This study investigates surface water and groundwater interactions in a wetland/peatland region surrounding Fort McMurray, Alberta. This work measured local meteorology, water table variation, and isotope and geochemistry concentrations over a two year period. Results from vertical water budget calculations showed episodic runoff events ranging between 0 and 38 mm/yr. Groundwater evaluations showed limited groundwater gradients with mean hydraulic conductivities of 1.01*10-5 cms-1 (NE7) and 1.78 * 10-5 cms-1 (SM8). Overall, groundwater flux estimates were variable and heterogeneous across the catchments areas. Isotopic composition showed mixing between winter precipitation, groundwater and surface water, with groundwater representing the average input signature. This study showed that runoff events were largely associated with spring freshet and significant summer storm events. / Graduate

This research investigated the system by which the social effects of oil sands development on Fort McMurray, a city in northeastern Alberta, are assessed and managed. The research focused on Social Impact Assessment (SIA), Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), and the work of an industry initiative, the Regional Issues Working Group (RIWG). The oil sands industry, which involves large, labour-intensive mining and drilling operations in a boom-bust cycle, places considerable pressure on Fort McMurray, a city of approximately 50,000 inhabitants and the only urban area within 350 km of the oil sands. The social effects experienced there include exorbitant housing prices, shortages in service industry labour, insufficient social services, at times, to assist individuals and families who can no longer cope with the difficult conditions in the area, and a variety of other negative effects. Sixteen key informant interviews were conducted with urban planners, municipal politicians, provincial employees, a spokesperson for one of the First Nations in the area, community NGOs, and oil sands industry representatives. Data from the interviews were combined with a literature review and a document analysis. A modified McKinsey 7S Integrated Management Framework was used as a structure for describing and analyzing the Social Effects Assessment and Management System (SEAMS) in Fort McMurray. The SEAMS was found to be weak in comparison to the needs of the community. Project-by-project assessment of oil sands development was found to downplay the cumulative nature of social effects. Furthermore, no legislation or regulation existed that demanded action based on the findings of SIA. As a result, mitigation and management of social effects was insufficient, often occurring only when it was directly in the interests of the oil sands industry. While government and industry have plans in place to resolve some of the negative social effects, their actions were criticized by informants as being uncoordinated, inconsistent and often ineffective. The findings indicate that a strategy for exploiting Alberta's oil sands is necessary. The project-by-project evaluation of oil sands development proposals is not addressing the important long-term and regional social issues that arise as a result of construction and operation of the mines and facilities. A tool recommended for incorporating resolutions to long-term, regional social effects into the development plan is SEA with an explicit Strategic Social Assessment component. This strategic assessment and planning process should be undertaken by a publicly-accountable government body empowered to rationalize the pace of oil sands development based on social, environmental and economic effects, and to coordinate long-term responses by government and industry.

This research investigated the system by which the social effects of oil sands development on Fort McMurray, a city in northeastern Alberta, are assessed and managed. The research focused on Social Impact Assessment (SIA), Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), and the work of an industry initiative, the Regional Issues Working Group (RIWG). The oil sands industry, which involves large, labour-intensive mining and drilling operations in a boom-bust cycle, places considerable pressure on Fort McMurray, a city of approximately 50,000 inhabitants and the only urban area within 350 km of the oil sands. The social effects experienced there include exorbitant housing prices, shortages in service industry labour, insufficient social services, at times, to assist individuals and families who can no longer cope with the difficult conditions in the area, and a variety of other negative effects. Sixteen key informant interviews were conducted with urban planners, municipal politicians, provincial employees, a spokesperson for one of the First Nations in the area, community NGOs, and oil sands industry representatives. Data from the interviews were combined with a literature review and a document analysis. A modified McKinsey 7S Integrated Management Framework was used as a structure for describing and analyzing the Social Effects Assessment and Management System (SEAMS) in Fort McMurray. The SEAMS was found to be weak in comparison to the needs of the community. Project-by-project assessment of oil sands development was found to downplay the cumulative nature of social effects. Furthermore, no legislation or regulation existed that demanded action based on the findings of SIA. As a result, mitigation and management of social effects was insufficient, often occurring only when it was directly in the interests of the oil sands industry. While government and industry have plans in place to resolve some of the negative social effects, their actions were criticized by informants as being uncoordinated, inconsistent and often ineffective. The findings indicate that a strategy for exploiting Alberta's oil sands is necessary. The project-by-project evaluation of oil sands development proposals is not addressing the important long-term and regional social issues that arise as a result of construction and operation of the mines and facilities. A tool recommended for incorporating resolutions to long-term, regional social effects into the development plan is SEA with an explicit Strategic Social Assessment component. This strategic assessment and planning process should be undertaken by a publicly-accountable government body empowered to rationalize the pace of oil sands development based on social, environmental and economic effects, and to coordinate long-term responses by government and industry.

The Jackalope in the Room is an installation of sculptural and found objects that have been altered or contextualized in a way that conflates strangeness with normality. Many of the items in the installation were given as gifts or found in thrift stores, and have been modified to communicate a broader cultural or psychological meaning. Often this meaning is related to personal anecdotes and stereotypes attached to the objects that, in turn, seek to complicate popular narratives and cultural myths—many of which relate back to my experiences in northern Alberta. Northern Alberta is a liminal, near-mythical place where our ideas about remote environments collide with mass industrialization. These shibboleths have a pervasive quality that allows me to construct an uncanny web of associations using often banal source materials.

In the spring of 2016, a wildfire consumed the boreal forest that encircles the municipality of Fort McMurray, Alberta. Notwithstanding the severity of the blaze, known as “The Beast,” attention turned to the community because of its link to Canada’s largest industrial project – the Athabasca tar/oil sands in northern Alberta. A moment of controversy erupted in May 2016 when commentary pinned the cause of the wildfire on climate change, a charge that was quickly judged insensitive. With this context in mind, Fort McMurray holds scholarly value in the investigation of discourse related to today’s dominant form of energy – fossil fuels. Using a dataset of opinion discourse (N=40) sourced from four Canadian newspapers (The Globe and Mail, the National Post, the Calgary Herald, and the Edmonton Journal), this thesis presents a critical discourse analysis of how commentators and editorial boards articulated the relationship between the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire and concerns about the tar/oil sands contribution to climate change. The opinion pages are free from the journalistic pressure of objectivity and thus offer a place for argumentative narratives to reside. As such, my analysis focuses on the use of storylines in the dataset to give meaning to the wildfire and the tar/oil sands industry. The analysis reveals that the storylines cast environmentalist groups as ideologically motivated radicals while the oil industry was positioned as Alberta’s economic champion, thereby fusing the petro-state with the common good.

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This study is part of a three year project aimed to assess the effects of industrial water withdrawals on the ice regime of the Athabasca River. A 2-D numerical model was used to provide quantitative data for this effort. Freeze-up monitoring was carried out over two years along 80-km of the river from Fort McMurray to Bitumount. Summer bathymetric and winter ice surveys were conducted along with discharge measurements on a 5-km long detailed study reach that exhibited the full range of ice cover initiation processes. The data collected was used to build a CRISSP2D river ice process model for the simulation of freeze-up processes. An extensive parametric assessment was carried out to evaluate the capabilities of the model. Although it was not possible to simulate bridging, the simulated border ice agreed very well with field observations. Limitations of the model are addressed and future research recommendations are included. / Water Resources Engineering

Fort McMurray has experienced significant environmental disruptions, raising concerns about chemical releases that affect the environment, particularly berries. This thesis explores the relationship between environmental factors and the nutritional quality of pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica L.F.) and common blueberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides Michx) fruits and soil in Fort McMurray (reclaimed and natural lands). Samples were collected in August 2022 and analyzed for chemicals and quality variables. The results revealed concentration variations among samples, with hydrocarbons higher in reclaimed areas and blueberries than others and soil surpassing those in fruits. Copper and iron in fruits exceeded regulatory limits. A strong association between soil chemicals and alkylated hydrocarbons in fruits explained most differences. Soil trace elements and properties were primary environmental drivers, while hydrocarbons were secondary influencers, evident mainly in reclaimed berry environments. Antioxidant-focused nutritional quality in reclaimed berries was predominantly influenced by these key drivers in soil, requiring consistent monitoring.