Air emissions from oil sands development can come from a number of sources including industrial smokestacks, tailings ponds, transportation, and dust from mining operations. Air quality monitoring under the Joint Canada-Alberta Implementation Plan for the Oil Sands is designed to determine the contribution of emissions from oil sands activities to local and regional air quality and atmospheric deposition both now and in the future. Deposition data include: - Passive Sampling of PACs deployed for two month periods across a network of 17 sites - Active sampling of PACs at three sites to inform the amount of dry deposition - Particulate metals (24 hour integrated samples following the one in six day National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) cycle)

The objectives of the fish component of the integrated oil sands monitoring program are to provide the necessary data/information to address key questions related to both environmental health of fish populations and fish health issues that can be used to inform human use and consumption. The questions underlying the fish monitoring design are related to the status and health of wild fish populations in the Lower Athabasca River including and in an expanded geographical extent. Data is being collected to provide a baseline against which future changes in fish populations will be evaluated, and compared to data from historical studies to assess change over time to the current state. Data is also being collected in areas of new oil sands development, to develop baseline data for future site-specific comparisons, contribute to an expanded geographic basis of the overall monitoring plan, and contribute to an improved ability to examine cumulative effects.

The health of individual amphibians, amphibian populations, and their wetland habitats are monitored in the oil sands region and at reference locations. Contaminants assessments are done at all sites. Amphibians developing near oil sands activities may be exposed to concentrations of oil sands-related contaminants, through air emissions as well as water contamination. The focus of field investigations is to evaluate the health of wild amphibian populations at varying distances from oil sands operations. Wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) populations are being studied in Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories in order to examine the relationship of proximity to oil sands activities and to prevalence of infectious diseases, malformation rates, endocrine and stress responses, genotoxicity, and concentrations of heavy metals, naphthenic acids and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Air emissions from oil sands development can come from a number of sources including industrial smokestacks, tailings ponds, transportation, and dust from mining operations. Air quality monitoring under the Joint Canada-Alberta Implementation Plan for the Oil Sands is designed to determine the contribution of emissions from oil sands activities to local and regional air quality and atmospheric deposition both now and in the future. Ambient air quality data include: - Filter Pack (24-hour integrated concentrations of particle-bound SO2-4, NO-3, Cl-, NH+4, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+ and gaseous SO2 and HNO3 collected daily by the Canadian Air and Precipitation Monitoring Network) - Total Gaseous Mercury (hourly mixing ratios measured by the Canadian Air and Precipitation Monitoring Network and Prairie and Northern Region) - Atmospheric speciated mercury (Hg) (2-hour average concentrations of gaseous elemental Hg (GEM), reactive gaseous Hg (RGM), and Hg on PM2.5 (total particulate Hg - TPM) - Comprehensive set of measurements collected from an aircraft (various time resolutions) covering an area of 140,000 km2 over the oil sands region - Comprehensive set of measurements collected from the Fort McKay Oski-ôtin monitoring site - Ozone (hourly mixing ratios measured by the Canadian Air and Precipitation Monitoring Network) - Ozone Vertical Profiles (ozone mixing ratios as a function of height) measured by the Canadian Ozone Sonde Network - Aerosol Optical Depth (measure of the degree to which the presence of aerosols in the atmosphere prevents the transmission of light, from the ground to the top of the atmosphere) measured as part of the AErosol RObotic CANadian (AEROCAN) network - Satellite overpass data have a relatively high spatial resolution over the Oil Sands region to produce images and geo-referenced data of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) “vertical column density” (which correlates with surface concentration)

Plant health assessments and vegetation surveys are undertaken at both terrestrial and wetland sites in the oil sands region and in reference areas. Plant monitoring is being conducted for biodiversity and contaminants, and because plants are important both as wildlife habitat and as traditional-use species. Plant and soil samples are collected at monitoring sites near and at varying distances from oil sands operations. Plant tissues are being examined for levels of naphthenic acids (NAs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals. Plant indicator species include Vaccinium spp. (blueberry), Ledum groenlandicum (Labrador tea), Arctostaphyllos uva-ursi (common bearberry), and Cornus canadensis (bunchberry). Soil samples from riparian banks and boreal forest locations are also collected for greenhouse studies. These experiments evaluate the uptake, distribution, and toxicity of the contaminants in plant tissue.

Assess the importance of atmospheric deposition of contaminants as a contributor to ecological impacts of oil sands development and identify sources. • Use snowpack measurements sampled across a gridwork to develop maps of winter-time atmospheric contaminant loadings for the region ~100 km from the major upgrading facilities • Assess long-term trends in winter-time atmospheric deposition • Determine the potential impact of wintertime snowpack mercury loads on tributary river water mercury concentrations (Spring Freshet) using Geographic Information System and hydrological modelling approaches • Compare snowpack loadings to those obtained from precipitation monitoring and compare spatial patterns to PAC air measurements obtained from passive sampling networkAll data are subjects of a publication containing method details, full QA/QC, interpretations and conclusions. Citations:A. Dastoor, A. Ryjkov, G. Kos, J. Zhang, J.L. Kirk, M. Parsons, A. Steffen. 2021. Impact of Athabasca oil sands operations on mercury levels in air and deposition. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 21, 12783-12807. L. Chibwe, D.C.G. Muir, Y. Gopalapillai, D. Shang, F. Yang, J.L. Kirk, C. Manzano, B. Atkinson, X. Wang, C. Teixeira. 2021. Long-term spatial and temporal trends, and source apportionment of polycyclic aromatic compounds in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region. Environmental Pollution 268A, 115351. J. Culp, I. Droppo, P. di Cenzo, A. Alexander-Trusiak, D. Baird, S. Beltaos, G. Bickerton, B. Bonsal, R. Brua, P. Chambers, Y. Dibike, N. Glozier, J.L. Kirk, L. Levesque, M. McMaster, D.C.G. Muir, J. Parrott, D. Peters, K. Pippy, J. Roy. 2021. Ecological effects and causal synthesis of oil sands activity impacts on river ecosystems: water synthesis review. Environmental Reviews 29. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1139/er-2020-0082. Y. Gopalapillai, J. L. Kirk, M.S. Landis, D.C.G. Muir, C.A. Cooke, C.A., A. Gleason, A. Ho, E. Kelly, D. Schindler, X. Wang, G. Lawson. 2019. Source analysis of pollutant elements in winter air deposition in the Athabasca oil sands region: A Temporal and Spatial Study. ACS Earth and Space Chemistry 38, 1656-1668. W. Wasiuta, J.L. Kirk, P.A. Chambers, A.C. Alexander, F.R. Wyatt, R.C. Rooney, C.A. Cooke. 2019. Accumulating mercury and methylmercury burdens in watersheds impacted by oil sands pollution. Environmental Science & Technology 53, 12856-12864. C. Manzano, D. Muir, J. L. Kirk, C. Teixeira, M. Siu, X. Wang, J.P. Charland, D. Schindler, E. Kelly. 2016. Temporal variation in the deposition of polycyclic aromatic compounds in snow in the Athabasca Oil Sands area of Alberta. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 188, 542. andJ.L. Kirk, D. Muir, A. Gleason, X, Wang, R. Frank, I. Lehnherr, F. Wrona. 2014. Atmospheric deposition of mercury and methyl mercury to landscapes and waterbodies of the Athabasca oil sands region. Environmental Science & Technology 48, 73747383.

The Cold Lake oil sands area - Township 56 to 69, Range 1 to 11, west of the 4th Meridian, falls within the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan (LARP). As part of Alberta's Land-use Framework, LARP was developed in 2012 to set the stage for robust growth, vibrant communities and a healthy environment within the region. One of its implementation objectives is to balance the economic development of oil sands and impacts on the ecosystem and environment. This is to be achieved through an enhanced science-based monitoring for improved characterization of the environment and to collect the information necessary to understand cumulative effects. This quality evaluation dataset was produced for 2009 Landsat data to identify possible misclassified areas due to sensor noise, cloud, haze, and cloud shadow. These areas are assigned to 'bad pixels' or value '1' in the quality evaluation dataset.

The Cold Lake oil sands area - Township 56 to 69, Range 1 to 11, west of the 4th Meridian, falls within the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan (LARP). As part of Alberta's Land-use Framework, LARP was developed in 2012 to set the stage for robust growth, vibrant communities and a healthy environment within the region. One of its implementation objectives is to balance the economic development of oil sands and impacts on the ecosystem and environment. This is to be achieved through an enhanced science-based monitoring for improved characterization of the environment and to collect the information necessary to understand cumulative effects. This quality evaluation dataset was produced for 2010 Landsat data to identify possible misclassified areas due to sensor noise, cloud, haze, and cloud shadow. These areas are assigned to 'bad pixels' or value '1' in the quality evaluation dataset.

The Cold Lake oil sands area - Township 56 to 69, Range 1 to 11, west of the 4th Meridian, falls within the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan (LARP). As part of Alberta's Land-use Framework, LARP was developed in 2012 to set the stage for robust growth, vibrant communities and a healthy environment within the region. One of its implementation objectives is to balance the economic development of oil sands and impacts on the ecosystem and environment. This is to be achieved through an enhanced science-based monitoring for improved characterization of the environment and to collect the information necessary to understand cumulative effects. This quality evaluation dataset was produced for 2006 Landsat data to identify possible misclassified areas due to sensor noise, cloud, haze, and cloud shadow. These areas are assigned to 'bad pixels' or value '1' in the quality evaluation dataset.

The Cold Lake oil sands area - Township 56 to 69, Range 1 to 11, west of the 4th Meridian, falls within the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan (LARP). As part of Alberta's Land-use Framework, LARP was developed in 2012 to set the stage for robust growth, vibrant communities and a healthy environment within the region. One of its implementation objectives is to balance the economic development of oil sands and impacts on the ecosystem and environment. This is to be achieved through an enhanced science-based monitoring for improved characterization of the environment and to collect the information necessary to understand cumulative effects. This quality evaluation dataset was produced for 2007 Landsat data to identify possible misclassified areas due to sensor noise, cloud, haze, and cloud shadow. These areas are assigned to 'bad pixels' or value '1' in the quality evaluation dataset.