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2014-12-22

Eaton, B.R., Fisher, J.T., McKenna, G.T., Pollard, J.

Oil sands companies are required to reclaim the land that has been disturbed during their operations to self-sustaining, locally common boreal forest. An important facet of the reclaimed landscape is support of locally-relevant wildlife communities. Wildlife communities are an important part of...

2014-03-17

Liang, J., Gamal El-Din, M., Estrada, L.P., Tumpa, F., Liu, Y.

The accumulation of mature fine tailings (MFT) in tailings ponds with very slow natural consolidation rate has been a concern for decades. Previous studies and current practices for tailings consolidation focus on the addition of various inorganic and organic additives to reduce MFT production...

2014-09-24

Belosevic, M., Singh, A., Gamal El-Din, M., Li, C., McPhedran, K., Chelme-Ayala, P., Klamerth, N.

Large volumes of oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) are produced by the surface-mining oil sands industry in Alberta. The industry is following a no-release practice for OSPW due to its potential environmental toxicity. Both laboratory and field studies have demonstrated that OSPW is toxic...

2014-05-22

Yang, X., Doherty, R., Staenz, K., Zhang, J., Rolfson, D., Rochdi, N., King, C., Banting, J.

The scope of the Monitoring Procedure for Reclamation in Alberta (MOPRA) project is to develop a geomatics-based monitoring system to support the Government of Alberta’s efforts for monitoring reclamation success. This software will support the decision making process to screen almost all oil...

2014-11-21

Fraser, E., Marenholtz, E., Sobze, J-M., Schoonmaker, A., Mckenzie, M., Smreciu, A., Powter, C.B.

The purpose of this document is to review traditional and alternative systems of seed and nursery stock treatment and delivery for use in oil sands reclamation. Treatment systems are considered those activities conducted prior to delivery to the field site while delivery systems include those...

2014-12-01

Huang, Q., Wang, H., Lewis, M.A.

Industrial contaminants are one of the leading causes of pollution worldwide. It has been shown that 13 elements considered priority water pollutants by the US Environmental Protection Agency are present in the Athabasca River and are found in oil sands process-affected water. There are likely...

2014-12-23

Poesch, M., Christensen-Dalsgaard, K.K., Sinnatamby, R.N.

The Alberta oil sands region contains one of the world’s largest oil deposits, estimated at 1.7 trillion barrels. Development in this region can have negative effects for aquatic species, governed under Canada’s Fisheries Act. The Fisheries Act allows the possibility for offsetting losses in...

2014-11-30

Oil Sands Research and Information Network

As one of its last projects, the Oil Sands Research and Information Network (OSRIN) conducted this survey of oil sands environmental management research and information needs. The survey was conducted in October and early November 2014 for OSRIN by the University of Alberta’s Population Research...

2014-01-23

Martin, J.W., Pereira, A.S.

In response to mounting evidence of local environmental contamination around the Alberta oil sands industry, the Alberta Environmental Monitoring Panel announced a new world class environmental monitoring program for the Alberta oil sands region in early 2011, and a new monitoring system is now...

2014-10-14

Yu, T., Zhu, L., Yu, M., Ulrich, A., Delgado Chavez, L.

The objectives of our research program were to: (1) study biological activities in oil sands mature fine tailings and oil sands process-affected water, (2) develop microbial biofilm seed to support engineered biological processes with enhancement measures, and (3) review available bioreactor...