An integrated, province-wide ambient air monitoring system is fundamental to understanding the state and trends of air quality in Alberta…
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Putting the ‘U’ Back in Nature
Never before has it been easier for you to join in and participate in monitoring Alberta’s biodiversity, water and air.
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Oil Sands Monitoring Community Report
You have questions about the environment in the oil sands region…and we’re working to find the answers. The Alberta Environmental Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Agency (AEMERA) is the arm’s length provincial agency created to measure, assess and inform the public on the condition of Alberta’s environment. Our scientists and experts are transforming and improving how […]
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Exploring Community Approaches to Environmental Monitoring
Community-based monitoring is a relatively new term and can have a variety of interpretations.
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Laser sensing technology helps monitor greenhouse gas emissions
Imagine shooting a laser beam into the air over an industrial plant and being able to tell how much and what kind of greenhouse gas it is emitting…
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Keeping Invasive Mussels Out of Alberta, One Boat at a Time
Zebra and quagga mussels attach to any hard surface and grow like a carpet. They colonize dams and irrigation systems and are a significant physical nuisance for infrastructure. We have over seven thousand kilometers of irrigation canals and pipe in Alberta, all of which could be damaged by an infestation of zebra mussels. Quagga mussels […]
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Pilot program trains Aboriginal students from oil sands area
As AEMERA continues to move forward and establish itself as the provincial monitoring agency responsible for measuring, assessing and informing the public on the condition of Alberta’s environment, engaging with Aboriginal stakeholders to find meaningful ways to braid Traditional Ecological Knowledge into regional monitoring, has become a clear priority. After listening and spending time with […]
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Benthic Macroinvertebrate Project
“Benthic monitoring has been done for years in Alberta. It is a core activity and a well-established methodology, both nationally and a part of major international monitoring’, says Fred Wrona, Vice President and Chief Scientist at AEMERA. AEMERA adopted the approach but tailored it specifically to the Athabasca river systems in Alberta,” he says. Unlike […]
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The Air Quality Health Index (AQHI)
What is the AQHI? The higher the AQHI number, the greater the health risk. Typically ratings will not exceed 10, unless the amount of air contamination is extremely high. An example of an instance in which air quality might receive this rating would be during a forest fire smoke event, when smoke is transported into […]
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Why We Monitor Mercury
Human activity is an increasingly prevalent cause of mercury release. As an example, coal-burning power generation facilities are the most common source of mercury in the environment1. In Alberta, the majority of mercury emissions are through the air2. While mercury is a naturally-occurring element, it can be harmful to the environment and wildlife if it […]
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