Industrial activities associated with oil sands mining and processing result in the formation and release of NOx into the air. Emissions from urban areas also contain NOx, primarily a result fo vehicle emissions and emissions from home and office heating systems. When deposited to soil or water, the nitrogen (N) in the NOx may act as a fertilizer and/or may cause soil or water acidification. Much of the boreal forest in northeastern Alberta is very nutrient-poor, and vegetation will very quickly utilize the nitrogen as a fertilizer. This may have dramatic effects on plant growth, and may result in changes to the ecosystem.

Nutrient-poor bogs are of the most sensitive wetland systems in the boreal forest to nitrogen deposition. Small amounts of nitrogen deposition to this type of bog may cause rapid growth of bog mosses, as well as a change in the chemistry of the bog water. Growth of the oil sands industry, and urban expansion (mainly Ft. McMurray) has resulted in substantial increases in regional NOx emissions. It is important to note that the emissions that may result in environmental effects do not all arise from the oil sands facilities - much of the air emissions originate from the high number of small sources in urban areas (cars, trucks, furnaces, etc.). To determine if increased NOx emissions during the past 30 to 40 years has caused an effect in bogs, the TEEM committee initiated a study of the growth patterns of mosses in bogs near and far from the oil sands mining and Ft. McMurray urban areas.

The bogs included in this study have been examined for the current composition of moss species. Cores into the layers of dead and decaying plant material ("peat moss") have been taken from each bog and the rates of moss growth for the past 30 to 40 years have been determined by examining the depth and composition of the layers of bog material. This is very similar to the analysis of tree growth by examining the size and composition of rings in a tree trunk. The presence of lead in older layers indicates the deposition of man-made substances, since lead was used as a gasoline additive until 1990 (phased out beginning in the 1970's). This marker provides an excellent way to assess the changes in growth rates of mosses during the oil sands expansion years beginning in 1968 through to the present. In addition, the presence and amount of vanadium in the layers provides an indication of the amount of deposition resulting from the Syncrude tall stack, the only regional source of this substance.

Two study locations, the Wandering River Bog and the Bleak Lake Bog are located far to the southwest of the oil sands area (shown on the map on this page). These bogs, which are located beyond the boundaries of the main map, have been used for other bog ecology studies for a number of years. Including these bogs in the TEEM study provides a link to a larger research database, and to other research efforts.

Similar to the Edge Effect Pilot Study and the Traditional Resource Use Study, this Nitrogen Deposition to Bogs Study is a program initiated by TEEM to measure and assess the variety of environmental effects that may be resulting from the oil sands industry in northeastern Alberta. These studies are the first step in investigating the necessity for developing larger, long-term monitoring programs.