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At 170 billion barrels, Canada's Oil Sands are the third largest reserves of developable oil in the world. The Oil Sands now produce about 1.6 million barrels per day, with pr… Read more
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At 170 billion barrels, Canada's Oil Sands are the third largest reserves of developable oil in the world. The Oil Sands now produce about 1.6 million barrels per day, with production expected to double by 2025 to about 3.7 million barrels per day. The Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) in northeastern Alberta is the largest of the three oil sands deposits. Bitumen in the oil sands is recovered through one of two primary methods – mining and drilling. About 20 per cent of the reserves are close to the surface and can be mined using large shovels and trucks. Of concern are the effects of the industrial development on the environment. Both human-made and natural sources emit oxides of sulphur and nitrogen, trace elements and persistent organic compounds. Of additional concern are ground level ozone and greenhouse gases.
Because of the requirement on operators to comply with the air quality regulatory policies, and to address public concerns, the not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA) has since 1997 been closely monitoring air quality in AOSR. In 2008, WBEA assembled a distinguished group of international scientists who have been conducting measurements and practical research on various aspects of air emissions and their potential effects on terrestrial receptors. This book is a synthesis of the concepts and results of those on-going studies. It contains 19 chapters ranging from a global perspective of energy production, measurement methodologies and behavior of various air pollutants during fossil fuel production in a boreal forest ecosystem, towards designing and deploying a multi-disciplinary, proactive, and long-term environmental monitoring system that will also meet regulatory expectations.
Environmental scientists, ecologists, forest effects investigators, academic researchers and teachers, air quality regulators, policy administrators and industry managers
Developments in Environmental Science
Contributors
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
Introduction to the Book Series
Chapter 1. Energy Production: A Global Perspective
1.1 The Situation
1.2 Some Remedies
1.3 Summary
References
Chapter 2. Energy Developments in Canada’s Oil Sands
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Early Days
2.3 Opportunities and Challenges
2.4 The Path Forward
References
Chapter 3. Energy and Environment: Toward Achieving the Balance in Alberta
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
3.3 Water Management
3.4 Land Use and Waste Management
3.5 Summary
References
Chapter 4. Air Quality in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region 2011
4.1 The Wood Buffalo Environmental Association Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Network
4.2 Major Emission Sources in the Athabasca Oil Sands
4.3 Continuously Monitored Air Pollutants
4.4 Time-Integrated Measurements
4.5 2011 Air Quality Health Index Values
4.6 Trends and Other Regions
4.7 Summary
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 5. Development and Application of Statistical Approaches for Reducing Uncertainty in Ambient Air Quality Data
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Recent Attempts Related to Uncertainty
5.3 ISO Measurement Uncertainty Estimation Methodology
5.4 Alternative Approach to Uncertainty Using the Weibull Distribution
5.5 MCMs for Uncertainty Estimation
5.6 Estimation of Uncertainty in WBEA Measurements
5.7 Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 6. Co-measurement of Volatile Organic and Sulfur Compounds in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region by Dual Detector Pneumatic Focusing Gas Chromatography
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Background Review
6.3 Experimental Methods—Pneumatic Focusing Gas Chromatography
6.4 Current Locations for PFGC Monitoring in the AOSR
6.5 Results and Discussion
6.6 Recent Sulfur Measurements
6.7 Summary and Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 7. Overview of Real-World Emission Characterization Methods
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Stationary Source Emissions
7.3 Engine Exhaust Emissions
7.4 Fugitive Dust Emissions
7.5 Emerging Technologies for Source Characterization
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 8. Measurement of Real-World Stack Emissions with a Dilution Sampling System
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Material and Methods
8.3 Results and Discussion
8.4 Summary
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 9. Applying the Forest Health Approach to Monitoring Boreal Ecosystems in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Terrestrial Environmental Monitoring in the Athabasca Oil Sands Prior to 2008
9.3 Defining Forest Health
9.4 TEEM Forest Health Network Design
9.5 Investigative Studies to Enhance the TEEM Program
9.6 Summary
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 10. Ecological Analogues for Biomonitoring Industrial Sulfur Emissions in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, Alberta, Canada
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Overview of Methods
10.3 Results
10.4 Application Examples
10.5 Conclusions
References
Chapter 11. Tracing Industrial Nitrogen and Sulfur Emissions in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region Using Stable Isotopes
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Study Area and Sampling
11.3 Methods
11.4 Results and Discussion
11.5 Summary
11.6 Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 12. Air Quality Modeling in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Historical Model Applications
12.3 WBEA Case Study: Model Input
12.4 WBEA Case Study: CALPUFF Model Options
12.5 WBEA Case Study: Model Performance
12.6 WBEA Case Study: Deposition
12.7 WBEA Case Study: Lichen Comparison
12.8 Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 13. WBEA Receptor Modeling Study in the Athabasca Oil Sands
Chapter 14. Method for Extraction and Multielement Analysis of Hypogymnia physodes samples from the Athabasca Oil Sands Region
14.1 Introduction
14.2 Materials and Methods
14.3 Results and Discussion
14.4 Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 15. Coupling Lead Isotopes and Element Concentrations in Epiphytic Lichens to Track Sources of Air Emissions in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Materials and Methods
15.3 Results
15.4 Discussion
15.5 Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 16. Mercury Concentration and Isotopic Composition of Epiphytic Tree Lichens in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region
16.1 Introduction
16.2 Methods
16.3 Results and Discussion
16.4 Proposed Mechanism to Explain Hg Isotopic Variability
16.5 Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 17. Measurement of Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Epiphytic Lichens for Receptor Modeling in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR): A Pilot Study
17.1 Introduction
17.2 Methods
17.3 Results
17.4 Discussion
17.5 Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 18. Receptor Modeling of Epiphytic Lichens to Elucidate the Sources and Spatial Distribution of Inorganic Air Pollution in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region
18.1 Introduction
18.2 Methods
18.3 Results and Discussion
18.4 Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 19. Concluding Remarks
19.1 Introduction
19.2 Summary of Book Content
19.3 Symposium Panel Discussion
19.4 Future Perspectives
References
Index
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