A decadal synthesis of atmospheric emissions, ambient air quality, and deposition in the oil sands region.

This review is part of a series synthesizing peer-reviewed literature from the past decade on environmental monitoring in the oil sands region (OSR) of northeastern Alberta. It focuses on atmospheric emissions, air quality, and deposition in and downwind of the OSR. Most published monitoring and research activities were concentrated in the surface-mineable region in the Athabasca OSR.

An integrated knowledge synthesis of regional ambient monitoring in Canada's oil sands.

The desire to document and understand the cumulative implications of oil sands (OS) development in the ambient environment of northeastern Alberta has motivated increased investment and release of information in the past decade. Here, we summarize the knowledge presented in the theme-based review papers in this special series, including air, surface water, terrestrial biology, and Indigenous community-based monitoring in order to (1) consolidate knowledge gained to date, (2) highlight key commonalities and gaps, and (3) leverage this knowledge to assess the state of integration in environmental monitoring efforts in the OS region and suggest next steps. Among air, water, and land studies, the individual reviews identified a clear focus on describing stressors, including primarily (1) contaminant emission, transport, transformation, deposition, and exposure, and (2) landscape disturbance.

Total Mercury and Methylmercury in Lake Water of Canada's Oil Sands Region.

Increased delivery of mercury to ecosystems is a common consequence of industrialization, including in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) of Canada. Atmospheric mercury deposition has been studied previously in the AOSR; however, less is known about the impact of regional industry on toxic methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations in lake ecosystems. We measured total mercury (THg) and MeHg concentrations for five years from 50 lakes throughout the AOSR.

Impacts of a large boreal wildfire on ground level atmospheric concentrations of PAHs, VOCs and ozone.

During May 2016 a very large boreal wildfire burned throughout the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) in central Canada, and in close proximity to an extensive air quality monitoring network. This study examines speciated 24-h integrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and volatile organic compound (VOC) measurements collected every sixth day at four and seven sites, respectively, from May to August 2016. The sum of PAHs (ΣPAH) was on average 17 times higher in fire-influenced samples (852 ng m, n = 8), relative to non-fire influenced samples (50 ng m, n = 64).

The impact of the 2016 Fort McMurray Horse River Wildfire on ambient air pollution levels in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, Alberta, Canada.

An unprecedented wildfire impacted the northern Alberta city of Fort McMurray in May 2016 causing a mandatory city wide evacuation and the loss of 2,400 homes and commercial structures. A two-hectare wildfire was discovered on May 1, grew to ~157,000ha by May 5, and continued to burn an estimated ~590,000ha by June 13. A comprehensive air monitoring network operated by the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA) in and around Fort McMurray provided essential health-related real-time air quality data to firefighters during the emergency, and provided a rare opportunity to elucidate the impact of gaseous and particulate matter emissions on near-field communities and regional air pollution concentrations.

Trace elements in particulate matter from metropolitan regions of Northern China: Sources, concentrations and size distributions.

Public concerns over airborne trace elements (TEs) in metropolitan areas are increasing, but long-term and multi-site observations of size-resolved aerosol TEs in China are still lacking. Here, we identify highly elevated levels of atmospheric TEs in megacities and industrial sites in a Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration relative to background areas, with the annual mean values of As, Pb, Ni, Cd and Mn exceeding the acceptable limits of the World Health Organization. Despite the spatial variability in concentrations, the size distribution pattern of each trace element was quite similar across the region.

DRIFTS studies on the photosensitized transformation of gallic acid by iron(III) chloride as a model for HULIS in atmospheric aerosols.

Little is known about the interfacial photochemistry of transition metal cations and chromophores relevant to atmospheric aerosols. We report herein water uptake and in situ surface-sensitive spectroscopic studies on the photosensitized transformation of solid gallic acid (GA), externally mixed with FeCl(3) as a photosensitizer, under dry and humid conditions of <1% and 30% relative humidity (RH), respectively. GA is a hydrolysis product of tannic acid, a model macromolecule for humic-like substances (HULIS) in aerosols and aged polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).