Summary:

The Athabasca Oil Sands are a significant petroleum resource that play a major role in the environmental, economic, and political course of not only western Canada, but all of North America. This talk will provide an introduction to the surface-mined resources, and some of their short- and long-term environmental implications. Management of waste material, particularly sand, mud, and water, are significant issues for this industry, and represent an unsolved problem, despite the efforts of many researchers in academia, consulting, and at the major companies themselves. I will also present several case studies describing how mine tailings and water are managed, as well as how older mines are moving towards reclaiming their landscapes.

Bio:

Ben Sheets is a Senior Geoscientist with Barr Engineering based in Minneapolis, MN.  His background spans geology, sedimentology, civil engineering, and numerical modeling.  Prior to joining Barr, Ben was employed as a Research Geoscientist at ExxonMobil, and as an Assistant Professor of Marine Geology and Geophysics at the University of Washington, where he taught courses ranging from Introductory Oceanography to Advanced Sedimentology and Geophysical Exploration. Most of Ben’s present work and research involves management of sediment, whether in mine tailings studies, contaminated site remediation, or river restoration.