This record contains results from chemical analysis including suspended nitrogen (mg/g), suspended carbon (mg/g), and phosphorus (mg/g) based on dry weight sediment samples collected in the Beaufort Sea.

Monitoring activities have collected bulk suspended sediment samples using continuous flow centrifuges and Phillips Tube samplers in the Lower Athabasca River and tributaries respectively. Further, in the absence of pre-development monitoring for this region, high fidelity dated lake sediment cores were used to assess the natural range in contaminant deposition to this region and to obtain a historical perspective of contaminant loadings. All sediments (suspended river and lake cores) have been analyzed in the laboratory for sediment quality variables as per Appendix B in the Integrated Monitoring Plan (cores were also analyzed for paleo indicators of ecosystem health such as diatoms). In addition, as the Lower Athabasca river bed sediments are known to shift and migrate downstream, bathymetric maps of the bed-channel morphology over time was also completed. This will allow for estimates of bed sediment transport downstream for the period of survey, and be useful in calibration/validation of sediment and contaminant numerical transport models.

The objective of this project was to gather data to develop a model of the food web of the lower trophic levels of the nearshore area of the Beaufort Sea. Sampling took place from 2005 to 2008 using the CCGS Nahidik. The multidisciplinary character of the Nahidik program produced measurements of biology/ecology (primary production, phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthos, fish), chemical and physical oceanography, contaminants, geology and hydro acoustics. The data were collected in July and August of each year. The Nahidik program provided data to provide a baseline for future studies as well as an information source for environmental assessment.This record contains water chemistry data collected as part of this project including suspended nitrogen, dissolved nitrogen, suspended phosphorus, dissolved phosphorus, dissolved organic carbon, suspended carbon, chlorophyll a, and suspended silicon.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Maritime Science Branch has collected grain size data from sediment and water column samples using bottle samples, sediment cores, and sediment grabs as part of numerous research projects not only in the Atlantic provinces, but also worldwide. The data collected by DFO focuses on the fine grained (<1mm) particles as these are both a source of food and means of contaminant transport. Grain size data are used to study the fate and distribution of complimentary chemistries like heavy metals, pesticides, hydrocarbons, aquaculture waste as well as a variety of physical processes such as the resuspension and transport of sediment.

This dataset is a compilation of numerous data files recovered as part of a data request in 2024 from a historical archive of DFO research data. Sediment and Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) samples were collected over more than a decade as part of Dr. Douglas Loring’s research program while working at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO). Samples were collected as part of individual and collaborative research projects, and links to the relevant primary science publications and reports are included in the data in an effort to provide context to the data, as well as describe the field and laboratory techniques used to generate the attached data.

These datasets provide information pertaining to sediment grain size, porosity, organic content, total carbon and nitrogen concentrations, trace element concentrations, chlorophyll and phaeopigment concentrations, and meiofauna and macrofaunal abundance in Simoom Sound between November, 2000, and February, 2001. Data formatting of files were performed by Meagan Mak.Sutherland et al (2023) covers the benthic component of a broader project investigating potential modification of marine ecosystems by shrimp trawling and trapping on the central coast of British Columbia. Sediment and infaunal samples were collected before and after fishing with commercial fishing gear consisting of otter-trawl, beam-trawl, and trap-lines. Simoom Sound was sampled in November 2000 and February 2001. Tabulated data of sediment characteristics that include sediment grain size, porosity, carbon and nitrogen content, trace-element, and chlorophyll concentrations are presented in this report. In addition, the infaunal data are comprised of both macrofaunal and meiofaunal communities.

The layer provides information on suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentrations by area. There is a natural interaction phenomenon between hydrocarbons and SPM, that creates hydrocarbon-SPM aggregates. The SPM in the water column, hence has an effect on hydrocarbon capacity to sink to the bottom in aggregate form (Gong et collab., 2014 ; Fitzpatrick et collab., 2015, cited in Centre d'expertise en analyse environnementale du Québec, 2015). Additional InformationThe suspended particulate matter data for this layer are derived from multiple sources given the need to cover the St. Lawrence portion from Montreal to Anticosti. The layer has been cut into 6 different zones. Denis Lefaivre, a researcher at Maurice-Lamontagne Institute, has provided the coordinates of the points allowing the delimitation of areas. The values in each zone are derived from different studies carried out at different times. The references are cited below for each of the polygons from West to East, as well as for the summary:1- Department of Sustainable Development, Environment and Climate Change and Environment and Climate Change Canada, 2016. Recommendations for Suspended Matter Management (ESM) during dredging activities. Quebec. 64 pages and appendices. http://planstlaurent.qc.ca/fileadmin/publications/diverses/Registre_de_dragage/Recommandations_dragage.pdf2- D'Anglejan, B. 1990. Recent Sediments and Sediment Transport Process in the St. Lawrence Estuary. In Oceanography of a Large-Scale Estuarine System: The St. Lawrence, edited by M. I. El-Sabh and N. Silverberg. New York: Springer-Verlag, 109-153.3- Silverberg, N., and B. Sundby. 1979. Observations in the maximum turbidity of the St. Lawrence estuary. Can. J. Earth Sci. 16: 939-950.4- Michel Lebeuf, 2016.Unpublished personal data.Collected between 2015-2016 for research purposes.5- Sundby, B. 1974. Distribution and Transport of Suspended Particulate Matter in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences11 (11): 1517-1533.6- Gong, Y., X. Zhao, Z. Cai, S. E. O'Reilly, X. Hao and D. Zhao. 2014. A review of oil, dispersedoil and sediment interactions in the aquatic environment: Influence on the fate, transportand remediation of oil spills. Marine Pollution Bulletin, vol. 79: 1-2, p.16-33. 7- Fitzpatrick, F.A., M.C., Boufadel, R., Johnson, K., Lee, T.P., Graan, A.C., Bejarano, Z.,Zhu, D., Waterman, D.M., Capone, E., Hayter, S.K., Hamilton, T., Deffer, M.H.,Garcia, et J.S., Hassan. 2015. Oil-particle interactions and submergence from crudeoil spills in marine and freshwater environments – Review of the science and futurescience needs. U.S. Geological Survey Open-file report 2015-2016, 33 p.8- Centre d'expertise en analyse environnementale du Québec,2015.Hydrocarbures pétroliers : caractéristiques, devenir et criminalistique environnementale –Études GENV222 et GENV23, Évaluation environnementale stratégique globale sur leshydrocarbures. Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contreles changements climatiques, 41 p. et annexes.9- CSL – Centre Saint-Laurent, 1997. Le Saint-Laurent : dynamique et contamination des sédiments, Montréal, Environnement Canada – Région du Québec, Conservation de l’environnement, 127 p. (coll. BILAN Saint-Laurent). [Rapport thématique sur l’état du Saint-Laurent].

New geochemical data from re-analysis of archived stream sediment samples have been assessed using weighted sums modeling and catchment basin analysis as described in the methodology report that accompanies this map (YGS Open File 2015-10). Both commodity and pathfinder element abundances are evaluated to highlight areas that show geochemical responses consistent with a variety of base and precious-metal mineral deposit types. The results of modeling, completed using two approaches, are presented as a series of catchment maps and associated data files. This release is part of a regional assessment of stream sediment geochemistry that covers a large part of Yukon.

New geochemical data from re-analysis of archived stream sediment samples have been assessed using weighted sums modeling and catchment basin analysis as described in the methodology report that accompanies this map (YGS Open File 2015-10). Both commodity and pathfinder element abundances are evaluated to highlight areas that show geochemical responses consistent with a variety of base and precious-metal mineral deposit types. The results of modeling, completed using two approaches, are presented as a series of catchment maps and associated data files. This release is part of a regional assessment of stream sediment geochemistry that covers a large part of Yukon.

New geochemical data from re-analysis of archived stream sediment samples have been assessed using weighted sums modeling and catchment basin analysis as described in the methodology report that accompanies this map (YGS Open File 2015-10). Both commodity and pathfinder element abundances are evaluated to highlight areas that show geochemical responses consistent with a variety of base and precious-metal mineral deposit types. The results of modeling, completed using two approaches, are presented as a series of catchment maps and associated data files. This release is part of a regional assessment of stream sediment geochemistry that covers a large part of Yukon.