2 ± 1.1 t CH4 h−1, was similar to a single mass-balance determination of CH4 from all major sources in the AOSR determined from a single flight downwind of the facilities, 23.7 ± 3.7 t CH4 h−1. The measured hourly CH4 emission rate from all facilities in the AOSR is 48 ± 8 % higher than that extracted for 2013 from the Canadian Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, a legislated facility-reported emissions inventory, converted to hourly units. The measured emissions correspond to an emissions rate of 0.17 ± 0.01 Tg CH4 yr−1 if the emissions are assumed as temporally constant, which is an uncertain assumption. The emission rates reported here are relevant for the summer season. In the future, effort should be devoted to measurements in different seasons to further our understanding of the seasonal parameters impacting fugitive emissions of CH4 and to allow for better estimates of annual emissions and year-to-year variability.

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