| A small scale Infiltration Pond was constructed to characterize the transport of oil sands process affected (PA) water contained in Suncor’s South Tailings Pond (STP) to the Wood Creek Sand Channel (WCSC) through a 5-8 m thick glacial clay till.;The extent of PA water infiltration was determined by extracting pore water samples from the clay till, analyzing their isotopic (δ 18O), major ions, and metals composition over a two year time period. As conservative tracers, δ18O and chloride concentration trends indicated the water penetration line at approximately 0.9 m, while major ion and metal mobility lagged this line. Uptake of Mo, Pb, sodium and sulphate and release of Ba, Sr, calcium and magnesium suggest that adsorption and ion exchange reactions are the foremost attenuation processes controlling inorganic solutes transport. In addition, a correlation coefficient of 0.96 between diffusion analytical models and field measurements for tracers, provided evidence of a diffusion-dominated system. |
