Mapping Groundwater Discharges to Rivers near Oil Sands Projects

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atmire.migration.oldid6020
dc.contributor.advisorJasechko, Scott
dc.contributor.authorEllis, Jessica
dc.contributor.committeememberMarshall, Shawn
dc.contributor.committeememberCooke, Colin
dc.date.accessioned2017-09-21T22:15:43Z
dc.date.available2017-09-21T22:15:43Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.date.submitted2017en
dc.description.abstractGroundwater discharges in the western Canadian oil sands region impact river water quality. Mapping groundwater discharges into rivers in the oil sands region is important to ensure wastewater and steam injections remain sequestered, rather than eventually resurfacing. Saline springs comprised of Pleistocene-aged glacial meltwater enter regional rivers, but their spatial distribution has not been mapped comprehensively. Here we show substantial increases in salinity along three major rivers as they flow through the Athabasca Oil Sands Region adjacent to many active oil sands projects. Major ion concentrations and isotope (2H/1H, 18O/16O, 87Sr/86Sr) compositions suggest that increases in river water salinities are caused by saline groundwater discharges from Cretaceous or Devonian aquifers. These regional subsurface-to-surface connections signify that injected wastewater or steam may potentially resurface in the future, emphasizing the critical import of mapping groundwater flows to understand present-day streamflow quality and to predict potential for injected fluids to resurface.en_US
dc.identifier.citationEllis, J. (2017). Mapping Groundwater Discharges to Rivers near Oil Sands Projects (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26830en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/26830
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11023/4123
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.facultyGraduate Studies
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.publisher.placeCalgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subjectGeochemistry
dc.subjectHydrology
dc.subject.otherOil sands
dc.subject.othergroundwater
dc.subject.otherwater resources
dc.subject.otherwater qualitye
dc.subject.otherriver
dc.subject.otherisotope
dc.titleMapping Groundwater Discharges to Rivers near Oil Sands Projects
dc.typemaster thesis
thesis.degree.disciplineGeography
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrue
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