Pollutant Transformation, Aircraft-Based Multi Parameters, Oil Sands Region

During August 2013, September 2013, April 2018, May 2018, and June 2018, a research aircraft was deployed in the oil sands region. The flight paths of the aircraft were designed to measure air pollutants in plumes around the immediate vicinity of the major oil sands surface mining facilities (2013 & 2018) and in-situ mining facilities (2018 only), and downwind of these sources, at various heights above the ground. These flight paths enabled measurements of how concentrations of air pollutants change with elevation in the atmosphere as well as with distance from pollution sources. The aircraft was equipped with a comprehensive suite of instruments to measure gases, particles and meteorological conditions. It is not appropriate to directly compare these short-term data, measured by aircraft at various altitudes above the surface, with ambient air quality objectives for ground-level concentrations. The measurements were made to characterize and improve understanding of the chemical and physical processes that the oil sands pollutants undergo in the atmosphere. The measurements provide information to estimate the quantity and types of pollutants emitted from oil sands operations, to…

Publisher

Environment and Climate Change Canada

Resources

2

Catalogue metadata updated

2023-02-16