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Found 10 records similar to Enhanced Deposition of Particulate Metals, Oil Sands Region
Atmospheric concentrations and deposition rates of particulate elements are important indicators for determining the potential impacts of the oil sands industries on the local environment. The datasets consist of measured ambient air concentrations (in PM2.5 and PM2.5-10) and estimated deposition rates (based on PM10) of nearly 50 trace and major elements in the Athabasca oil sands region, Alberta, Canada. Data correspond to the years 2016 and 2017 for the following air monitoring stations: Fort McKay (AMS1), Buffalo Viewpoint (AMS4), Wapasu Creek (AMS17), and Stoney Mountain (AMS18), which are part of a larger network, monitoring various types of pollutants such as particulate matter, polycyclic aromatic compounds, etc. The samplers were operated once every three (AMS1, AMS4, and AMS18) or six days (AMS17) with a 24-hour sampling time (midnight-midnight) following the National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) program protocol, set by the Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Environment Canada has been monitoring ambient air in the oil sands region for polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) since December 2010. Ambient air samples collected using the established protocols and schedule of the National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) program are termed active PAC samples. Active sampling is done at three sites (Mannix [AMS5], Lower Camp [AMS11] and Fort McKay South [AMS13], Alberta). Ambient air concentrations in the oil sands region can be used to evaluate regional differences in PAC concentrations and can be compared with levels of PACs measured in other parts of Canada and to ambient air quality objectives.
Measurements of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM) and particulate bound mercury on PM2.5 (referred to as PBM2.5) were collected by Environment and Climate Change Canada from August to September 2013 at the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA) Air Monitoring Station (AMS) 13 – Fort McKay South, and at WBEA AMS 4 – Buffalo Viewpoint. Monitoring resumed at WBEA AMS 13 in September 2014 with two speciated mercury instruments and is ongoing. One speciated mercury instrument monitors GEM, GOM, and PBM2.5; the second speciated mercury instrument monitors GEM, GOM, and mercury on PM10 (referred to as PBM10). These data are the first atmospheric speciated mercury measurements to be reported in the oil sands region.
Measurements of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM) and particulate bound mercury on PM2.5 (referred to as PBM) are currently collected by Environment and Climate Change Canada at a Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA) Air Monitoring Station (AMS). Preliminary, three-hour averaged speciated mercury data from the oil sands region are available for WBEA AMS 13 – Fort McKay South, located near Fort McKay, Alberta. There are no Environment and Climate Change Canada or Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) air quality guidelines, nor Alberta Ambient Air Quality Objectives for speciated Hg measurements. The monitoring follows the established Canadian Air and Precipitation Monitoring Network (CAPMoN) standard operating procedures.
Total gaseous mercury (TGM) data are collected by Environment and Climate Change Canada at two Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA) Air Monitoring Stations (AMS). The instrument at WBEA AMS 11 was relocated to WBEA AMS 13 in Spring 2014. TGM data from the oil sands region are available for: WBEA AMS 6 - Patricia McInnes, located in Fort McMurray, Alberta, starting in October 2010; WBEA AMS 11 – Lower Camp, located approximately 30km north of Fort McMurray, for the period December 2012 to March 2014; WBEA AMS 13 – Fort McKay South, located near Fort McKay, starting in June 2014. The TGM concentrations reported are comparable to those measured at sites across Canada (Cole et al., Atmosphere 2014, 5(3), 635-668).
Hourly values of AQHI (Air Quality Health Index) constituents (O3, NO2, PM2.5), other selected trace gases (SO2, H2S), and PM1 and PM10 mass concentrations collected at the Sable Island Upper Air Station, Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. Data is available from January 2017, and is updated at least annually. Supplemental Information
Lower Detection Limits (LDL) 0.4 ppbv for NOx, SO2, H2S, 1 ppbv for O3, 0.1 ugm-3 for PM (particulate matter). Error estimates:
+/- 10% and +/- 0.2 ppbv for NOx, SO2, H2S (except +/-20% NOx January 2017);
+/- 10% and +/- 1.0 ppbv for O3;
+/- 3% for PM2.5 (from manufacturer).
Particle data from Canadian and U.S. ground-based monitoring networks from 1982 forward include the following:
- Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD);
- Aerosol Size Distribution;
- Aerosol Number;
- Aerosol Chemical Composition;
- Particulate Matter Mass;
- Particulate Matter <= 2.5 microns (PM2.5);
- Particulate Matter <= 10 microns (PM10);
- Particulate Metals.
For further information about Atmospheric Particles Data, see the Monitoring of Atmospheric Particles_Metadata.pdf file. These measurements help scientists understand the linkages between aerosol chemical composition, aerosol radiative properties, cloud formation and precipitation.
The Regional Air Quality Deterministic Prediction System FireWork (RAQDPS-FW) carries out physics and chemistry calculations, including emissions from active wildfires, to arrive at deterministic predictions of chemical species concentration of interest to air quality, such as fine particulate matter PM2.5 (2.5 micrometers in diameter or less). Geographical coverage is Canada and the United States. Data is available at a horizontal resolution of 10 km. While the system encompasses more than 80 vertical levels, data is available only for the surface level.
From August 10 to September 10, 2013, ground-based monitoring was significantly augmented at the Fort McKay South site (AMS13) to measure additional air pollutants and meteorological properties beyond what was available from the established long-term air quality monitoring in the area. This air monitoring study, undertaken in parallel with measurements from an aircraft flying over and downwind of the oil sands, was designed to gain a clearer picture of the mixture of air pollutants produced from different oil sands related activities and how they react and are transported in the atmosphere. These data are used to improve the capability of air quality models to determine current and future air pollutant levels and amounts of atmospheric deposition of pollutants over and downwind of the oil sands region. Periods of elevated pollutant concentrations were observed; however, none of these surpassed the current short duration (hourly, 8 hour or 24 hour) federal and provincial standards.
The Regional Deterministic Air Quality Analysis (RDAQA) is an objective analysis of surface pollutants which combines numerical forecasts from the Regional Air Quality Deterministic Prediction System (RAQDPS) and hourly observational data from monitoring surface networks over North America in order to produce a better description of the air quality at every hour. Chemical constituents include 03, SO2, and NO2 gases, as well as fine particulate matter PM2.5 (2.5 micrometers in diameter or less) and coarse particulate matter PM10 (10 micrometers in diameter or less). Geographical coverage is Canada and the United States. Data is available only for the surface level, at a horizontal resolution of 10 km.