ArticleNature2016
Oil sands operations as a large source of secondary organic aerosols.
Article in Nature, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed.
- High Oxidative Potential Observed in Secondary Organic Aerosol Derived from Oil Sands Emissions.Environmental science & technology letters · 2026Article
- Article
- Research as reconciliation: oil sands and health.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2025Article
- Predicted impacts of heterogeneous chemical pathways on particulate sulfur over Fairbanks (Alaska), the Northern Hemisphere, and the Contiguous United States.Atmospheric chemistry and physics · 2025Article
- Organic carbon dry deposition outpaces atmospheric processing with unaccounted implications for air quality and freshwater ecosystems.Science advances · 2025Article
- Quantification of Methane Emissions from Cold Heavy Oil Production with Sand Extraction in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada.Environmental science & technology · 2024Article
- Uncovering the dominant contribution of intermediate volatility compounds in secondary organic aerosol formation from biomass-burning emissions.National science review · 2024Article
- Article
- A decadal synthesis of atmospheric emissions, ambient air quality, and deposition in the oil sands region.Integrated environmental assessment and management · 2022Review
- A Deep Look into the Microbiology and Chemistry of Froth Treatment Tailings: A Review.Microorganisms · 2021Review
- Simulation of organic aerosol formation during the CalNex study: updated mobile emissions and secondary organic aerosol parameterization for intermediate-volatility organic compounds.Atmospheric chemistry and physics · 2020Article
- Microlayer source of oxygenated volatile organic compounds in the summertime marine Arctic boundary layer.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2017Article
- Differences between measured and reported volatile organic compound emissions from oil sands facilities in Alberta, Canada.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
25 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Worldwide heavy oil and bitumen deposits amount to 9 trillion barrels of oil distributed in over 280 basins around the world, with Canada home to oil sands deposits of 1.7 trillion barrels. The global development of this resource and the increase in oil production from oil sands has caused environmental concerns over the presence of toxic compounds in nearby ecosystems and acid deposition. The contribution of oil sands exploration to secondary organic aerosol formation, an important component of atmospheric particulate matter that affects air quality and climate, remains poorly understood. Here we use data from airborne measurements over the Canadian oil sands, laboratory experiments and a box-model study to provide a quantitative assessment of the magnitude of secondary organic aerosol production from oil sands emissions. We find that the evaporation and atmospheric oxidation of low-volatility organic vapours from the mined oil sands material is directly responsible for the majority of the observed secondary organic aerosol mass. The resultant production rates of 45-84 tonnes per day make the oil sands one of the largest sources of anthropogenic secondary organic aerosols in North America. Heavy oil and bitumen account for over ten per cent of global oil production today, and this figure continues to grow. Our findings suggest that the production of the more viscous crude oils could be a large source of secondary organic aerosols in many production and refining regions worldwide, and that such production should be considered when assessing the environmental impacts of current and planned bitumen and heavy oil extraction projects globally.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.