Reconstructing Hydrologic Conditions and Metals Supplied by the Peace River to the Peace-Athabasca Delta
The Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD) in northern Alberta, Canada, is recognized internationally for its ecological, historical, and cultural significance. The delta is mostly within Wood Buffalo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. The construc...
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ftwlaurieruniv:oai:scholars.wlu.ca:etd-3447 2023-06-11T04:10:07+02:00 Reconstructing Hydrologic Conditions and Metals Supplied by the Peace River to the Peace-Athabasca Delta Faber, Jelle André 2020-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/2317 https://scholars.wlu.ca/context/etd/article/3447/viewcontent/Faber_Thesis___Final.pdf en eng Scholars Commons @ Laurier https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/2317 https://scholars.wlu.ca/context/etd/article/3447/viewcontent/Faber_Thesis___Final.pdf 2 Publicly accessible Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) Peace-Athabasca Delta hydroelectric dam Alberta Oil Sands paleolimnology water quality environmental assessment Biogeochemistry Environmental Chemistry Environmental Health and Protection Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Environmental Monitoring Fresh Water Studies Geochemistry Hydrology Other Earth Sciences Other Environmental Sciences Sedimentology Water Resource Management text 2020 ftwlaurieruniv 2023-05-07T16:38:48Z The Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD) in northern Alberta, Canada, is recognized internationally for its ecological, historical, and cultural significance. The delta is mostly within Wood Buffalo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. The construction of the WAC Bennett Dam (1967) and the Site C Dam (ongoing, 2024) on the Peace River, and expansion of the Alberta Oil Sands industry along the Athabasca River have raised concerns over water quantity and quality in the delta. When industry operations began, effective monitoring had not been implemented. Consequently, pre-industrial reference conditions are unknown and can be difficult to define. Paleolimnological techniques provide means to assess current environmental conditions of the PAD in the context of a pre-industrial baseline. Research focuses on lakes very near to the Peace River to reconstruct past hydrological conditions and to characterize sediment metal deposition derived from Peace River floodwaters. Results from sediment core analysis at lakes ‘PAD 65’ and ‘PAD 52’ show that organic matter content and d13Corg increase while C/N ratios decrease after 1970, suggesting a decrease in flood frequency. The timing of this stratigraphic shift aligns with changes in the Peace River hydrograph caused by river regulation as a result of the construction of the Bennett Dam. Notably, these are the first lakes (of >30 in the PAD) with paleolimnological evidence to attribute hydroecological change in the PAD to the Bennett Dam, which suggests these effects are evident in very close proximity to the Peace River. These two lakes lie in regions and perhaps at elevations that are highly sensitive to changes in the Peace River hydrograph that have occurred during the open-water season. Other lake sediment stratigraphic records examined in this study from the northern part of the PAD, and just downstream along the Slave River, show drying trends since the early twentieth century, likely due to climate change, ... Text Athabasca River Peace River Slave River Wood Buffalo Wood Buffalo National Park Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario: Scholars Commons@Laurier Athabasca River Canada Peace-Athabasca Delta ENVELOPE(-111.502,-111.502,58.667,58.667) Wood Buffalo ENVELOPE(-112.007,-112.007,57.664,57.664) |
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Open Polar |
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Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario: Scholars Commons@Laurier |
op_collection_id |
ftwlaurieruniv |
language |
English |
topic |
Peace-Athabasca Delta hydroelectric dam Alberta Oil Sands paleolimnology water quality environmental assessment Biogeochemistry Environmental Chemistry Environmental Health and Protection Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Environmental Monitoring Fresh Water Studies Geochemistry Hydrology Other Earth Sciences Other Environmental Sciences Sedimentology Water Resource Management |
spellingShingle |
Peace-Athabasca Delta hydroelectric dam Alberta Oil Sands paleolimnology water quality environmental assessment Biogeochemistry Environmental Chemistry Environmental Health and Protection Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Environmental Monitoring Fresh Water Studies Geochemistry Hydrology Other Earth Sciences Other Environmental Sciences Sedimentology Water Resource Management Faber, Jelle André Reconstructing Hydrologic Conditions and Metals Supplied by the Peace River to the Peace-Athabasca Delta |
topic_facet |
Peace-Athabasca Delta hydroelectric dam Alberta Oil Sands paleolimnology water quality environmental assessment Biogeochemistry Environmental Chemistry Environmental Health and Protection Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Environmental Monitoring Fresh Water Studies Geochemistry Hydrology Other Earth Sciences Other Environmental Sciences Sedimentology Water Resource Management |
description |
The Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD) in northern Alberta, Canada, is recognized internationally for its ecological, historical, and cultural significance. The delta is mostly within Wood Buffalo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. The construction of the WAC Bennett Dam (1967) and the Site C Dam (ongoing, 2024) on the Peace River, and expansion of the Alberta Oil Sands industry along the Athabasca River have raised concerns over water quantity and quality in the delta. When industry operations began, effective monitoring had not been implemented. Consequently, pre-industrial reference conditions are unknown and can be difficult to define. Paleolimnological techniques provide means to assess current environmental conditions of the PAD in the context of a pre-industrial baseline. Research focuses on lakes very near to the Peace River to reconstruct past hydrological conditions and to characterize sediment metal deposition derived from Peace River floodwaters. Results from sediment core analysis at lakes ‘PAD 65’ and ‘PAD 52’ show that organic matter content and d13Corg increase while C/N ratios decrease after 1970, suggesting a decrease in flood frequency. The timing of this stratigraphic shift aligns with changes in the Peace River hydrograph caused by river regulation as a result of the construction of the Bennett Dam. Notably, these are the first lakes (of >30 in the PAD) with paleolimnological evidence to attribute hydroecological change in the PAD to the Bennett Dam, which suggests these effects are evident in very close proximity to the Peace River. These two lakes lie in regions and perhaps at elevations that are highly sensitive to changes in the Peace River hydrograph that have occurred during the open-water season. Other lake sediment stratigraphic records examined in this study from the northern part of the PAD, and just downstream along the Slave River, show drying trends since the early twentieth century, likely due to climate change, ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Faber, Jelle André |
author_facet |
Faber, Jelle André |
author_sort |
Faber, Jelle André |
title |
Reconstructing Hydrologic Conditions and Metals Supplied by the Peace River to the Peace-Athabasca Delta |
title_short |
Reconstructing Hydrologic Conditions and Metals Supplied by the Peace River to the Peace-Athabasca Delta |
title_full |
Reconstructing Hydrologic Conditions and Metals Supplied by the Peace River to the Peace-Athabasca Delta |
title_fullStr |
Reconstructing Hydrologic Conditions and Metals Supplied by the Peace River to the Peace-Athabasca Delta |
title_full_unstemmed |
Reconstructing Hydrologic Conditions and Metals Supplied by the Peace River to the Peace-Athabasca Delta |
title_sort |
reconstructing hydrologic conditions and metals supplied by the peace river to the peace-athabasca delta |
publisher |
Scholars Commons @ Laurier |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/2317 https://scholars.wlu.ca/context/etd/article/3447/viewcontent/Faber_Thesis___Final.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-111.502,-111.502,58.667,58.667) ENVELOPE(-112.007,-112.007,57.664,57.664) |
geographic |
Athabasca River Canada Peace-Athabasca Delta Wood Buffalo |
geographic_facet |
Athabasca River Canada Peace-Athabasca Delta Wood Buffalo |
genre |
Athabasca River Peace River Slave River Wood Buffalo Wood Buffalo National Park |
genre_facet |
Athabasca River Peace River Slave River Wood Buffalo Wood Buffalo National Park |
op_source |
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) |
op_relation |
https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/2317 https://scholars.wlu.ca/context/etd/article/3447/viewcontent/Faber_Thesis___Final.pdf |
op_rights |
2 Publicly accessible |
_version_ |
1768384374621863936 |