Air emissions from oil sands development can come from a number of sources including industrial smokestacks, tailings ponds, transportation, and dust from mining operations. Air quality monitoring under the Joint Canada-Alberta Implementation Plan for the Oil Sands is designed to determine the contribution of emissions from oil sands activities to local and regional air quality and atmospheric deposition both now and in the future. Deposition data include: - Passive Sampling of PACs deployed for two month periods across a network of 17 sites - Active sampling of PACs at three sites to inform the amount of dry deposition - Particulate metals (24 hour integrated samples following the one in six day National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) cycle)

Starting in July 2018, ground-based air measurements of pollutants were made at Pond Inlet on the balcony of the Environment Canada building, with an integrated air quality package (Airpointer, recordum Messtechnik GmbH). Pollutants monitored included NOx, O3, SO2, and PM2.5 mass concentration. This package also included a weather station to measure wind direction and speed, temperature, relative humidity, and pressure (Model WXT520, Vaisala). All data were reported with a 1-minute resolution.

The Great Lakes Migrant Waterfowl Surveys provide periodic data on waterfowl abundance, spatial and temporal distributions, and use along the shorelines of major water bodies and river systems in Ontario during mostly during spring and fall, and to a lesser extent during summer and winter, seasons. The primary survey area covers the shoreline and nearshore (~1km) waters of the Lower Great Lakes region of Ontario, specifically including the St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, Niagara River, Lake Erie, Detroit River and Lake St. Clair and associated major marshes and embayments. Aerial surveys, typically flown several times within spring (March –May: 1969, 1971, 1972, 1975 –1979, 1981, 1982, 1984 –1988, 1991 –1996, 1998 –2003 & 2009 –2011) and fall (September –December: 1968, 1970, 1971, 1974 –2003 & 2009 –2011) survey periods, have been conducted periodically on a relatively regular basis (approx. 5-10 years) along the Lower Great Lakes shorelines between 1968 and 2011. Smaller-scale surveys also have been conducted periodically during summer (June –August: 1968 –1970, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1999 & 2002) in this region. This survey often has been conducted in conjunction with the Midwinter Survey, so its data (up to 2004) also are included in the CWS Migrant Waterfowl Surveys database (Year ≥2004 & Month = January & February).Data from several aerial surveys conducted periodically during the non-breeding period outside the Lower Great Lakes region also are included in this database. Spring and fall surveys have been conducted along the shorelines and nearshore waters of the Upper Great Lakes region of Ontario, specifically at St. Clair River (Fall 2012 & 2013), Lake Huron (Fall 1973, 1996; Spring 1974) / Georgian Bay (Fall 1973, 1996, 2012 & 2013) & Lake Superior (Fall 2000). Aerial surveys also have been conducted inland in southeastern Ontario along the Rideau River (Fall 1998 & Spring 1999).

Air emissions from oil sands development can come from a number of sources including industrial smokestacks, tailings ponds, transportation, and dust from mining operations. Air quality monitoring under the Joint Canada-Alberta Implementation Plan for the Oil Sands is designed to determine the contribution of emissions from oil sands activities to local and regional air quality and atmospheric deposition both now and in the future. Ambient air quality data include: - Filter Pack (24-hour integrated concentrations of particle-bound SO2-4, NO-3, Cl-, NH+4, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+ and gaseous SO2 and HNO3 collected daily by the Canadian Air and Precipitation Monitoring Network) - Total Gaseous Mercury (hourly mixing ratios measured by the Canadian Air and Precipitation Monitoring Network and Prairie and Northern Region) - Atmospheric speciated mercury (Hg) (2-hour average concentrations of gaseous elemental Hg (GEM), reactive gaseous Hg (RGM), and Hg on PM2.5 (total particulate Hg - TPM) - Comprehensive set of measurements collected from an aircraft (various time resolutions) covering an area of 140,000 km2 over the oil sands region - Comprehensive set of measurements collected from the Fort McKay Oski-ôtin monitoring site - Ozone (hourly mixing ratios measured by the Canadian Air and Precipitation Monitoring Network) - Ozone Vertical Profiles (ozone mixing ratios as a function of height) measured by the Canadian Ozone Sonde Network - Aerosol Optical Depth (measure of the degree to which the presence of aerosols in the atmosphere prevents the transmission of light, from the ground to the top of the atmosphere) measured as part of the AErosol RObotic CANadian (AEROCAN) network - Satellite overpass data have a relatively high spatial resolution over the Oil Sands region to produce images and geo-referenced data of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) “vertical column density” (which correlates with surface concentration)

This dataset provides geospatial polygon boundaries for marine bivalve shellfish harvest area classification in Canada (British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec). These data represent the five classification categories of marine bivalve shellfish harvest areas (Approved; Conditionally Approved; Restricted; Conditionally Restricted; and Prohibited) under the Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program (CSSP). Data are collected by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) for the purpose of making applicable classification recommendations based on pollution source assessment and water quality survey results. ECCC recommendations are reviewed and adopted by Regional Interdepartmental Shellfish Committees prior to regulatory implementation by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). These geographic data are for illustrative purposes only; they show shellfish harvest area classifications that may be superseded at any time by regulatory orders issued by DFO, which place areas in Closed Status, due to conditions such as sewage overflows or elevated biotoxin levels. For further information about the current status and boundary coordinates for areas under Prohibition Order, please contact your local DFO office.

Plant health assessments and vegetation surveys are undertaken at both terrestrial and wetland sites in the oil sands region and in reference areas. Plant monitoring is being conducted for biodiversity and contaminants, and because plants are important both as wildlife habitat and as traditional-use species. Plant and soil samples are collected at monitoring sites near and at varying distances from oil sands operations. Plant tissues are being examined for levels of naphthenic acids (NAs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals. Plant indicator species include Vaccinium spp. (blueberry), Ledum groenlandicum (Labrador tea), Arctostaphyllos uva-ursi (common bearberry), and Cornus canadensis (bunchberry). Soil samples from riparian banks and boreal forest locations are also collected for greenhouse studies. These experiments evaluate the uptake, distribution, and toxicity of the contaminants in plant tissue.

Annual and five-year (5YA) average wet deposition maps for the ammonium ion are available. The file formats include geodatabase files (*.gdb) compatible with geospatial software (e.g. ESRI ArcGIS) and KMZ files compatible with virtual globe software (e.g. Google Earth™). Maps can also be viewed online via Open Maps and the ArcGIS online viewer. Annual deposition from each site was screened for completeness using the following criteria: (1) precipitation amounts were recorded for >90% of the year and >60% of each quarter, and (2) ammonium concentrations were reported for >70% of the precipitation measured over the year and for >60% of each quarter. Five-year average wet deposition values are averaged annual deposition values with a completeness criterion >60% for the five-year period. Units for wet deposition fluxes are in kg of NH4 per hectare per year (kg ha-1 y-1). Sources of measurement data and spatial interpolation method are described here: https://doi.org/10.18164/e8896575-1fb8-4e53-8acd-8579c3c055c2. Recommended citation: Environment and Climate Change Canada, [year published]. NH4 Wet Deposition Maps. Air Quality Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. [URL/DOI], accessed [date]. Recommended acknowledgement: The author(s) acknowledge Environment and Climate Change Canada for the provision of Canada-U.S. wet deposition kriging maps accessed from the Government of Canada Open Government Portal at open.canada.ca, and the data providers referenced therein.

A cross-country summary of the averages and extremes for the month, including precipitation totals, max-min temperatures, and degree days. This data is available from stations that produce daily data.

The National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) is Canada's public inventory of pollutant releases (to air, water and land), disposals and transfers for recycling. The file contains facility-specific data reported to the NPRI listed by media of release and by disposal and transfer. Facilities are categorized by industrial sector and total reported quantities. The data are for the most recent reporting year. Please consult the following resources to enhance your analysis: - Guide on using and Interpreting NPRI Data: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/national-pollutant-release-inventory/using-interpreting-data.html - Access additional data from the NPRI, including datasets and mapping products: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/national-pollutant-release-inventory/tools-resources-data/exploredata.html

Gridded monthly, seasonal and annual anomalies derived from daily total precipitation is available at a 50km resolution across Canada. The Canadian gridded data (CANGRD) are interpolated from adjusted precipitation (i.e., AHCCD datasets). Adjusted precipitation data incorporate adjustments to the original station data to account for discontinuities from non-climatic factors, such as instrument changes or station relocation. The anomalies are the percentage difference between the value for a given year or season and a baseline value (defined as the average over 1961-1990 as the reference period). The yearly and seasonal relative precipitation anomalies were computed for the years 1948 to 2014. The data will be updated as time permits.