Dust is the dominant source of “heavy metals” to peat moss (Sphagnum fuscum) in the bogs of the Athabasca Bituminous Sands region of northern Alberta

Shotyk, William; Bicalho, Beatriz; Cuss, Chad W.; Duke, M. B.; Noernberg, Tommy; Pelletier, Rick; Steinnes, E.; Zaccone, Claudio

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2016.03.018

Cited by 80 publications

(75 citation statements)

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“…The effects of elevated atmospheric N and S deposition on Sphagnum growth could be positive (Vitt et al 2003;Turunen et al 2004) or insignificant (Wieder et al 2016), likely dependent on the importance of acidic deposition relative to other climatic controls. Recent trace metal concentrations in Sphagnum and peat cores in bogs near bitumen mines were comparable with those measured in other remote boreal and nonboreal regions, indicating limited effects of atmospheric contamination of trace elements on peatland conditions (Shotyk et al 2016a(Shotyk et al , 2016b.…”

Section: Freshwater Ecosystemssupporting

confidence: 64%

Atmospheric change as a driver of change in the Canadian boreal zone¹

et al. 2019

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Global anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and hazardous air pollutants have produced broad yet regionally disparate changes in climatic conditions and pollutant deposition in the Canadian boreal zone (the boreal). Adapting boreal resource management to atmospheric change requires a holistic understanding and awareness of the ongoing and future responses of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems in this vast, heterogeneous landscape. To integrate existing knowledge of and generate new insights from the broad-scale impacts of atmospheric change, we first describe historical and present trends (∼1980–2015) in temperature, precipitation, deposition of hazardous air pollutants, and atmospheric-mediated natural disturbance regimes in this region. We then examine their associations with ecosystem condition and productivity, biological diversity, soil and water, and the carbon budget. These associations vary considerably among ecozones and likely undergo further changes under the emerging risks of atmospheric change. We highlight the urgent need to establish long-term, boreal-wide monitoring for many key components of freshwater ecosystems to better understand and project the influences of atmospheric change on boreal water resources. We also formulate three divergent future scenarios of boreal ecosystems in 2050. Our scenario analysis reveals multiple undesirable changes in boreal ecosystem structure and functioning with more variable atmospheric conditions and frequent land disturbances, while continuing business-as-usual management of natural resources. It is possible, though challenging, to reduce unwanted consequences to ecosystems through management regimes focussed on socio-ecological sustainability and developing resilient infrastructure and adaptive resource-management strategies. We emphasize the need for proactive actions and improved foresight for all sectors of society to collaborate, innovate, and invest in anticipation of impending global atmospheric change, without which the boreal zone will face a dim future.

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Section: Freshwater Ecosystemssupporting

confidence: 64%

Atmospheric change as a driver of change in the Canadian boreal zone¹

et al. 2019

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“…We normalized to pre-1900 AD sediments from each individual sediment core, rather than, for example, average values for the upper continental crust, because our extraction method deliberately targeted labile, rather than total, element concentrations. Normalization is a common practice when working with both lacustrine (Boës et al 2011) and fluvial (Wiklund et al 2014) systems, as well as other types of environmental archives (Shotyk et al 2002, Uglietti et al 2015, and previous studies conducted in the oil sands region have used Li (Wiklund et al 2014) and Th (Shotyk et al 2016a, Shotyk et al 2014, Shotyk et al 2016b for the same purpose.…”

Section: Trace Element Ratiosmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Environmental archives, including lichen (Addison andPuckett 1980, Percy 2012), moss (Shotyk et al 2014, Shotyk et al 2016b, snow (Bari et al 2014, Kelly et al 2010, Kirk et al 2014, soils (Watmough et al 2014), and surficial lake sediments (Neville et al 2013), have been used previously across the oil sands region to reconstruct spatial patterns in trace element deposition. These archives integrate signals over a variety of times scales, spanning a single season (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and temporal patterns in trace element deposition to lakes in the Athabasca oil sands region (Alberta, Canada)

Cooke

Kirk

Muir

et al. 2017

Environ. Res. Lett.

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The mining and processing of the Athabasca oil sands (Alberta, Canada) has been occurring for decades; however, a lack of consistent regional monitoring has obscured the long-term environmental impact. Here, we present sediment core results to reconstruct spatial and temporal patterns in trace element deposition to lakes in the Athabasca oil sands region. Early mining operations (during the 1970s and 1980s) led to elevated V and Pb inputs to lakes located <50 km from mining operations. Subsequent improvements to mining and upgrading technologies since the 1980s have reduced V and Pb loading to near background levels at many sites. In contrast, Hg deposition increased by a factor of ∼3 to all 20 lakes over the 20th century, reflecting global-scale patterns in atmospheric Hg emissions. Base cation deposition (from fugitive dust emissions) has not measurably impacted regional lake sediments. Instead, results from a principal components analysis suggest that the presence of carbonate bedrock underlying lakes located close to development appears to exert a first-order control over lake sediment base cation concentrations and overall lake sediment geochemical composition. Trace element concentrations generally did not exceed Canadian sediment quality guidelines, and no spatial or temporal trends were observed in the frequency of guideline exceedence. Our results demonstrate that early mining efforts had an even greater impact on trace element cycling than has been appreciated previously, placing recent monitoring efforts in a critical long-term context.

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“…Trace element species in PM 2.5 are of particular importance because they can be sourcespecific and are typically preserved in the aerosol phase during transport. For example, V and Ni are often indicative of oil combustion (Becagli et al, 2012) as well as oil derivatives (Shotyk et al, 2016), while Al, Mg, and Cr, when grouped together, have been indicative of dust in the past, specifically that associated with transportation (Amato et al, 2014). This source specificity allows for the identification of sources of PM 2.5 with great resolution (Moreno et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sources of particulate matter components in the Athabasca oil sands region: investigation through a comparison of trace element measurement methodologies

et al. 2017

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Abstract. The province of Alberta, Canada, is home to three oil sands regions which, combined, contain the third largest deposit of oil in the world. Of these, the Athabasca oil sands region is the largest. As part of Environment and Climate Change Canada's program in support of the Joint CanadaAlberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring program, concentrations of trace elements in PM 2.5 (particulate matter smaller than 2.5 µm in diameter) were measured through two campaigns that involved different methodologies: a long-term filter campaign and a short-term intensive campaign. In the long-term campaign, 24 h filter samples were collected once every 6 days over a 2-year period (December 2010-November 2012) at three air monitoring stations in the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo. For the intensive campaign (August 2013), hourly measurements were made with an online instrument at one air monitoring station; daily filter samples were also collected. The hourly and 24 h filter data were analyzed individually using positive matrix factorization. Seven emission sources of PM 2.5 trace elements were thereby identified: two types of upgrader emissions, soil, haul road dust, biomass burning, and two sources of mixed origin. The upgrader emissions, soil, and haul road dust sources were identified through both the methodologies and both methodologies identified a mixed source, but these exhibited more differences than similarities. The second upgrader emissions and biomass burning sources were only resolved by the hourly and filter methodologies, respectively. The similarity of the receptor modeling results from the two methodologies provided reassurance as to the identity of the sources. Overall, much of the PM 2.5 -related trace elements were found to be anthropogenic, or at least to be aerosolized through anthropogenic activities. These emissions may in part explain the previously reported higher levels of trace elements in snow, water, and biota samples collected near the oil sands operations.

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Dust is the dominant source of “heavy metals” to peat moss (Sphagnum fuscum) in the bogs of the Athabasca Bituminous Sands region of northern Alberta

Cited by 80 publications

References 50 publications

Atmospheric change as a driver of change in the Canadian boreal zone¹

Atmospheric change as a driver of change in the Canadian boreal zone¹

Spatial and temporal patterns in trace element deposition to lakes in the Athabasca oil sands region (Alberta, Canada)

Sources of particulate matter components in the Athabasca oil sands region: investigation through a comparison of trace element measurement methodologies

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Dust is the dominant source of “heavy metals” to peat moss (Sphagnum fuscum) in the bogs of the Athabasca Bituminous Sands region of northern Alberta

Cited by 80 publications

References 50 publications

Atmospheric change as a driver of change in the Canadian boreal zone1

Atmospheric change as a driver of change in the Canadian boreal zone1

Spatial and temporal patterns in trace element deposition to lakes in the Athabasca oil sands region (Alberta, Canada)

Sources of particulate matter components in the Athabasca oil sands region: investigation through a comparison of trace element measurement methodologies

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Atmospheric change as a driver of change in the Canadian boreal zone¹

Atmospheric change as a driver of change in the Canadian boreal zone¹