Use of pre-industrial baselines to monitor anthropogenic enrichment of metals concentrations in recently deposited sediment of floodplain lakes in the Peace-Athabasca Delta (Alberta, Canada).

ABSTRACT: Well-designed monitoring approaches are needed to assess effects of industrial development on downstream aquatic environments and guide environmental stewardship. Here, we develop and apply a monitoring approach to detect potential enrichment of metals concentrations in surficial lake sediments of the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD), northern Alberta, Canada. Since the ecological integrity of the PAD is strongly tied to river floodwaters that replenish lakes in the delta, and the PAD is located downstream of the Alberta oil sands, concerns have been raised over the potential transport of industry-supplied metals to the PAD via the Athabasca River. Surface sediment samples were collected in September 2017 from 61 lakes across the delta, and again in July 2018 from 20 of the same lakes that had

SUBMITTER: Owca TJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6954137 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature