This Master’s degree study examined concentration and isotopic trends of dissolved methane, isotopic trends of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA), and generated 1st order flux calculations to identify and assess biogeochemical cycling of dissolved methane in the first full-scale demonstration of EPL technology in the Alberta Oil Sands Region (AOSR). Base Mine Lake (BML) was commissioned by Syncrude Canada Ltd. in 2012 to facilitate the long-term storage and remediation of Fluid Fine Tailings (FFT) that are generated as a result of bitumen extraction via the Clark Hot Water Extraction (CHWE) processes. The results of this project provide evidence of methane oxidation by type I methanotrophs in BML, reducing dissolved oxygen concentrations in the hypolimnion layer. The FFT layer is identified as a source zone of fermentative methanogenesis, creating saturated conditions of dissolved gases. Dissolved methane is transferred to the water column primarily by advective processes related to FFT consolidation, while diffusion is a significant secondary transfer mechanism. Dissolved methane concentrations decrease significantly across the FFT-water interface where diffusive flux rates decrease by several orders of magnitude. Concentrations decreased linearly through the hypolimnion to trace concentrations by the metalimnion, resulting in a minor enrichment of δ13C of the residual dissolved methane pool. A minor enrichment of δ13C in C14:0, C16:0, and C16:1 PLFA coincided across the same interval, indicating utilization of a less depleted carbon source further away from the FFT-water interface where dissolved methane concentrations were lower. PLFA δ13C signatures were depleted relative to expected values of typical DOC substrates, further supporting the incorporation of a depleted signature by transfer of depleted carbon from dissolved methane. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/21956 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Goad, Corey |
| Contributors | Slater, Greg, Earth and Environmental Sciences |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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