RAPID: Investigating the Composition, Behavior, and Environmental Fate of Emerging Unconventional Oils from North America: Bakken Crude Oils and Canadian Diluted Bitumens

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1547132ReddyThis study will investigate the composition, behavior, and environmental fate of crude oils and bitumens in order to produce a robust baseline data set desperately needed by scientists, policy makers, and spill responders. The production and transport of these two emerging unconventional petroleum products has been hailed as the path to North American energy independence, and their production continues to expand at a dramatic pace.The lack of data available in the peer-reviewed literature has hindered a robust understanding of the risks associated with environmental discharge of these products. These emerging unconventional products have already been analyzed for their chemical and physical properties and these data will be used along with some additional analyses to understand their environmental fate and transport. The results of this research will extend beyond publications and presentations and be used to actively engage critical stakeholders. This effort will support a postdoctoral scientist, inform industry and government officials, and provide accessible information to the media, policy makers, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). By giving the PIs cause to interact outside their peer group, this research will also allow them to learn about the interests and needs of others and improve bidirectional communication between academia and other stakeholders.