Contamination of river beds by oil spills and impact on fish habitat

管道是运输大量原油最安全的方式之一，但由于加拿大生产商的大量运输和我们漫长的管道网络（bbb23,000公里），仍然会发生泄漏。每条管道都要穿过许多小溪和河流，而泄漏的石油经常会在河流沉积物中被发现，这可能会对鱼类造成毒性风险。由于清理成本高昂，以及公众对新管道开发的担忧，石油行业也承担着重大责任。然而，人们对泄漏的石油如何转移到河流沉积物、污染的潜在程度以及对沉积物浅滩中产卵的鱼类繁殖的潜在影响等方面的知识严重缺乏。这项研究将使用水力学、环境化学和水生毒理学的先进技术来评估是否以及在多大程度上，泄漏在水中的石油被湍流和下流带入沉积物中。它将展示油是如何以油滴或沉积物涂层的形式保留在沉积物中，以及油的成分是否会溶解在流过沉积物的水中，其浓度对鳟鱼的早期生命阶段有毒。研究结果将提出实用的指导方针和工具，以评估和减轻石油泄漏对鱼类栖息地的风险，特别是确定对石油污染特别敏感的河流沉积物区域、潜在的污染程度、对鱼类和渔业的影响，以及针对最可能受污染地区的清理战略。实施这些工具将促进经济发展和环境保护，通过预测石油泄漏到河流中的最终位置，回收泄漏石油的最佳策略，以及

Pipelines are one of the safest means of transporting large volumes of crude oil, but spills still occur due to the large volumes shipped by Canadian producers and our lengthy network of pipelines (> 23,000 km). Each pipeline crosses many streams and rivers, and spilled oil is often found in river sediments where it may pose a toxicity risk to fish. There are also significant liabilities for the oil industry, due to the high costs of clean-up and the public's concerns about new pipeline development. However, there is a critical lack of knowledge on how spilled oil can be transferred to river sediments, the potential extent of contamination, and the potential impacts on reproduction of fish that spawn in sediments shoals. This research will use advanced techniques in hydraulics, environmental chemistry, and aquatic toxicology to assess whether, and to what extent, oil spilled on water is entrained into sediments by turbulence and downwelling flows. It will show how oil is retained in sediments as oil droplets or coatings on sediments, and whether the components of oil can dissolve into the water that flows through sediments at concentrations toxic to early life stages of trout. The results will suggest practical guidelines and tools to assess and mitigate the risk of oil spills on fish habitat, specifically to identify areas of river sediments that are particularly sensitive to oil contamination, the potential extent of contamination, the impacts on fish and fisheries, and clean-up strategies focused on the most likely areas of contamination. Implementing these tools will promote economic development with environmental protection by predicting where oil will end up if it is spilled into a river, the best strategies for recovering spilled oil, and