The Athabasca Tar Sands

• Location


  province of Alberta Canada
• Spatial scale


  bulk of Canadas tar sands underlie 140,000km^2 of pristine boreal forest (an area approximately the size of the state of Florida)
• Oil extraction


  Bitumen found in tar sands is being extracted. this is an unconventional source of oil which means it is hard to extract. The sands are estimated to contain 175 billion barrels of recoverable reserves of crude bitumen
• Environmental impacts


  Water and energy use

  Deforestation of boreal forest

  Disadvantages of in-situ extraction

  Air quality

  Climate change
• Water and energy use

  As much as 5 barrels of water are needed to produce 1 barrel of oil

  The Athabasca River is the primary source of water. Over-abstraction threatens the fish populations in the river and the Peace-Athbasca Delta, the largest boreal delta on Earth and a World Heritage Site

  Tailings (slurry mix of water, sand, clay and naphthenic acids and trace metals (toxic to living creatures)) stored onsite in 'ponds'. They cover around 100km^2 , are thought to contain 720 billion litres of toxic tailings and there is evidence they are leeching into the groundwater and river

  It takes huge amounts of energy to extract this, 3.2 to 4.5 times more greenhouse gases than conventional oil
• Deforestation of boreal forest

  oil is strip mined meaning boreal forest is clear felled, rivers and streams diverted and wetlands drained. Overburden of soil, rocks and clay stripped away. These leaves massive scars on the landscape and destroys habitats and natural ecosystems. Estimated 4 tonnes of material has to be removed to produce each barrel of bitumen

  Canadas boreal forest represents 25% of the worlds intact forests and provides 1.3 billion acres of wild habitat for a vast array of species i.e. wolves, grizzly bear and lynx

  Tar sands are considered to be the cause of the 2nd fastest deforestation rate on the planet after the Amazon rainforest

  5,000km^2 forest planned to be cleared, drained and stripped for mining. Remaining 135,000km^2 could be fragmented into a web of seismic lines, roads, pipelines and well pads for in-situ drilling
• Disadvantages of "in-situ" extraction

  greater greenhouse gas emissions - steam produced by burning natural gas so it can be injected into the bitumen to soften in and liquify it so it can be pumped out the ground

  lower bitumen recovery rate - only about 40-60%, much lower than surface mining

  more production well-pads -- smaller footprint but more of them and scattered

  linear disturbances - from 3D seismic and cove hole exploration, roads annd pipelines; these negatively affect wildlife
• Air quality


  Air pollution from tar sands operations is increasingat both loacl and regional scales. Polutants relleased include lead, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide all of which are emitted in large volumes and they affect human health and contribute to acid rain
• Climate change


  Mining and upgrading processes produce at least 3x CO2 emissions of conventional oil production and is said to be the single largest industrial contributer in North America to climate change

  In the Athabasca basin there is rapid melting and retreat of the Athabasca glacier upstream in Jasper national park. This is a source for the Athabasca river where water is taken from to help produce the bitumen that makes the emissions that melt the glacier
• distribution networks


  pipeline infrastructure to refineries and to supertanker ports crosses the continent to all 3 major oceans and the gulf of Mexico
• environmental impacts of the distribution networks

  chances of oil spillage i.e. in 2010 20,000 barrels were leaked into Michigans Kalamazoo River and the cleanup cost around $700 million so far

  Tar sands oil corrodes pipelines increasing risk of spills