program: tuesday, february 24th
Welcome and opening remarks
Jay Nagendran, President & CEO, AEMERA
Keynote Address: How science can inform policy and decision-making
Dr. Lorne Taylor, Board Chair, AEMERA
Overview of the Joint Canada-Alberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring
Prasad Valupadas, AEMERA and David Boerner, Environment Canada
theme 1: pressures and stressors
session 1: emissions and releases
1.1 Better estimates of geography-based emissions from the oil sands
George Marson, Environment Canada
1.2 Dust source characterization
Dr. John Watson, Wood Buffalo Environmental Association
session 2: resource use
2.1 Landscape condition and human development in the oil sands region
Jim Herbers, Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute
2.2 A hydrologic assessment of effects from oil sands operations using a simplified water balance approach
Anil Gupta, AEMERA and Steven Guenther, Hatfield Consultants
2.3 Hydrologic/hydraulic and sediment transport environmental projection modelling
Ian G. Droppo, Environment Canada
Presenter Panel - Pressures and Stressors
session 3: air monitoring in the cold lake and athabasca regions
3.1 Overview of long-term air and soil acidification monitoring in the Cold Lake region
Michael Bisaga, Lakeland Industry and Community Association (LICA)
3.2 Overview of long-term air and terrestrial monitoring in the Wood Buffalo Region
Dr. Kevin Percy, Wood Buffalo Environmental Association
3.3 Community odour monitoring program
Ray Porter and Abena Twumasi-Smith, Wood Buffalo Environmental Association
3.4 16-year air concentration trends in the Wood Buffalo region
Dr. Warren Kindzierski, University of Alberta
session 4: water and aquatic system health
4.1 Assessment of changes in benthic invertebrate communities of the oil sands region
Anil Gupta, AEMERA and Bruce Kilgour, Hatfield Consultants/Kilgour and Associates Ltd.
4.2 Fish health and community endpoints as indicators of potential changes in the oil sands region
Anil Gupta, AEMERA and Heather Keith, Hatfield Consultants
4.3 Environmental archives of trace metal deposition in the oil sands region
Colin Cooke, AEMERA
4.4 Assessment of water quality patterns in 7 Canadian rivers in relation to oil sands industrial development, 1972 to 2010
Patricia Chambers, Environment Canada
Presenter Panel - Long term water and air monitoring
program: wednesday, february 25th
Keynote address: Making environmental monitoring a key asset for sustainable development
Dr. Arthur Hanson, Distinguished Fellow with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
theme 2: long term monitoring
session 5: biodiversity monitoring in the cold lake, athabasca and peace river regions
5.1 ABMI’s long term biodiversity monitoring in the oil sands region: emerging results
Dr. Jim Schieck, Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute
5.2 Trend monitoring of priority migratory birds in oil sands areas: lessons learned 2012-2015
Dr. Samantha Song, Environment Canada
5.3 Use of aerial survey methods to estimate ungulate populations in the oil sands region
Simon Slater, AEMERA
session 6: wildlife and forest health
6.1 Monitoring amphibian and wetland health in the oil sands
Bruce Pauli, Environment Canada
6.2 Additive and cumulative effects of forestry and energy sector disturbance on boreal landbirds in the Athabasca Oil Sands area
Dr. C. Lisa Mahon, Environment Canada
6.3 Forest health monitoring
Dr. Kevin Percy, Dr. Allan Legge and Dr. Doug Maynard, Wood Buffalo Environmental Association
Presenter Panel - Long term biodiversity, wildlife, and forest health monitoring
theme 3: focused monitoring
session 7: heavy metals and organic contaminants
7.1 Atmospheric deposition of contaminants to the Athabasca Oil Sands Region
Jeff Brook and Jane Kirk, Environment Canada
7.2 Ambient monitoring of volatile organic compounds in Fort McKay
Dr. Matthew Parsons, Environment Canada
7.3 Open Path FTIR data collected at Fort McKay Station over the summer of 2014
Long Fu, AEMERA; Longdong Zhang, Zaher Hashisho University of Alberta
7.4 Mercury trends in colonial waterbird eggs downstream of the oil sands region of Alberta, Canada
Bruce Pauli, Environment Canada
session 8: understanding pollutant transformation processes
8.1 Recent findings from the summer 2013 intensive monitoring campaign (both ground-based and airborne components)
Stewart Cober, Environment Canada
8.2 High resolution air mapping tool for the oil sands region in Alberta
Long Fu, AEMERA and Daniel Spitzer, A-Maps
8.3 High-resolution air quality modelling in the oil sands
Heather Morrison, Environment Canada
session 9: human disturbance footprint
9.1 Biodiversity hotspots: identifying areas that are extra-special importance to managers and planners
Dr. Jim Schieck, Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute
9.2 What have we learned about oil sands wildlife by using automatic recording units
Dr. Erin Bayne, University of Alberta