Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
Forests
Mining
Natural Disasters
One of the world’s largest reserves of oil sits under the boreal forest of northwestern Alberta, Canada. The deposit covers about 142,200 square kilometers (54,900 square miles), an area a little larger than the U.S. state of Wisconsin.
Known as the oil sands region, it accounts for the largest segment of Alberta’s economy. According to Alberta Energy, proven reserves in the oil sands in 2016 were 165.4 billion barrels.
This series of imagery focuses on the largest of the three oil sands areas in Alberta, the Athabasca region. Located just north of Fort McMurray along the Athabasca River, the mining of the Athabasca region has grown dramatically over the last three decades.
Location
Aug. 6, 1989, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
Aug. 17, 1993, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
June 15, 1999, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
June 28, 2004, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
July 4, 2006, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
Sep. 14, 2009, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
Sep. 20, 2011, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
Sep. 28, 2014, Landsat 8 (path/row 42/20) — Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
July 15, 2016, Landsat 8 (path/row 42/20) — Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada Additional Imagery & Stories
Bitumen
The oil type mined in the Athabasca oil sands region is bitumen. This naturally occurring oil is so viscous that even at room temperature it acts like...
Fire
You might have noticed that fire scars of varying size show up in some of these images. These fire scars show up as red or maroon against the green ve...
In Situ Mining
To extract oil that is too deep for surface mining operations, in situ mining, or “in place” mining, is used. Mining companies use steam and gravity t...
Mining Operations
Getting oil from oil sands is fairly straight-forward. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. In the Athabasca region near Fort McMurray, the oil sands are ...
Reclamation
The mining companies are required to restore the disturbed land to be at least as productive as it was before it was mined. Overburden that was remove...
References
Alberta Culture and Tourism, 2016, Resources: Oil Sands Discovery Centre, accessed February 6, 2017, at http://history.alberta.ca/oilsands/resources/resources.aspx.
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CBC News, 2016, Fort McMurray wildfire now considered under control: CBC News, accessed February 6, 2017, at http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/fort-mcmurray-wildfire-now-considered-under-control-1.3664947.
European Space Agency (ESA), 2017, Sentinel-2: Sentinel Online, accessed February 13, 2017, at https://sentinel.esa.int/web/sentinel/missions/sentinel-2.
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Government of Alberta, 2017, Facts and Statistics: Alberta Energy, accessed February 6, 2017, at http://www.energy.alberta.ca/OilSands/791.asp.
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Government of Alberta, 2017, What Is Oil Sands? Alberta Energy, accessed February 6, 2017, at http://www.energy.alberta.ca/OilSands/793.asp.
Kunzig, R., 2009, The Canadian Oil Boom: National Geographic, accessed February 6, 2017, at http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/03/canadian-oil-sands/kunzig-text.
Mining-technology.com, 2017, Athabasca Oil Sands, Canada: mining-technology.com, accessed February 6, 2017, at http://www.mining-technology.com/projects/athabascasands/.
Richens, T., Bergstrom, D., and Purdy, B., 2014, Reclamation of Boreal Forest Ecosystems Following Oil-Sands Mining: Alaska Park Science, v. 13, no. 2, accessed February 6, 2017, at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/alaskaparkscience/archives.htm.
Riebeek, H., 2016, Athabasca Oil Sands: NASA Earth Observatory World of Change, accessed February 6, 2017, at http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/athabasca.php.
USGS, 2016, Landsat 8 Shows Burn Extent, Active Fire at Fort McMurray: Image of the Week, accessed February 6, 2017, at https://eros.usgs.gov/imagegallery/image-week-2#FtMcMurray-Fire-2_images_0.
USGS, 2017, Landsat Missions: USGS, accessed February 13, 2017, at https://landsat.usgs.gov/.
USGS, 2016, Wildfire Forces Evacuations in Fort McMurray, Alberta: Image of the Week, accessed February 6, 2017, at https://eros.usgs.gov/imagegallery/image-week-2#Fort-McMurray-Fire-imagery.