Microbial community development in Base Mine Lake, the first end-pit-lake in the Alberta oil sands region

阿尔伯塔省油砂地区第一个终坑湖 Base Mine Lake 的微生物群落发展

• 批准号: 542973-2019
• 负责人: Dunfield, Peter
• 金额: $ 11.04万
• 依托单位: University of Calgary
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Collaborative Research and Development Grants
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=699578
• 关键词: Microbial; community; development; Base; Mine

One challenge facing the oilsands industry in Canada is reclaiming mining-impacted environments. A particular problem is the liquid tailings waste produced during bitumen extraction, which contains various chemical constituents of concern such as naphthenic acids. The long-term land reclamation plans of several oilsands mining operations include the construction of End-Pit Lakes (EPLs). These are below-grade bodies of water in surface mining pits that will eventually become integrated into local watersheds. They should ideally function in long-term containment and reclamation of tailings. At the end of 2012 Syncrude commissioned Base Mine Lake (BML) as the first full-scale pilot EPL in the oilsands region. BML contains a 50-m-deep layer of tailings overlain with a 10-m freshwater cap. The biology, chemistry, and physical properties of the lake have been intensively monitored since 2013. BML behaves in many ways similarly to a natural, seasonally stratified subarctic lake. There is an active microbial community but still a very limited colonization by higher organisms. Active management of suspended solids in the water has caused the lake has become clearer over time, leading to an increase in algal growth. The primary goals of our research project are: 1) To monitor the development of microbial communites in the lake over time. To date we have noted a gradual increase in the species diversity of higher (eukaryotic) organisms, suggesting that the lake is becoming more natural over time. 2) To understand the roles of key microbes in bioremediation of organic pollutants. Understanding these microbes and their bioremediation potentials may inform management strategies to maximize their activities. 3) To understand the increasing role of algae in the carbon cycle of the lake. The lake may be transitioning from a primarily heterotrophic system based on degradation of hydrocarbons to a primarily phototrophic system based on algal growth. This may change parameters such as oxygen status and bioremediation potential.

加拿大油砂行业面临的一个挑战是恢复受采矿影响的环境。一个特别的问题是沥青提取过程中产生的液体尾矿废料，其中含有各种令人关注的化学成分，如环烷酸。长期土地复垦