Environmental Impact of Experimental Oil Spills in the Canadian Arctic

In August 1973, oil spills (using two different crude oils) were carried out near Inuvik, in the Mackenzie River Delta. One oil was from the Canadian Subarctic at Norman Wells, and the other was from the Pembina oil field in Alberta. Each oil was poured into a separate typical productive Delta lake that had been partitioned to provide a spill and a control area. Bioassays of water and sediment were regularly determined, as was the dissolved oxygen content, for each spill. Samples were taken of the weathered bulk oil. For the spill involving Norman Wells crude, incident solar radiation and temperature were continuously monitored at various depths below the oil and compared to the control area. Results obtained during the first two weeks of the spill will be discussed.