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.

Reviews

"This volume contains papers presented at an eponymous international symposium held in conjunction with the 43rd International Air Pollution Workshop (May 2011), in Alberta, Canada. These papers, along with other included material, come from projects undertaken by the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA), which has, since 2008, undertaken intense study of environmental monitoring activities." --Reference?and Research Book News, October 2013

Feature

• Covers measurement of emissions from very large industrial sources in a region with huge international media profile
• Validation of measurement technologies can be applied globally
• The new approaches to ecological monitoring described can be applied in other forested regions

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