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

管道是运输大量原油的最安全手段之一，但由于加拿大生产商的大量运输和我们漫长的管道网络（> 23，000公里），泄漏仍然发生。每一条管道都要穿越许多溪流和河流，溢出的石油往往存在于河流沉积物中，可能对鱼类构成毒性风险。由于清理费用高昂以及公众对新管道开发的关切，石油工业也负有重大责任。然而，对于溢油如何转移到河流沉积物、污染的潜在程度以及对在沉积物浅滩产卵的鱼类繁殖的潜在影响，目前严重缺乏知识。这项研究将利用水力学、环境化学和水生毒理学方面的先进技术，评估溢于水面的石油是否以及在多大程度上被湍流和下涌水流夹带到沉积物中。它将显示石油是如何作为油滴或沉积物上的涂层保留在沉积物中的，以及石油的成分是否可以溶解到流过沉积物的水中，其浓度对鳟鱼的早期生命阶段有毒。研究结果将为评估和减轻石油泄漏对鱼类栖息地的风险提供实用的指导方针和工具，特别是确定对石油污染特别敏感的河流沉积物区域、污染的潜在程度、对鱼类和渔业的影响以及侧重于最可能污染区域的清理战略。实施这些工具将通过预测石油泄漏到河流中后的最终去向、回收泄漏石油的最佳策略，

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