Discerning the effects of industrial development on the Peace-Athabasca Delta

Related Journal Publication: Kay, M.L., Wiklund, J.A., Remmer, C.R., Owca, T.J., Klemt, W.H., Neary, L.K., Brown, K., MacDonald, E., Thomson, K., Vucic, J.M., Wesenberg, K., Hall, R.I., Wolfe, B.B. (2020). Evaluating temporal patterns of metals concentrations in floodplain lakes of the Athabasca Delta (Canada) relative to pre-industrial baselines, Science of The Total Environment, 704, 135309, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135309 .

These data were collected to understand the effect of industrial development on the Lower Athabasca River has had on the Peace-Athabasca Delta in northern Alberta. To do this, sediment cores were collected from multiple floodplain lakes, which can act as passive samples or natural archives for metal deposition. Sediment cores were subsequently sectioned into 1-cm intervals for further processing. Metals analysis was completed at each one of these intervals following EPA method: 202.2/6020A (aqua-regia hot block digestion followed by analysis by ICP-MSP). A suite of metals was obtained from this analysis, including key indicator metals for industrial development. Further details about the methods can be found in Kay et al. (2020). Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135309 . Statistical analyses were completed using Sigmaplot 11, R, and SPSS.

This data was collected to understand the effect of industrial development on the Lower Athabasca River has had on the Peace-Athabasca Delta in northern Alberta.

Peace-Athabasca Delta Northern Alberta

Related Journal Publication: Kay, M.L., Wiklund, J.A., Remmer, C.R., Owca, T.J., Klemt, W.H., Neary, L.K., Brown, K., MacDonald, E., Thomson, K., Vucic, J.M., Wesenberg, K., Hall, R.I., Wolfe, B.B. (2020). Evaluating temporal patterns of metals concentrations in floodplain lakes of the Athabasca Delta (Canada) relative to pre-industrial baselines, Science of The Total Environment, 704, 135309, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135309 .