Long-term monitoring and modelling of a reclaimed watershed cover on oil sands tailings

Dobchuk, Bonnie S.; Shurniak, Robert; Barbour, S. Lee; O'Kane, Mike; Qin, Song

doi:10.1080/17480930.2012.679477

Cited by 17 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The design of reclamation covers varies across mine sites based on parent material and construction strategies (Rowland et al ., ). Over the past 30 years, the main reclamation covers that have been constructed range from monolayer covers of salvaged glacial mineral soil, sometimes mixed with salvaged peat, to more complex multiple layer designs in which an upper ‘A’ horizon, constructed from a mixture of salvaged peat and glacial mineral soil, is placed over a thicker ‘B’ horizon constructed from salvaged glacial mineral soil (Boese, ; Dobchuk et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

The impact of reclamation cover depth on the performance of reclaimed shale overburden at an oil sands mine in Northern Alberta, Canada

Huang

Barbour

Carey

2015

Hydrological Processes

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Multilayer covers are widely accepted reclamation designs in the oil sands region of northern Alberta, Canada, with an ultimate goal of revegetating to species characteristic of predisturbance native plant communities. To determine the optimal depth of reclamation material required to reclaim overburden shale from an oil sands mine, an evaluation was made of the long‐term performance of six reclamation soil cover depths all placed over overburden. The measured soil water contents from different cover thicknesses at South Bison Hills located at the Syncrude Mine site north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, were used to calibrate and validate a dual‐porosity model in HYDRUS‐1D. The calibrated and validated model was then used to evaluate the influence of cover thickness and climatic variability on plant available water for forest growth. The frequency distributions of actual transpiration (Tr) for six cover treatments with a range of leaf area index (LAI) cases were developed. These Tr frequency distributions were then modified by coupling Tr and LAI. The modified frequency distributions for annual Tr for the six simulated cover thickness highlight the strong nonlinearity between the distributions of Tr over a long‐term (60 years) climate cycle in that incremental increases in cover thickness do not produce proportional increases in Tr. The results indicated that, once the cover thickness exceeds 100 cm, there is little incremental increase in the median value of Tr over the 60‐year climate cycle. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

The impact of reclamation cover depth on the performance of reclaimed shale overburden at an oil sands mine in Northern Alberta, Canada

Huang

Barbour

Carey

2015

Hydrological Processes

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“…This was perhaps best exemplified by comparing summer 2016 (wet) to summers 2014 and 2015 (dry) (Figures b and c). Upflux conditions have been previously reported in subhumid regions, where shallow WTs decreased net recharge (Carrera‐Hernández et al, ; Dobchuk et al, ; Smerdon et al, ; Soylu et al, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 69%

Evaluating How Landform Design and Soil Covers Influence Groundwater Recharge in a Reclaimed Watershed

Lukenbach

Spencer

Mendoza

et al. 2019

Water Resources Research

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Landscape‐scale reconstruction and prescription of soil cover systems following oil sands mining is challenging due to the quality of available reclamation materials and the subhumid climate of the Boreal Plains of Canada. In an experimental reclaimed watershed (Sandhill Fen Watershed), basin‐scale upland landforms (i.e., hummocks) were designed to provide groundwater to adjacent lowlands, necessitating adequate recharge following establishment of forest vegetation. Volumetric water contents, soil water pressure heads, and groundwater levels were monitored for four years throughout the watershed and used to calibrate and verify numerical models in HYDRUS. Using a variably saturated two‐dimensional domain, we identified a threshold‐like relationship between recharge (or upflux) and upland hummock height, where upland hummocks not tall enough to limit root water uptake from the saturated zone decreased recharge or resulted in net upflux. Recharge varied with soil cover texture (higher in coarser‐textured) and associated soil hydraulic parameters. Furthermore, scenario tests indicated the importance and relative influence that maximum rooting depths, forest floor placement thicknesses, and leaf area indices (all associated with forest development) had on recharge. Simulations utilizing a historical climate record indicated that interannual climatic variability was as influential as variation in soil cover texture in determining recharge. Reclamation practitioners should recognize that the water balances of reconstructed landscapes are largely influenced by the trade‐off between optimizing forest productivity and sourcing water to downgradient landscape positions.

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“…Intense up-flux of saline groundwater means a high risk of rooting zone salinization, and the salts coming up with capillary water have been considered an important cause of the salinity in the rooting zone in oil sands reclamation [24,27]. Since soil moisture regimes in the columns remained almost the same at the beginning and the end of saline water application, the amount of saline water added to the Mariotte bottles generally equaled the net amount of upward capillary water.…”

Section: Treatment Effects On Soil Water Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Capping Strategy and Water Balance on Salt Movement in Oil Sands Reclamation Soils

Drozdowski³

et al. 2020

Water

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The success of oil sands reclamation can be impacted by soil salinity depending on the materials used for soil reconstruction and the capping strategies applied. Using both a greenhouse-based column experiment and numerical modeling, we examined the potential pathways of salt migration from saline groundwater into the rooting zone under different capping strategies (the type and the thickness of the barrier layer) and water balance scenarios. The experimental results showed that there would be salinity issues in the cover soil within several growing seasons if there was a shallow saline groundwater table and if the soil was not properly reconstructed. The thickness of the barrier layer was the most significant factor affecting the upward movement of saline groundwater and salt accumulation in the cover soil. The suitable thickness of the barrier layer for preventing the upward movement of saline groundwater and salt accumulation in the cover soil for each material varied. A numerical simulation for a 15-year period further indicates that, when the cover soil was 50 cm of peat-mineral soil mix and when wet, dry, or normal climatic conditions were considered, the minimum barrier thickness to restrain salt intrusion into the cover soil in the long term was about 75 or 200 cm for coarse tailings sand or overburden barrier material, respectively. In view of the above, to minimize salt migration into the rooting zone and ensure normal plant growth, oil sands reclamation should consider salt migration when designing soil capping strategies.

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Long-term monitoring and modelling of a reclaimed watershed cover on oil sands tailings

Cited by 17 publications

References 20 publications

The impact of reclamation cover depth on the performance of reclaimed shale overburden at an oil sands mine in Northern Alberta, Canada

The impact of reclamation cover depth on the performance of reclaimed shale overburden at an oil sands mine in Northern Alberta, Canada

Evaluating How Landform Design and Soil Covers Influence Groundwater Recharge in a Reclaimed Watershed

Effects of Capping Strategy and Water Balance on Salt Movement in Oil Sands Reclamation Soils

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