Athabasca River modelling studies (phase I): Fort McMurray - Embarras

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Yau, H.
  • Timpany, P. L.
  • Murphy, K. L.

• The present and proposed industrial development associated with the Athabasca Oil Sands has resulted in a need to evaluate the Athabasca River transport and assimilation of contaminants and water occurring substances. Since the beginning of AOSERP in April 1975, water quality and quantity data have been collected to provide a general baseline of information. Preliminary studies of the Athabasca River Basin indicate that a mass balance approach may be used to model the chemistry of the Athabasca River. The base model developed provides a reasonable analysis of dissolved sodium, dissolved chloride, total alkalinity, and total hardness between Fort McMurray and the Embarras Airport. It appears possible now to investigate transformations, impacts, and assimilation of non-conservative substances in the Athabasca River utilizing the mass balance concept developed for conservative substances in the study. Once the composite model is calibrated and tested, it would predict mass loading or concentration of a parameter at any point along the study area for different future development scenarios. The resulting evaluations of these development scenarios will allow comprehensive management planning to be completed for the Athabasca watershed.

• Date created

  1982

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Oil Sands
  • AOSERP
  • Water Quality
  • Oil sands
  • Tar Sands
  • Tar sands
  • Modelling
  • AOSERP L-76
  • Salinity
  • Alberta
  • Water Chemistry
  • Athabasca River
  • Canada, Alberta, Fort McMurray

• Type of Item

  Report

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3FX73Z4K

• License

  This material is provided under educational reproduction permissions included in Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development's Copyright and Disclosure Statement, see terms at http://www.environment.alberta.ca/copyright.html. This Statement requires the following identification: \"The source of the materials is Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development http://www.environment.gov.ab.ca/. The use of these materials by the end user is done without any affiliation with or endorsement by the Government of Alberta. Reliance upon the end user's use of these materials is at the risk of the end user.