Water table dynamics in a constructed wetland, Fort McMurray, Alberta
Abstract Surface mining in northern Alberta transforms wetlands and forests into open pits, tailings ponds, and overburden. As part of their license to operate, mine operators are required to reclaim this altered landscape to a predisturbance capacity. In 2012, Syncrude Canada Limited constructed on...
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crwiley:10.1002/hyp.13308 2024-10-06T13:48:47+00:00 Water table dynamics in a constructed wetland, Fort McMurray, Alberta Spennato, Haley M. Ketcheson, Scott J. Mendoza, Carl A. Carey, Sean K. Syncrude Canada Ltd. 2018 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13308 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fhyp.13308 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/hyp.13308 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/hyp.13308 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Hydrological Processes volume 32, issue 26, page 3824-3836 ISSN 0885-6087 1099-1085 journal-article 2018 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13308 2024-09-11T04:12:13Z Abstract Surface mining in northern Alberta transforms wetlands and forests into open pits, tailings ponds, and overburden. As part of their license to operate, mine operators are required to reclaim this altered landscape to a predisturbance capacity. In 2012, Syncrude Canada Limited constructed one of the first of two reclaimed wetlands, the Sandhill Fen Watershed (SFW), to evaluate wetland reclamation strategies. SFW is a 52‐ha system atop soft‐tailings that includes an inflow/outflow pump system, underdrains, upland hummocks, and a fen lowland. In this study, water table dynamics of the fen lowland were evaluated in the 2 years following commissioning (2014–2015) to assess whether this newly constructed watershed has hydrological conditions that facilitate hydric soils with water table regimes similar to reference systems. Results indicate that the location and hydrophysical properties of placed materials control water table responses to both water management and precipitation. This differential water table response in the SFW lowland drove lateral fluxes between adjacent landforms, suggesting periods of intermittent water supply from uplands to wetlands along hummock margins. As in natural systems, the lowland fen exhibited several lateral flow reversals over the 2 years depending upon water level. Water tables on‐average were greater than those observed in natural analogues. Comparison during these first 2 years following commissioning contribute to the increasing insight as to how construction and management practices support reclamation postmining. Article in Journal/Newspaper Fort McMurray Wiley Online Library Fort McMurray Canada Hydrological Processes 32 26 3824 3836 |
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English |
description |
Abstract Surface mining in northern Alberta transforms wetlands and forests into open pits, tailings ponds, and overburden. As part of their license to operate, mine operators are required to reclaim this altered landscape to a predisturbance capacity. In 2012, Syncrude Canada Limited constructed one of the first of two reclaimed wetlands, the Sandhill Fen Watershed (SFW), to evaluate wetland reclamation strategies. SFW is a 52‐ha system atop soft‐tailings that includes an inflow/outflow pump system, underdrains, upland hummocks, and a fen lowland. In this study, water table dynamics of the fen lowland were evaluated in the 2 years following commissioning (2014–2015) to assess whether this newly constructed watershed has hydrological conditions that facilitate hydric soils with water table regimes similar to reference systems. Results indicate that the location and hydrophysical properties of placed materials control water table responses to both water management and precipitation. This differential water table response in the SFW lowland drove lateral fluxes between adjacent landforms, suggesting periods of intermittent water supply from uplands to wetlands along hummock margins. As in natural systems, the lowland fen exhibited several lateral flow reversals over the 2 years depending upon water level. Water tables on‐average were greater than those observed in natural analogues. Comparison during these first 2 years following commissioning contribute to the increasing insight as to how construction and management practices support reclamation postmining. |
author2 |
Syncrude Canada Ltd. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Spennato, Haley M. Ketcheson, Scott J. Mendoza, Carl A. Carey, Sean K. |
spellingShingle |
Spennato, Haley M. Ketcheson, Scott J. Mendoza, Carl A. Carey, Sean K. Water table dynamics in a constructed wetland, Fort McMurray, Alberta |
author_facet |
Spennato, Haley M. Ketcheson, Scott J. Mendoza, Carl A. Carey, Sean K. |
author_sort |
Spennato, Haley M. |
title |
Water table dynamics in a constructed wetland, Fort McMurray, Alberta |
title_short |
Water table dynamics in a constructed wetland, Fort McMurray, Alberta |
title_full |
Water table dynamics in a constructed wetland, Fort McMurray, Alberta |
title_fullStr |
Water table dynamics in a constructed wetland, Fort McMurray, Alberta |
title_full_unstemmed |
Water table dynamics in a constructed wetland, Fort McMurray, Alberta |
title_sort |
water table dynamics in a constructed wetland, fort mcmurray, alberta |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13308 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fhyp.13308 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/hyp.13308 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/hyp.13308 |
geographic |
Fort McMurray Canada |
geographic_facet |
Fort McMurray Canada |
genre |
Fort McMurray |
genre_facet |
Fort McMurray |
op_source |
Hydrological Processes volume 32, issue 26, page 3824-3836 ISSN 0885-6087 1099-1085 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13308 |
container_title |
Hydrological Processes |
container_volume |
32 |
container_issue |
26 |
container_start_page |
3824 |
op_container_end_page |
3836 |
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1812176860800352256 |