Monitoring air quality in Alberta oil sands

Observations and data evaluating the levels of chemicals in air and their potential exposure to human and environmental health.

Ambient air quality

Monitoring ambient air quality in the oil sands region

• Existing airshed monitoring, total gaseous mercury
• Ecosystem sites, total gaseous mercury, validated data
• Ecosystem sites, total gaseous mercury, preliminary data
• Ecosystem sites, speciated mercury, validated data
• Ecosystem sites, speciated mercury, preliminary data
• Ecosystem sites, volatile organic compounds, validated data
• Ecosystem sites, volatile organic compounds, preliminary data
• Ecosystem sites, gaseous nitrogen and sulphur species
• Pollutant transformation, summer 2013 ground-based intensive multiple parameters at Fort McKay
• Pollutant transformation, summer 2013 aircraft intensive multiple parameters
• Pollutant transformation, ground-based pollutant monitoring multiple parameters at Fort McKay, validated data
  
• Pollutant transformation, ground-based pollutant monitoring multiple parameters at Fort McKay, preliminary data
• Remote sensing and modelling ground-based aerosol, optical depth
• Remote sensing and modelling ground-based aerosol, vertical profile
• Remote sensing and modelling satellite-based nitrogen dioxide
• Focused studies

Source emissions

Monitoring source emissions in the oil sands region

• Source emissions
• Emissions from tailings ponds to the atmosphere

Deposition

Studying deposition in the oil sands region

• Ecosystem exposure polycyclic aromatic compounds (passive)
• Enhanced deposition of particulate metals
• Enhanced deposition polycyclic aromatic compounds (active)
• Monitored ambient concentration and estimated atmospheric deposition of trace elements at four monitoring sites in the Canadian Athabascan oil sands region