Mainstem Water Quality in the Athabasca, Peace, and Slave Rivers

Athabasca, Peace, and Slave rivers in Canada's oil sands region contain water quality chemistry data from 17 sites. The dataset includes measurements of major ions, nutrients, metals, and organics, with over 1300 samples collected from 2012 to 2015. It was produced by Environment and Climate Change Canada, and an interpretive report was released in 2018.

Use Cases

• Analyzing spatial patterns of major ion concentrations along the Lower Athabasca River and Peace Athabasca Delta mainstem sites.
• Investigating trends in dissolved selenium concentrations under different flow conditions, as mentioned in the description.
• Comparing metal and phosphorus levels in tributaries like the McIvor and Birch rivers to other sites.
• Assessing water quality status and trends for parameters including BTEX, cyanide, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Strengths

• Includes data from 17 distinct monitoring sites across multiple major river systems.
• Over 1300 water quality samples were collected during a focused three-year study period.
• Covers a wide range of parameters including major ions, nutrients, metals (dissolved and total), and organics.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The description indicates data from 2011 to March 2018, but the interpretive report focuses on assessments from 2012-2015.

Provenance

Source

Environment and Climate Change Canada

Collection Method

Water sample collection from monitoring sites.

Time Range

2011 to March 2018, with detailed assessment for 2012-2015.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-20 14:32:27.862894; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Lower Athabasca River, Peace River, Slave River, and Peace Athabasca Delta in Alberta, Canada.