Article
Microbiology
Heidi L. Cossey, Mian Nabeel Anwar, Petr Kuznetsov, Ania C. Ulrich
Summary: End pit lakes (EPLs) are proposed for reclaiming oil sands fluid fine tailings (FFT), and experiments show that microbial biofilms can effectively reduce turbidity in these lakes, with younger biofilms performing better in mitigating turbidity.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Emad A. Albakistani, Felix C. Nwosu, Chantel Furgason, Evan S. Haupt, Angela Smirnova, Tobin J. Verbeke, Eun-Suk Lee, Joong-Jae Kim, Amelia Chan, Ilona A. Ruhl, Andriy Sheremet, Sarah B. Rudderham, Matthew B. J. Lindsay, Peter F. Dunfield
Summary: This study examined the methanotrophic bacteria in an industrial end pit lake using molecular DNA methods combined with biogeochemical measurements. The results showed clear and consistent seasonal patterns of growth and decline of three methanotroph genera (Methylobacter, Methylovulum, and Methyloparacoccus). Laboratory experiments suggested that temperature based niche partitioning is a major control for this succession. This study helps to understand microbial dynamics in engineered end pit lakes and has implications for microbial ecology and limnology.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ho Yin Poon, Heidi L. Cossey, Amy-lynne Balaberda, Ania C. Ulrich
Summary: The study demonstrates that CO2-mediated calcite dissolution can significantly reduce turbidity and impact the dissolution of dolomite and the stability of suspended clay particles. The results suggest that CO2-mediated calcite dissolution alters water chemistry and is the most promising treatment condition for settling suspended tailings particles.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Daniel J. Francis, S. Lee Barbour, Matthew B. J. Lindsay
Summary: The study on Base Mine Lake (BML) in northern Alberta, Canada, demonstrated the impact of ebullition on enhanced mixing and chemical mass transport within the lake. The findings revealed a positive relationship between CH4 saturation and enhanced mixing, highlighting the importance of ebullition in internal mass loading and informing ongoing assessments for mine closure and reclamation planning.
JOURNAL OF CONTAMINANT HYDROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Diogo N. Cardoso, Sandra F. Gonsalves, Ana Rita R. Silva, Amadeu M. V. M. Soares, Frederick J. Wrona, Susana Loureiro
Summary: In order to understand the ecological effects of mining activities on aquatic systems in the Canadian oil sands region, it is important to understand the consequences of exposure to natural bitumen-containing soils/sediments. This study conducted laboratory-based bioassays to evaluate the potential ecotoxicological effects of eroded riverbank bitumen soils on different organisms. The results showed that the elutriates produced from natural bitumen had negative effects on tested organisms, indicating that eroded and transported bitumen-containing soils could be a source of contamination to aquatic biota.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
M. Graham Clark, Gordon B. Drewitt, Sean K. Carey
Summary: BML behaves similarly to other northern lakes in terms of lake-atmosphere energy and carbon exchange, with high CH4 fluxes in spring but reduced overall fluxes. Evaporation is influenced by hydrocarbon presence on the lake surface, necessitating more comprehensive modeling.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Nesma Eltoukhy Allam, Nikolas Romaniuk, Mike Tate, Mohamed N. A. Meshref, Bipro R. Dhar, Ania C. Ulrich
Summary: The study showed that adding high doses of lime (3500 ppm) to FFT achieved the highest water recovery and improved water quality, while low doses of lime (650 ppm) slightly enhanced the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons. In addition, high doses of lime resulted in a significant reduction in cell counts, and increased toxicity effects were observed for lime doses above a certain threshold.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Water Resources
Kai Wei, Heidi L. Cossey, Ania C. Ulrich
Summary: The study found that by applying Al treatment, it is possible to effectively reduce the turbidity of the water cap in BML, and the Al-treated FFT particles resettled faster than untreated or Ca-treated FFT particles.
MINE WATER AND THE ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Melanie L. Blanchette, Mark A. Lund
Summary: This research aimed to determine the environmental drivers of pelagic microbe assemblages in Australian coal pit lakes. The study found that water quality and microbial assemblages in pit lakes varied significantly across space and time, with most taxa being rare. Microbial communities were influenced by environmental variables, however, no single variable was consistently significant spatially or temporally.
Article
Engineering, Geological
Adedeji Dunmola, Robert A. Werneiwski, Dallas MacGowan, Bill Shaw, David Carrier
Summary: Syncrude Canada Ltd.'s Base Mine Lake (BML), the first commercial-scale demonstration of an oil sands pit lake, experienced settlement of fine tailings (FT) between 1995 and 2012. The settlement of FT in BML from 196.0 to 171.6 million cubic meters by 2019 was consistent with the expected consolidation. Geotechnical properties at the mudline transition became increasingly distinct over time, indicating the sequestration of fines below the water cap.
CANADIAN GEOTECHNICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Fuquan Yang, Abdulla Al Mamun, Irene Cheng, Xin Qiu, Leiming Zhang
Summary: Model sensitivity tests were conducted to investigate the contributions of emission sources from oil sands activities and other sources to the ambient concentrations and deposition of 29 particulate elements in the Athabasca oil sands region of Canada. The results showed that the majority of element concentrations were linked to the oil sands source sector, which accounted for 78% and 68% of the sum of ambient concentrations in PM2.5 and PM2.5-10, respectively. The risks associated with inhalation exposure to airborne elements were below the recommended threshold levels.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
M. Dinu
Summary: This study focuses on metal speciation research in Arctic lakes, considering the influence of different geochemical factors. The results show significant differences in element speciation behavior among different types of lakes, indicating both genetic similarities and differences.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Anthony E. Bauer, L. Mark Hewitt, James W. Roy, Joanne L. Parrott, Adrienne J. Bartlett, Patricia L. Gillis, Warren P. Norwood, Martina D. Rudy, Sheena D. Campbell, Maegan R. Rodrigues, Lisa R. Brown, Ruth Vanderveen, Lorna E. Deeth, Emily A. M. Holman, Joseph Salerno, Julie R. Marentette, Christine Lavalle, Cheryl Sullivan, Kallie Shires, Melissa Galicia, Julian Rubino, Mitra Brown, Alicia O'Neill, Greg Bickerton, D. George Dixon, Richard A. Frank
Summary: The extraction of bitumen from oil sands deposits in northern Alberta generates large amounts of liquid tailings waste, known as oil sands process-affected water (OSPW), which is stored in tailings ponds. Chemicals from OSPW can contaminate surface water through groundwater systems. This study investigated the toxicity of groundwater from sites near and far from a tailings pond with OSPW influence. The results showed that the groundwater had toxicity towards various aquatic organisms, with organic components being more toxic to some species and inorganic components being more sensitive to others.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Warren Zubot, Zhexuan An, Chelsea Benally, Mohamed Gamal El-Din
Summary: This study showed that using petroleum coke (PC) produced by a Fluid Coking Process as an adsorbent for oil sands process water (OSPW) treatment is highly efficient. Filtration through the PC deposit effectively removes suspended solids in OSPW and reduces the concentration of organic compounds and other pollutants. The adsorption process by PC can achieve over 80% removal efficiency for organic compounds, and the concentrations of elements like vanadium can change with PC contact.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Petr Kuznetsov, Kai Wei, Alsu Kuznetsova, Julia Foght, Ania Ulrich, Tariq Siddique
Summary: This study investigated the biogeochemical changes in water quality and sediments caused by residual hydrocarbons in fluid fine tailings (FFT) from oil sands ore processing. The results showed that microbial anaerobic activity stimulated by residual hydrocarbons in FFT could accelerate settling, increase turbidity, and affect the chemistry of overlying water.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kevin B. White, Karsten Liber
ARCHIVES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Pernilla Bohlin-Nizzetto, Lisa Melymuk, Kevin B. White, Jiri Kalina, Vincent O. Madadi, Sam Adu-Kumi, Roman Prokes, Petra Pribylova, Jana Klanova
ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
(2020)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Kevin B. White, Jiri Kalina, Martin Scheringer, Petra Pribylova, Petr Kukucka, Jiri Kohoutek, Roman Prokes, Jana Klanova
Summary: This study reports the concentrations of 20 POPs monitored in 9 African countries, showing significant declines in the concentrations of many POPs over the past decade while others remain stable or even increasing. The elevated concentrations at some sites are primarily due to sustained local emissions, while the low concentrations at Mt. Kenya represent the continental background level primarily influenced by long-range transport.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lisa Melymuk, Pernilla Bohlin Nizzetto, Tom Harner, Kevin B. White, Xianyu Wang, Maria Yumiko Tominaga, Jun He, Jun Li, Jianmin Ma, Wan-Li Ma, Beatriz H. Aristizabal, Annekatrin Dreyer, Begona Jimenez, Juan Munoz-Arnanz, Mustafa Odabasi, Yetkin Dumanoglu, Baris Yaman, Carola Graf, Andrew Sweetman, Jana Klanova
Summary: The study examines the comparability of data collected from different PUF-PAS designs and the impact of analysis in different laboratories on the results. Results indicate that variability introduced by analysis in different laboratories far exceeds differences due to sampler design, highlighting the need for intercalibration exercises to ensure analytical comparability between laboratories.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kevin B. White, Ondrej Sanka, Lisa Melymuk, Petra Pribylova, Jana Klanova
Summary: The study utilized data from the MONET passive air sampling network in combination with land use regression models to successfully describe atmospheric levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls in Czechia, identifying their sources. The models demonstrated spatial variability at a national scale.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Kevin B. White, Jiri Kalina, Martin Scheringer, Petra Pribylova, Petr Kukucka, Jiri Kohoutek, Roman Prokes, Jana Klanova
Summary: The Global Monitoring Plan of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) aims to generate long-term data for evaluating the effectiveness of regulatory measures globally. After 15 years of monitoring, MONET network provides sufficient data for analyzing the long-term trends of POPs in air across Europe. This study reports the concentrations of 20 POPs monitored at 32 sites in 27 European countries.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Jiri Kalina, Kevin B. White, Martin Scheringer, Petra Pribylova, Petr Kukucka, Ondrej Audy, Jakub Martinik, Jana Klanova
Summary: Passive air sampling (PAS) has been widely used to monitor semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs), but there are limitations and uncertainties in deriving effective sampling volumes, rates, and concentrations. By comparing PAS and active air sampling (AAS) data from six monitoring sites in Europe, it is found that there is good agreement between the two methods for most SVOCs, but corrections are needed for particle-associated SVOCs and high wind speed conditions.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-PROCESSES & IMPACTS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Jiri Kalina, Kevin B. White, Martin Scheringer, Petra Pribylova, Petr Kukucka, Ondrej Audy, Jana Klanova
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-PROCESSES & IMPACTS
(2019)