Severe western Canadian wildfire affects water quality even at large basin scales

Emmerton, Craig A.; Cooke, Colin A.; Hustins, Sarah; Silins, U.; Emelko, Monica B.; Lewis, Ted G.; Kruk, Mary K.; Taube, Nadine; Zhu, Dongnan; Jackson, Brian P.; Stone, M.; Kerr, Jason G.; Orwin, John F.

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2020.116071

Cited by 57 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…In contrast, wildfires are common in the Boreal Forest [78] and two large spring fires occurred during our study period: 2011 and 2016 [79,80]. Recent work in the OSR following the 2016 Horse River fire suggests relationships between precipitation events and water chemistry in burned watersheds [36]. Furthermore, data on the concentrations of biotransformation products of PACs in the bile of northern pike (Esox lucius) collected in the summer of 2011 were also elevated following the Richardson Fire [37].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…Local industrial development can also affect the hydrology of watersheds exacerbating or otherwise altering exposure regimes [30,35]. Natural and non-OSIA sources are also present and include forest fires [36,37], urban activity [38], weathering and erosion of bitumen outcrops [33,39], accumulation of sediments in depositional areas [39], and discharge of groundwater naturally in contact with bitumen [21]. Additionally, the health of fish in reference areas and within the OSR varies annually [33,40] suggesting the potential influence of other natural stressors, such as temperature and river discharge on biotic indicators [41][42][43].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Potential Influence of Sewage Phosphorus and Wet and Dry Deposition Detected in Fish Collected in the Athabasca River North of Fort McMurray

Arciszewski

McMaster

2021

Environments

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The health of fish is a primary indicator of ecosystem response in the Oil Sands Region of northeastern Alberta. However, industrial activity is accompanied by other stressors, such as the discharge of sewage, municipal activity, forest fires, and natural weathering and erosion of bitumen. To combat the spatial confounding influences, we examined white sucker (Catostomus commersonii) captured in the Athabasca River at sites over time (2011–2019) and included covariates to account for the possible sources of influence. The analyses suggest spatially heterogeneous influences of natural factors on fish, such as discharge and air temperature, but also the influence of sewage phosphorus and precipitation. Among the stressors examined here, precipitation may be the most complex and may include a mixture of sources including inputs from tributaries, urban activity, industrial development, and forest fires. Although suggestive, the attribution of variance and detection of changes are affected by sample sizes in some years; these analyses may have missed effects or misspecified important relationships, especially in males. Despite these limitations, the analyses suggest potential differences may be associated with precipitation and highlight the need to integrate robust information on known and suspected stressors in future monitoring of aquatic ecosystems in the oil sands region and beyond.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Influence of Sewage Phosphorus and Wet and Dry Deposition Detected in Fish Collected in the Athabasca River North of Fort McMurray

Arciszewski

McMaster

2021

Environments

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“…Those that have, have been conducted in permafrost free, mountainous or Interior Plain landscapes (Burke, Prepas, & Pinder, 2005). For example, Emmerton et al (2020) discovered that only during brief rainfall events could a fire‐induced change in water chemistry be observed in large basins draining water through burned areas following the 2014 Fort McMurray forest fire, and that there was no shift in monthly and annual metrics of river water quality. There remains a large knowledge gap about how subarctic Precambrian Shield catchments respond hydrologically and biogeochemically to fire (Holloway et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Those that have, have been conducted in permafrost free, mountainous or Interior Plain landscapes (Burke, Prepas, & Pinder, 2005). For example, Emmerton et al (2020) Wolfe, Kokelj, & Gaanderse, 2016). This area is in the zone of discontinuous permafrost.…”

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confidence: 99%

Hydrological resilience to forest fire in the subarctic Canadian shield

Spence

Hedstrom

Tank

et al. 2020

Hydrological Processes

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Understanding the role of forest fires on water budgets of subarctic Precambrian Shield catchments is important because of growing evidence that fire activity is increasing. Most research has focused on assessing impacts on individual landscape units, so it is unclear how changes manifest at the catchment scale enough to alter water budgets. The objective of this study was to determine the water budget impact of a forest fire that partially burned a $450 km 2 subarctic Precambrian Shield basin. Water budget components were measured in a pair of catchments: one burnt and another unburnt. Burnt and unburnt areas had comparable net radiation, but thaw was deeper in burned areas. There were deeper snow packs in burns. Differences in streamflow between the catchments were within measurement uncertainty. Enhanced winter streamflow from the burned watershed was evident by icing growth at the streamflow gauge location, which was not observed in the unburned catchment. Wintertime water chemistry was also clearly elevated in dissolved organics, and organic-associated nutrients. Application of a framework to assess hydrological resilience of watersheds to wildfire reveal that watersheds with both high bedrock and open water fractions are more resilient to hydrological change after fire in the subarctic shield, and resilience decreases with increasingly climatically wet conditions. This suggests significant changes in runoff magnitude, timing and water chemistry of many Shield catchments following wildfire depend on pre-fire land cover distribution, the extent of the wildfire and climatic conditions that follow the fire.

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“…There is growing evidence that wildfires trigger cascading impacts in fluvial networks over a range of spatiotemporal scales 18,[21][22][23][24] . Wildfires originate on hillslopes and cause decreased infiltration capacity and groundwater recharge [25][26][27] , increased overland flow 22,28 , reduced flood attenuation capacity by riparian vegetation 29 , increased snow ablation 30 , and higher frequency of landslides, avalanches, and debris flows 31,32 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Wildfires increasingly impact western US fluvial networks

et al. 2021

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Wildfires are increasing globally in frequency, severity, and extent, but their impact on fluvial networks, and the resources they provide, remains unclear. We combine remote sensing of burn perimeter and severity, in-situ water quality monitoring, and longitudinal modeling to create the first large-scale, long-term estimates of stream+river length impacted by wildfire for the western US. We find that wildfires directly impact ~6% of the total stream+river length between 1984 and 2014, increasing at a rate of 342 km/year. When longitudinal propagation of water quality impacts is included, we estimate that wildfires affect ~11% of the total stream+river length. Our results indicate that wildfire activity is one of the largest drivers of aquatic impairment, though it is not routinely reported by regulatory agencies, as wildfire impacts on fluvial networks remain unconstrained. We identify key actions to address this knowledge gap and better understand the growing threat to fluvial networks, water security, and public health risks.

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Severe western Canadian wildfire affects water quality even at large basin scales

Cited by 57 publications

References 56 publications

Potential Influence of Sewage Phosphorus and Wet and Dry Deposition Detected in Fish Collected in the Athabasca River North of Fort McMurray

Potential Influence of Sewage Phosphorus and Wet and Dry Deposition Detected in Fish Collected in the Athabasca River North of Fort McMurray

Hydrological resilience to forest fire in the subarctic Canadian shield

Wildfires increasingly impact western US fluvial networks

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