Search

An integrated watershed model is a key tool for assessing the fate and transport of organic chemicals. We developed and integrated an organic chemical simulation module into Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model and used it for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) simulation in Muskeg River Watershed in Athabasca oil sands region, Western Canada. The model uses a three-phase partition process to simulate the chemicals partitioning to Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) in both soil water and streams. The simulation performances for Phenanthrene and Pyrene loads for a period of 2015–2017 were assessed to be of ‘satisfactory’ quality. The model simulation results indicated that the summer season is the hot moment and the rainfall-runoff event is the driving force for the PAHs transport in the watershed. The developed simulation module could be a useful modeling tool to simulate and asess the pathway, fate and transport of organic chemicals at the watershed scale.

Mobility of ground vehicles is an important issue for defence operations. In the United States and some other NATO countries, the NATO Reference Mobility Model (NRMM) is currently used to evaluate military ground vehicle mobility. The cross-country performance prediction module of NRMM is based on empirical relations established with test data primarily collected decades ago. It has inherent limitations, such as the uncertainty whether the empirical relations can be extrapolated beyond the test conditions upon which they were derived. This paper describes a comparison of the empirically-based NRMM with the physics-based Nepean Tracked Vehicle Performance Model (NTVPM) for assessing the cross-country performance of military tracked vehicles. It examines the soundness of the methodologies of NRMM and NTVPM, the adequacy of the vehicle design parameters and terrain characteristics that they take into account, the user friendliness of their operations, and the correlations between the measured cross-country performance of a notional tracked vehicle (an armoured personnel carrier) and that predicted by the two simulation models on sandy terrain, muskeg and snow-covered terrain. Based on the results of the evaluation, it appears that the physics-based NTVPM has potential as the basis for the development of the next generation simulation model for assessing the cross-country performance of military tracked vehicles.

A systematic research program was undertaken with the objective of developing quantitative geotechnical parameters to support soil-pipe interaction assessment for buried pipelines in muskeg. For this purpose, a field geotechnical investigation program comprising cone penetration testing (SCPT) with shear wave velocity (Vs) measurements, electronic field vane shear testing (eVST), full-flow ball penetration testing (BPT), and pressuremeter testing (PMT), along with fixed-piston tube soil sampling was undertaken in a muskeg soil terrain. The data from field testing were initially interpreted to obtain typical stiffness and strength parameters for the subject soils. These parameters were then used to numerically simulate pressuremeter tests and the results were compared with those obtained from field pressuremeter testing; the intent was to calibrate a suitable constitutive model to represent the muskeg soil mass. These ascalibrated constitutive model was then applied on numerical models developed to simulate buried pipelines in muskeg soil subject to relative lateral ground movements. The work is aimed at developing a framework to generate soil restraint versus relative ground displacement relations (“soil springs”) to assess soil-pipe interaction of pipelines buried in muskeg soils. Initial results from the research are presented herein, with a comparison made between soil springs developed from numerical analyses and those generated from current practice guidelines.

A highway project of up to 100 km/h is currently being constructed between Colombo and Katunayake International Airport across a Sri Lankan muskeg area. At this site, peat deposit was initially 0.8∼15.3 m thick and was underlain by sand, clay, or gneiss. The ground improvement methods adopted in the project were combined drainage consolidation-preloading methods, pipe pile foundation, and geogrids. This paper provides a detailed insight into the implementation of combined drainage consolidation-preloading methods used in the project, including sand pile, gravel pile, and plastic drainage plate as the prefabricated vertical drains. Periodical field-level observations were taken during the ten years, including the construction and postconstruction periods. The results show that peat soils’ consolidation coefficient has been increased several times to tens of times due to ground improvement. After removing the temporary surcharge, the highway embankments did not heave and was followed by long-term settlements totaling 1.3∼7.4 cm over the following seven years of observations. Analysis of the settlement records shows that combined drainage consolidation-preloading methods have helped accelerate drainage consolidation and reduce postconstruction settlement.

A network of winter roads that consists of snow-ice roads over land, muskeg, and frozen lakes and rivers has been and continues to be a critical seasonal lifeline in remote-northern First Nation (FN) communities in Ontario’s Far North. This study examines current vulnerability of the Fort Albany community to physical, social, and economic impacts associated with the changing of the viability and longevity of winter roads and its seasons, as well as the river ice regimes. Semi-directive interviews with key informants (n = 8) and structured surveys with winter road users (n = 54) were conducted to gather local knowledge about the evolution of winter roads and climatic and environmental changes in winter road conditions and seasons. Trends in the river ice breakup and flood events for the Moose River, Albany River, and Attawapiskat River were also examined. The results of this study indicate that climatic factors, particularly air temperature and snowfall, have directly affected the construction and maintenance of the James Bay Winter Road. Trend analyses of spring flooding for the three rivers exhibit statistically significant increases (p ≤ 0.01) over the past few decades; thus, flooding in nearby communities has become a more significant threat in recent years. A few short- and medium-term adaptation strategies have been initiated in response to the impacts of climate change on winter roads; however, developing long-term planning and feasible adaptation for remote-northern communities in Ontario’s Far North is necessary.

This study interprets deformations of indurated 10s of metres thick bedrock strata by subglacial meltwater pressures at maximum levels, resulting in types of hydrodynamic structures not previously recognized. The structures provide insights into the range of extreme pressures possible with the backup of meltwaters sufficient to deform multi-metre thick indurated beds, unlike elsewhere. Subglacial meltwater flows into the subsurface below the 50–100 m thick bitumen platform aquiclude of the Cretaceous Athabasca Oil Sands deposit were driven by the hydraulic head of the 1.5-km-thick Laurentide Ice Sheet. These meltwaters over-pressured the regional Devonian aquifer waters, but the low permeability of the aquifer below the site of the Muskeg River Mine was insufficient to accommodate the voluminous influxes of subglacial meltwater. The resulting meltwater flows backed-up, resulting in elevating aquifer pressures to maximum levels along the margins of the underlying Devonian Keg River reef mound and within water-saturated Cretaceous sand beds offset to the east. The meltwater pressure build to extreme levels hydrofractured strata at sites along the margins of the Keg River mound preconditioned by dissolution-induced subsidence in underlying salt beds. Release of the confining pressure upon withdrawal of the Laurentide Ice Sheet resulted in 45-m-high open blowout structures that punctured the bitumen platform at sites above the northern margin of the Keg River mound. Other blowout chimney sites above the southern margin of the mound were plugged because of insufficient pressure build to clear vents of all ejecta. Concurrently, pressured meltwater flows along the eastern margin resulted in dykes that cross-cut and buckled Devonian limestone beds. Some dykes extended into overlying water-saturated unconsolidated Cretaceous sand beds, channelling pressured water and hydroplastic mudflows that dissipated the extreme meltwater flow pressures and prevented puncturing of the overlying bitumen platform. These unusual deformation structures in western Canada resulted from catastrophic failure of hydrofractured rock zones responding to extreme meltwater pressures, in contrast to unconsolidated sediment deformations resulting from only moderately elevated meltwater pressures commonly observed elsewhere.

We compiled a 38 year dataset (1972 to 2010) to evaluate changes in water chemistry over time in relation to oil sands mining activities. We examined patterns in three focal elements (dissolved selenium, dissolved arsenic, total vanadium) at 96 sites along seven tributaries of the Athabasca and Clearwater Rivers. Concentrations of the three focal elements did not differ between sites sampled upstream versus downstream of future development, between sites upstream versus downstream of the primary bitumen-bearing geologic formation, or at an upstream site over a 33 year period on the Muskeg River (1976–2009). Hence, longitudinal patterns observed in water chemistry following mine development cannot be attributed to natural background variation. In contrast, concentrations and loads of the three focal elements were greater post-development compared to reference values (p ≤ 0.01), and were typically greatest during the early exploration and land clearing stage of mine development (p < 0.01). Positive correlations between our three focal elements and 17 other variables either associated with bitumen or considered priority pollutants (r ≥ 0.13, p ≤ 0.04) suggest that the historical impacts of oil sands development on water quality extend beyond our three focal parameters. These results indicate that erosion and subsequent runoff associated with land clearing, construction, and early operational activities have affected water quality in the oil sands region.

Study region The Muskeg River Basin located in the Oil-Sands region of northern Alberta, Canada. Study focus An integrated modelling framework, which combines a process-based distributed hydrologic model with a dynamic land-cover simulation model is used to evaluate the effects of climate and land-cover changes on the hydrological regime in the basin. Land-cover types corresponding to three hypothetical levels of future industrial expansion are synthesized based on the current lease holdings for the Oil-Sands development in the region. An ensemble of hydrologic simulations based on multiple climate-change projections is performed with future land-cover scenarios during a baseline (1980–2010) and two future (2050 s and 2080 s) periods. The effects of climate and land-cover changes are quantified through various hydrologic indicators using a range of variability approach. New hydrological insights for the region Analysis of the relative contribution of inter-annual climate variability and land-cover change to the historical streamflow demonstrates the necessity to consider both in evaluating future water availability in the basin. Results indicate that modification to evapotranspiration rates caused from land-cover change affect spring and summer flows. Wetter and warmer conditions in the projected climate are found to increase spring and winter streamflows. Sensitivity analysis of the hydrologic indicators computed from the simulated flows shows that land-cover change may play a larger role in affecting the hydrologic regime than climate change, except that of spring runoff.

In this paper, a conceptual model was developed to predict the seepage of oil sands process-affected water with capabilities of evaluating the transport and attenuation of naphthenic acids through the dykes and the foundations of oil sands tailings pond. The model incorporates naphthenic acid diffusion, adsorption, dispersion, advection, and biodegradation, and was modeled through the commercial software tools to predict naphthenic acid fate in both spatial and time scales. The tailing pond of the Muskeg River Mine in the Athabasca oil sands deposit was investigated in the case study. The comparison between the onsite monitoring data and the simulation results was in good agreement. In addition, limiting factors for migration of naphthenic acid were also discussed based on a parametric sensitivity study.

Heavy metal contaminations in an aquatic environment is a serious issue since the exposure to toxic metals can cause a variety of public health problems. A watershed-scale model is a useful tool for predicting and assessing heavy metal fate and transport in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. In this study, we developed a simulation module for non-reactive heavy metals and incorporated it into the widely used Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. The simulated processes in the developed model include heavy metal deposition, partitioning in soil and water, and transport by different pathways in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. Three-phase partitioning processes were considered in the module by simulating heavy metals portioning to dissolved organic carbon in the soil and stream. This developed module was used for watershed-scale simulation of heavy metal processes in the Muskeg River watershed (MRW) of the Athabasca oil sands region in western Canada for the first time. The daily streamflow and sediment load from 2015 to 2017 were first calibrated and validated. Subsequently, the daily Lead and Copper loads at the outlet station were used for heavy metal calibration and validation. The performances for the daily heavy metal loads simulation during the whole simulation period can be considered as “satisfactory” based on the recommended model performance criteria with the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency as 0.41 and 0.71 for Pb and Cu loads, respectively. The simulation results indicate that the spring and summer are hot moments for heavy metal transport and the snowmelt in spring and rainfall runoff events in summer are the main driving forces for the metal transport in the MRW. We believe the developed model can be a useful tool for simulating the fate and transport of non-reative heavy metals at watershed scale and further used to assess management scenarios for mitigating heavy metal pollution in the Athabasca oil sands region.

As industrial development is increasing near northern Canadian communities, human health risk assessments (HHRA) are conducted to assess the predicted magnitude of impacts of chemical emissions on human health. One exposure pathway assessed for First Nations communities is the consumption of traditional plants, such as muskeg tea (Labrador tea) (Ledum/Rhododendron groenlandicum) and mint (Mentha arvensis). These plants are used to make tea and are not typically consumed in their raw form. Traditional practices were used to harvest muskeg tea leaves and mint leaves by two First Nations communities in northern Alberta, Canada. Under the direction of community elders, community youth collected and dried plants to make tea. Soil, plant, and tea decoction samples were analyzed for inorganic elements using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Concentrations of inorganic elements in the tea decoctions were orders of magnitude lower than in the vegetation (e.g., manganese 0.107 mg/L in tea, 753 mg/kg in leaves). For barium, the practice of assessing ingestion of raw vegetation would have resulted in a hazard quotient (HQ) greater than the benchmark of 0.2. Using measured tea concentrations it was determined that exposure would result in risk estimates orders of magnitude below the HQ benchmark of 0.2 (HQ = 0.0049 and 0.017 for muskeg and mint tea, respectively). An HHRA calculating exposure to tea vegetation through direct ingestion of the leaves may overestimate risk. The results emphasize that food preparation methods must be considered when conducting an HHRA. This study illustrates how collaboration between Western scientists and First Nations communities can add greater clarity to risk assessments.

A series of laboratory tests have been performed to explore the geotechnical and geophysical characteristics of fibrous muskeg (i.e., grassy bog), using undisturbed block samples obtained from Alberta, Canada. The basic index properties of muskeg show similar values to the reference data for other organic soils, and they significantly differ from those of typical inorganic soils. Due to high organic content, muskeg has high water content, high compressibility, and high initial permeability. The effective stress and porosity play a major role in controlling the stress-dependent geophysical properties of shear wave velocity, real permittivity, and electrical conductivity. The values of peak drained friction angle obtained in the direct shear tests are in the range of 26° to 51°.

An Air cushion vehicle is a vehicle that flies like a plane but can float like a boat, can drive like a car but will traverse ditches and gullies as it is a flat terrain. An air cushion vehicle also sometimes called an air cushion vehicle because it can hover over or move across land or water surfaces while being held off from the surfaces by a cushion of air. A Hovercraft can travel over all types of surfaces including grass, mud, muskeg, sand, quicksand, water and ice .Hovercraft prefer gentle terrain although they are capable of climbing slopes up to 20%, depending upon surface characteristics. Modern Hovercrafts are used for many applications where people and equipment need to travel at speed over water but be able load and unload on land. For example they are used as passenger or freight carriers, as recreational machines and even use as warships. Hovercrafts are very exciting to fly and feeling of effortlessly traveling from land to water and back again is unique.

The marshy water-saturated soil typical of the sub-Arctic represents a considerable impediment to the construction of roads, thereby greatly hindering human habitation and geological excavation. Muskeg, the native water-laden topsoil characteristic of the North American sub-Arctic, represents a particularly vexing challenge for road construction. Muskeg must either be entirely excavated, or for direct construction on muskeg, a mix of partial excavation and gradual compaction with the strategic placement of filling materials must be performed. Here, we demonstrate a novel and entirely reversible geopolymerization method for reinforcing muskeg with wood fibers derived from native vegetation with the addition of inorganic silicate precursors and without the addition of extraneous metal precursors. A continuous siloxane network is formed that links together the muskeg, wood fibers, and added silicates yielding a load-bearing and low-subsidence composite. The geopolymerization approach developed here, based on catalyzed formation of a siloxane network with further incorporation of cellulose, allows for an increase of density as well as compressive strength while reducing the compressibility of the composite.

Black and white spruce (Picea mariana and P. glauca) exhibit a striking micro-geographic distribution pattern at the southern edge of the boreal forest. Black spruce grows in flooded nutrient-poor muskegs, while white spruce is found primarily on drier upland sites, and the two rarely form mixed stands. In an attempt to characterize the physiological and, hence, mechanistic basis of this pattern, we sampled five adjacent populations of black and white spruce from northern British Columbia and measured a suite of physiological and allocative characteristics, and associated trade-offs, that may be important to survival in habitats limited in nutrient or water availability. Two laboratory experiments were conducted: a greenhouse dry-down experiment to assess relative degree of drought tolerance; and a 2×2 nested factorial experiment in which seedlings were subjected to varying water and nitrogen regimes for approximately 16 weeks. White spruce was more drought-tolerant (i.e., maintained positive net photosynthesis at lower shoot water potential) and more efficient in water-use (as indicated by carbon isotopic composition) than black spruce. Black spruce was found to be significantly less sensitive to nitrogen stress, exhibited greater plasticity in nitrogen-use efficiency (measured as the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio in total plant tissue), and had a greater specific N absorption rate under high-N conditions than white spruce. Trade-offs hypothesized to be associated with these nitrogen and water relations traits were examined, but few were confirmed. Water-use efficiency and nitrogen-use efficiency did not trade-off between species, but did trade-off plastically (i.e., across treatments) within species. When exposed to simultaneous limitations of N and water both species were forced to utilize each resource with suboptimal efficiency. The change in isotopic composition per unit change in C/N ratio was not the same in the two species. This difference may reflect optimization of the trade-off, whereby each species maximizes the use efficiency of the most limiting resource (respective to its habitat), while minimizing the concomitant reduction in the use efficiency of the other resource.

The dearth of baseline, near-surface (

We compiled an GIS-based inventory of coastal wetlands associated with the Manitoba Great Lakes—Lakes Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Winnipegosis—using a hydrogeomorphic classification system, orthophotography, satellite imagery, and digital habitat maps. The lakes have six times more wetlands per km of shoreline than the Laurentian Great Lakes: Lake Winnipeg has 1404 km 2 (0.8 km 2 /km), Lake Manitoba has 564 km 2 (0.6 km 2 /km), and Lake Winnipegosis has 742 km 2 (0.8 km 2 /km). Riverine wetlands are the most common class on Lakes Winnipeg and Winnipegosis whereas barrier-protected wetlands are the most common class on Lake Manitoba. The totals for Lakes Winnipeg and Winnipegosis are greater by 548% and 273%, respectively, if Treed Muskeg habitat in the northern regions of the watersheds is included in the inventory, whereas the total for more southerly Lake Manitoba is greater by only 18%. Netley-Libau Marsh (222 km 2 ) on Lake Winnipeg and Delta Marsh (139 km 2 ) on Lake Manitoba are among the largest coastal wetlands on the North American continent. These baseline data can be used to identify ecologically important wetlands warranting further study or remediation.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) originating from natural sources, and potentially from the Athabasca Oil Sands development, are of concern for the Athabasca River and Lake Athabasca delta ecosystems. In order to model the transport of fine sediments (and associated PAHs), it is important to describe the sediment dynamics within the river system. Flocs possess different settling characteristics compared to individual particles. A key aspect in modelling floc settling behaviour is the mathematical linkage of the floc density to floc size. In this paper, a rotating annular flume is used to determine the settling characteristics of Muskeg River (a tributary of the Athabasca River) sediments under different shear conditions. Simulations of the settling and flocculation behaviour of these sediments were used to calibrate a density vs. floc size model. A relationship of the parameters relating floc size and density with the fractal dimension F shows that as diameter increases flocs become weaker. Recommendations for the practical application of the model are further formulated in this paper. The deposition tests offer a quantitative measure of the relative amount of sediment that is likely to be transported through the river for given flow conditions.

A Two-Section Helical Pile (TSHP) is a steel pipe with two shaft sections of different diameters and with one or more helix plates near the bottom of each shaft section. TSHPs are used regularly in western Canada as foundation pockets for single and double circuit distribution power line poles. The results of a comprehensive lateral pile load test program and the field monitoring of TSHPs installed in organic soil (muskeg) over soft clay are presented in this paper. A total of nine full scale lateral load tests were carried out, including seven tests using TSHPs with different diameters and embedment depths, and two tests using one-section helical piles. The prime objective of the study was to evaluate the lateral resistance of TSHPs installed into very soft organic soil (muskeg) overlying soft clay soils, to compare their lateral resistance relative to one-section helical piles and to compare the measured and the estimated lateral resistances using p-y curves. In order to provide sufficient soil ...

This study examines the ecology of Rangifer tarandus caribou (woodland caribou) in the Naosap range in west-central Manitoba, Canada. This population is considered to be of high conservation concern because of potential resource-development impacts; therefore, baseline data are required to guide and evaluate the management of this species in this area. Radio-telemetry data were collected every two weeks from February 1998 to April 2001 and used in combination with forest-inventory data to evaluate habitat selection, site fidelity, movement, and grouping patterns. In both summer and winter, selected habitats were mature upland spruce and pine forests, as well as treed muskeg. Hardwood forests were least selected at all scales. Mature coniferous forest was preferred over immature coniferous forests in a pair-wise comparison in winter, but not in summer. Home-range sizes were within expected ranges of variation. Animals used distinct areas in summer and winter, showing broad fidelity to seasonal ran...

At the Muskeg River Mine, bitumen is hosted in the clastic sediments of the lower Cretaceous McMurray Formation. Within the mine area, the McMurray Formation is divided informally into mappable units representing fluvial, continental floodplain, open estuarine, estuarine channel complex (ECC), and marine environments. Fluvial, open estuarine, and ECC deposits host more than 90% of the mineable bitumen reserves. Bitumen grade is more consistent within the fluvial and open estuarine units (12–15 mass%), whereas ECC sediments are characterized by significant lateral and vertical grade variability (0–15 mass%). In the ECC deposits, bitumen grade is controlled by significant reservoir heterogeneity. Facies assemblages including point-bar deposits (PB), abandoned channel-fills (AC), and tidal flat deposits (TF), create complex internal geometries, architectures and associated reservoir properties. Traditional facies mapping and correlation has proven to be difficult even in closely spaced wells for the ECC deposits of the McMurray Formation; thus, an alternative technique using concepts of Stratigraphic Dip Analysis (SDA) was developed to assess bitumen grade for the deposits at the Muskeg River Mine. This approach involves three main steps: (l) juxtaposing azimuth maps (rose diagrams) over horizon slice facies maps for selected stratigraphic intervals to identify major channel trends (paleo-current directions); (2) comparison of dips, with corresponding sedimentary structures allows for a better prediction and geometries of point bars and abandoned channel-fills; and (3) comparison of dip trends with dominant lithology of facies assemblages and available bitumen grades provides a base for accurate delineation of architectural elements. A detailed case study is presented and shows that this approach provides a base for accurate delineation of architectural elements and confirms that bitumen grade decreases laterally with inferred maturity of point bar successions.

After a programme of integrated field and modelling research, hydrological processes of considerable uncertainty such as snow redistribution by wind, snow interception, sublimation, snowmelt, infiltration into frozen soils, hillslope water movement over permafrost, actual evaporation, and radiation exchange to complex surfaces have been described using physically based algorithms. The cold regions hydrological model (CRHM) platform, a flexible object-oriented modelling system was devised to incorporate these algorithms and others and to connect them for purposes of simulating the cold regions hydrological cycle over small to medium sized basins. Landscape elements in CRHM can be linked episodically in process-specific cascades via blowing snow transport, overland flow, organic layer subsurface flow, mineral interflow, groundwater flow, and streamflow. CRHM has a simple user interface but no provision for calibration; parameters and model structure are selected based on the understanding of the hydrological system; as such the model can be used both for prediction and for diagnosis of the adequacy of hydrological understanding. The model is described and demonstrated in basins from the semi-arid prairie to boreal forest, mountain and muskeg regions of Canada where traditional hydrological models have great difficulty in describing hydrological phenomena. Some success is shown in simulating various elements of the hydrological cycle without calibration; this is encouraging for predicting hydrology in ungauged basins.

In 1936, the Canadian Surveyor, journal of the Dominion Land Surveyors' Association, introduced a new cover illustration. Alongside a field surveyor, the new image depicted a floatplane rising from the surface of an isolated northern lake. The decision to identify surveying with bush planes reflected the central place that aviation occupied in Canadian surveying and the important contributions aircraft could make to mining through the practice of aerial surveying. As part of a wider growth of interest in the country's north, the Canadian mining industry had begun to pay closer attention to mineral deposits located in the heart of the Canadian Shield. Upon entering this region, the industry encountered an intricate geography of low, rolling, rocky hills, muskeg bogs, and innumerable lakes, rivers, and creeks. Encounters with the land would encourage members of the industry to look for alternate methods of obtaining information about their new environment as the difficulty of overland travel and the sheer immensity of the territory made existing methods of mapping and surveying inappropriate. Canadian mineral developers turned to aerial surveying as a means of overcoming these obstacles. Throughout the 1920s, Canadians adopted aerial surveying as a key element of mineral-development practice such that, by

Previous studies indicate that the Middle Devonian of the Rainbow sub-basin represents a closed petroleum system with the Muskeg evaporite acting as the regional seal. To investigate the spatial and compositional characteristics of hydrocarbons in this area, multivariate statistical methods were used to study the geochemical signatures of a suite of Middle Devonian oils and analyze the geographic distribution characteristics of the non-associated gas accumulations in the sub-basin. The results suggest that there are two genetic groups of oils derived from slightly different source rocks. Geographic correlation of an oil group with a particular depositional facies indicates that communication between source and reservoir is the primary control on the variation of spatial characteristics of the oils. Geographic distribution characteristics of the non-associated gas accumulations, oil pool size and reservoir character suggest that cross-formational migration of hydrocarbon may have occurred in major fracture systems. The findings of this study may provide useful clues for future oil and gas exploration in this and adjacent, relatively unexplored, regions.

A pipe-in-pipe (PiP) technology was selected to transport hot fluids through muskeg and multiple obstacles dealt with Horizontal Directional Drillings (HDDs) in Northern Alberta. The system offers both integrity and construction advantages. • The outer pipe provides an obvious secondary barrier to any leak. It also provides the basis for a surveillance system with a sensitivity more than 1000 times the sensitivity provided by the standard mass-balance. • The system is pre-constrained: the inner pipe is pre-heated using electrical heat tracing at a temperature such that the system, once installed, has thermal stresses reduced by half and thus permits the installation of the high-temperature pipeline in non-competent soils with no expansion loop and no external anchor. • The insulation system between the two pipes reduces the heat loss to only 0.3 W/(m2.K), leading to a very long cool down time. Finally, the pipe-in-pipe can be a simple solution to high-risk and/or high scrutiny areas such as HDDs, sensitive wetlands, unstable soils, etc.