Natural populations of oil-degrading bacteria could help to clean up freshwater rivers and lakes after spills from pipelines and trains, researchers have found after experiments that simulated spills in a Canadian lake. Read more in Great Lakes Now.
oil sands
With more than 150,000 kilometers already logged, the mobile Flux Lab keeps on trucking
From state-of-the-art research trucks to drones and satellites, Flux Lab uses an arsenal of tools in its quest to measure greenhouse gas emissions across Canada. In Western Canada’s oil and gas fields, Dave Risk’s trucks have become a familiar sight. These mobile labs, which resemble the trucks used by storm chasers and cost $250,000 each, […]
What Happens When Oil Sands Pipelines Spill?
The solution flowing through the Keystone pipeline isn’t just crude oil. Scientists are now learning what that means for spills. In June next year, a remote lake in Canada will suffer eight simultaneous oil spills. But it will be for a good cause. Scientists are trying to learn how dilbit, or diluted bitumen — the […]
Oil Sands Dilbit Causes Developmental Problems in Fish
Scientists have very little idea what the environmental effects of an oil sands “dilbit” spill would be. The oil that flows in pipes away from Canada’s oil sands is not the same as conventional crude oil. Known as diluted bitumen, or “dilbit,” this proprietary blend of oil and chemicals behaves differently in the event of […]