James Telford Brantford, Ontario Grew up on the Grand River and Great Lakes, Southern Ontario. Brother. Graduate Student Researcher Wapusk National Park, Manitoba Peace-Athabasca Delta, Alberta Marian Watershed, Tłı cho Lands, NWT. Academic Partner on Marian Watershed Stewardship Program
Establishing a metals and hydroecologic baseline to support the Marian Watershed Stewardship Program James Telford MSc Candidate Brent Wolfe - Wilfrid Laurier University Roland Hall - University of Waterloo Sjoerd van der Wielen Tłı cho Government, Lands Protection Department
Concerns Climate Change Lower water levels Less Snow, Higher Temperatures More forest fires? Metals Pollution Pollution from mining and industry Mining begins in 1933 Ray Rock mine Giant/Con Mine Future NICO mine? How do we track pollution from mines? Atmospheric transport, through the air. River Transport.
Natural Sources of Metals Catchment Erosion Forest Fires can cause rapid erosion Bedrock Weathering
Objectives Establish a baseline of sediment metals concentrations from sediment cores at various locations, which can then be used for continued monitoring of surface sediment concentrations to identify potential pollution. Track long term changes in hydroecological conditions to identify natural changes and those changes, which are a result of climate warming Give context to current observation of low water levels.
2016 Water Sampling Water- Very low metals, except Al, likely natural Total Metals (Water) mg/l Aluminum (Al) Arsenic (As) Chromium (Cr) Iron (Fe) Lead (Pb) Mercury (Hg) Uranium 1 2 5 6 4 7 8 12 1 2 3 9 10 11 13 CCME FAL 100 5 1-8.9 300 33/15 Marian 1 124 0.37 0.26 116 <0.000050 <0.0000050 0.201 Marian 2 157 0.37 0.34 147 0.000088 <0.0000050 0.214 Marian 3 145 0.38 0.27 128 0.000052 <0.0000050 0.254 Marian 4 129 0.39 0.24 116 0.000054 <0.0000050 0.243 Marian 5 163 0.41 0.32 147 0.000070 <0.0000050 0.263 Marian 6 131 0.38 0.24 110 <0.000050 <0.0000050 0.262 Marian 7 160 0.42 0.38 142 0.000063 <0.0000050 0.262 Marian 8 144 0.38 0.00 117 <0.000050 <0.0000050 0.249 Marian 9 114 0.35 0.21 93 <0.000050 <0.0000050 0.262 Marian 10 96 0.42 0.23 97 <0.000050 <0.0000050 0.246 Marian 11 113 0.38 0.21 112 0.000058 <0.0000050 0.244 Marian 12 2016-87 2016-0.37 2016-79 0.17 <0.000050 <0.0000050 2015-341 2015-0.98 2015-357 0.244 Marian 13 220 2016-0.81 0.33 132 0.000117 <0.0000050 2015 1.14 0.685 Le Martre 1 52 0.40 0.11 52 <0.000050 <0.0000050 0.3 Le Martre 2 128 0.42 1.04 120 0.000188 <0.0000050 0.296
2016 Sediment Sampling Minor elevation in Arsenic, Chromium, Copper, Zinc Natural, Geogenic vs anthropogenic? 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 12 1 2 3 9 10 11 13 Metals (Soil) mg/kg Aluminum Arsenic Cadmium Chromium Copper Iron Lead Manganese Mercury Uranium Zinc ISQG/PEL 5.9/17 0.6/3.5 37.3/90 35.7/197 35/91.3 0.17/0. 486 Marian 1 23600 8.63 0.169 63.3 27.5 36700 11.4 1440 0.0347 6.23 94.0 Marian 2 35000 9.63 0.180 96.1 52.0 47600 13.6 746 0.0243 5.78 117 Marian 3 7820 3.15 0.047 18.0 6.53 13900 3.79 598 0.0068 0.743 26.1 Marian 4 19100 3.76 0.096 48.1 21.9 26900 8.60 563 0.0216 1.52 62.0 Marian 5 19500 3.65 0.097 48.0 21.0 27000 8.37 607 0.0205 1.47 63.3 Marian 6 12700 2.95 0.059 30.0 11.0 19700 5.28 571 0.0146 1.13 43.2 Marian 7 41400 12.1 0.140 121 55.7 53400 12.6 723 0.0190 3.17 127 Marian 8 13800 3.08 0.078 35.0 16.3 20400 6.31 458 0.0162 1.42 51.3 Marian 10 23700 4.54 0.145 60.3 25.7 33700 10.0 459 0.0250 2.20 88.2 Marian 11 25200 Marian 12 6490 Marian 13 13100 123/ 315 6.43 62.0 36.2 85.7 0.189 36200 13.2 784 0.0268 2.05 5.43 61.3 37.9 91.8 2.51 15.9 6.20 23.2 0.043 10600 3.74 775 0.0081 0.930 3.73 40.9 20.2 60.6 4.97 32.2 15.9 47.6 0.119 20600 6.62 273 0.0232 1.24 7.82 80.2 32.4 103 Le Martre 1 13400 3.66 0.051 35.8 16.3 21000 6.54 451 0.0114 1.30 44.2 Le Martre 2 28800 7.55 0.141 78.4 31.9 41100 12.1 688 0.0191 2.24 98.7
What is a Baseline? Need something to compare contemporary data to. There is an absence of long term records. What was the environment like before mining and climate change? Need to separate the natural variations from industrial activities. Mining began in 1933, therefor our baseline is pre-1933
Tondu 2012 Paleolimnology Lake History Sediment Cores Establish long-term records of environmental history from the watershed. Sediment material comes into the lake from the land, from streams and from the air, accumulating over time. Youngest Metals Oldest
Sediment Cores Sediment cores have been collected from 8 lakes throughout the Marian Watershed in 2015 and 2016.
Initial Sediment Core Results Nico Lake 2015 1967 2003, Signing of the Tlicho Agreement 1921 Chief Monfwi Signs Treaty 11 1867 Canada Confederation Located beside the NICO deposit. Naturally high in metals. Very little stream inflow. Higher elevation. 2 Sediment Cores ~1498 2015 ~500+ year record 1763 Royal Proclamation ~1700 ~1600 ~1498
Nico Lake Metals Baselines Established, 1878-2015 2020 Sediment Chromium Concentration ug/g 2020 Sediment Chromium Normalized to Lithium 2020 Sediment Copper Concentration ug/g 2020 Sediment Copper Normalized to Li 2010 2010 2010 2010 2000 2000 2000 2000 1990 1990 1990 1990 1980 1980 1980 1980 1970 1970 1970 1970 1960 1960 1960 1960 1950 1950 1950 1950 1940 1940 1940 1940 1930 1930 1930 1930 1920 1920 1920 1920 1910 1900 1890 1880 Cr Pre-1933 Baseline 1910 1900 1890 1880 Cr/Li Pre-1933 Baseline 1910 1900 1890 1880 Cu Pre-1933 Baseline 1910 1900 1890 1880 Cu/Li Pre-1933 Baseline 1870 25.0 45.0 65.0 ug/g 1870 0 1 2 3 1870 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 Metals concentrations are normalized to lithium to distinguishing natural sources from pollution. ug/g 1870 0.5 1.5 2.5 3.5
2020 2010 Sediment Arsenic Concentration ug/g 2020 2010 Arsenic Normalized to Lithium Sediment Cores: Initial Metals Results from Nico Lake 2000 2000 1990 1980 1970 1960 1950 1940 1930 1920 1910 1900 1890 1880 As Pre-1933 Baseline 112ug/g 1990 1980 1970 1960 1950 1940 1930 1920 1910 1900 1890 1880 As/Li As/Li Basline Major increase at 1948 corresponding to Giant Mine operation ~185km SE Decrease in early 60s with pollution controls. Potential for metals pollution runoff from the surrounding land. Major decline late 90s early 2000 s corresponding to end of Giant, Con mines. 1870 0 50 100 150 200 ug/g 1870 2 4 6
100+ Years of Monitoring Data 1.8 Temporal Trends in Normalized Arsenic to Statistical Baseline 1.7 1.6 COV Enrichment Factor 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.1 Pre-1933 Baseline Pollution (COV) Lower COV Normalized Arsenic Value 1 0.9 0.8 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 Date Powerful tool for continued monitoring.
Conclusion Paleolimnological methods provide means to establish metals concentrations baselines. Identifies evidence of arsenic pollution during latter half of 20 th century. Next Steps Establish metals concentrations baselines for Shoti or Marian Lake to compare to contemporary sediment data for use in monitoring downstream locations. Continue with geochemical and biological analysis to assess the influence of climate change on recent observations of lake levels. Incorporate results to Tłı cho Government monitoring initiatives.
Masi Cho!
Sediment Fe Concentration ug/g Sediment Fe Normalized to Li and Al 0.0 OM 2012 2012 2002 2002 10.0 1992 1992 1982 1982 1972 1972 20.0 1962 1962 Year (CRS Model) 1952 1942 1932 Year (CRS Model) 1952 1942 1932 30.0 40.0 Nico C1 Nico C2 1922 1922 1912 Fe 1912 50.0 1902 1892 Pre 1933 Baseline 1902 1892 Fe/Li Pres 33 Baseline 60.0 1882 1882 1872 4 10004 20004 30004 40004 1872 0 500 1000 1500 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00 40.00 70.0
As to Li 14 12 R² = 0.8522 10 8 6 4 2 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Surface sediment from M!to M13