Application of artificial substrate samplers to assess enrichment of metals of concern by river floodwaters to lakes across the Peace-Athabasca Delta

Study region: Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD), northeastern Alberta. Study focus: Potential for downstream delivery of contaminants via Athabasca River floodwaters to lakes of the PAD has raised local to international concern. Here, we quantify enrichment of eight metals (Be, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, V, Zn)...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies
Main Authors: Cory A.M. Savage, Tanner Owca, Mitchell L. Kay, Jelle Faber, Brent B. Wolfe, Roland I. Hall
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021
Subjects:
Contaminant monitoring
Periphyton
Floodplain
Peace-Athabasca Delta
Athabasca Oil Sands
Wood Buffalo National Park Action Plan
Physical geography
GB3-5030
Geology
QE1-996.5
Athabasca River
Wood Buffalo
Wood Buffalo National Park
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2021.100954
https://doaj.org/article/a9e6b6a0b2e240b995dff98d984b4e0b
Description
Summary:Study region: Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD), northeastern Alberta. Study focus: Potential for downstream delivery of contaminants via Athabasca River floodwaters to lakes of the PAD has raised local to international concern. Here, we quantify enrichment of eight metals (Be, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, V, Zn) in aquatic biota, relative to sediment-based pre-industrial baselines, via analysis of biofilm-sediment mixtures accrued on artificial substrate samplers deployed during summers of 2017 and 2018 in > 40 lakes. Widespread flooding in the southern portion of the delta in spring 2018 allows for assessment of metal enrichment by Athabasca River floodwaters. New hydrological insights: River floodwaters are not implicated as a pathway of metal enrichment to biofilm-sediment mixtures in PAD lakes from upstream sources. MANOVA tests revealed no significant difference in residual concentrations of all eight metals in lakes that did not flood versus lakes that flooded during one or both study years. Also, no enrichment was detected for concentrations of biologically inert metals (Be, Cr, Pb) and those related to oil-sands development (Ni, V). Enrichment of Cd, Cu, and Zn at non-flooded lakes, however, suggests uptake of biologically active metals complicates comparisons of organic-rich biofilm-sediment mixtures to sediment-derived baselines for these metals. Results demonstrate that this novel approach could be adopted for lake monitoring within the federal Action Plan.

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