The Fox Creek project: a multidisciplinary and multi-institutional environmental study in west-central Alberta
C. Rivard, C. Paniconi, D. Lavoie, E. Konstantinovskaya, O. Haeri Ardakani, H. Crow, G. Bordeleau, J. Lovitt, L.I. Guarin-Martinez, B.J. Meneses-Vega, A. Bahramiyarahmadi, B. Smerdon, R. Chalaturnyk, D. Alessi, B. Xu., P. Leblanc-Rochette, R. Lavoie, H. Kao, S. Heckbert, B. Giroux, I. Aubin, D. Degenhardt, S. Grasby
In the proceedings of: GeoNiagara 2021: 74th Canadian Geotechnical Conference; 14th joint with IAH-CNCABSTRACT: A project was initiated in April 2019 to study multiple stressors potentially affecting the environment in the Fox Creek area in west-central Alberta. This industrial region is mainly forested and unpopulated; however, oil and gas activities have been prevalent here over the last 50 years. To assess if hydrocarbon development has impacted surface water and groundwater resources, field measurements and modelling are being completed to investigate: surface water / groundwater interaction; hydro-ecology; and geomechanics. Fieldwork was conducted in winter 2019-2020 to collect snow samples and measure the snow pack, and to infer geomechanical properties of the shallow subsurface for the geomechanical model. In autumn 2020, nine monitoring wells were drilled (35 to 90 m deep) in the Paskapoo Formation, composed mainly of interbedded mudstone with sandstone. Borehole geophysical logging has helped better define the heterogeneous properties of the shallow bedrock. Laboratory analyses were performed on: 1) core samples from deep industrial wells to obtain geomechanical properties of the different sedimentary units and to define the organic matter composition and maturation of hydrocarbon-bearing formations; and 2) on water and snow samples to define geochemical properties. Ground surface conditions are also being investigated with regards to vegetation, forest and wetlands because the region has undergone significant forest fragmentation due to the industrial activities, and this has direct impacts on the hydrological cycle. Geomechanical modelling will allow us to study surficial aquifer vulnerability to upward fluid migration and establish the conditions under which such migration could occur. Hydro-ecological modelling will allow us to study the relationship between climate, land cover and surficial aquifers, which will be supported by groundwater monitoring throughout the duration of the project (until March 2024). Remote sensing will be used to study landscape evolution over the last decades, as well as snow cover.
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Rivard, C., Paniconi, C., Lavoie, D., Konstantinovskaya, E., Ardakani, O. Haeri, Crow, H., Bordeleau, G., Lovitt, J., Guarin-Martinez, L.I., Meneses-Vega, B.J., Bahramiyarahmadi, A., Smerdon, B., Chalaturnyk, R., Alessi, D., Xu., B., Leblanc-Rochette, P., Lavoie, R., Kao, H., Heckbert, S., Giroux, B., Aubin, I., Degenhardt, D., Grasby, S. (2021) The Fox Creek project: a multidisciplinary and multi-institutional environmental study in west-central Alberta in GEO2021. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geotechnical Society.
@article{Rivard_GEO2021_129,
author = C. Rivard, C. Paniconi, D. Lavoie, E. Konstantinovskaya, O. Haeri Ardakani, H. Crow, G. Bordeleau, J. Lovitt, L.I. Guarin-Martinez, B.J. Meneses-Vega, A. Bahramiyarahmadi, B. Smerdon, R. Chalaturnyk, D. Alessi, B. Xu., P. Leblanc-Rochette, R. Lavoie, H. Kao, S. Heckbert, B. Giroux, I. Aubin, D. Degenhardt, S. Grasby,
title = The Fox Creek project: a multidisciplinary and multi-institutional environmental study in west-central Alberta ,
year = 2021
}
title = The Fox Creek project: a multidisciplinary and multi-institutional environmental study in west-central Alberta ,
year = 2021
}