Every time it rained, scientists were able to detect significant increases in ash, potassium, nitrogen, calcium and heavy metals such as lead even within the Athabasca River’s normal load
Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
In May 2016, the fire swept through nearly 6,000 square kilometres of boreal forest in northern Alberta. Fort McMurray lost 2,400 buildings, and 88,000 people were forced from their homes.With damage estimates of $10-billion, it was the most expensive natural disaster in Canadian history. The Athabasca is huge – nearly a kilometre across in many places – and it drains nearly one-quarter of Alberta. It’s tea-coloured and turbid, full of organic material.
“You’ve got a river the colour of chocolate milk and these small tributaries during certain events – a good rain, for example – look like hot fudge,” said co-author Monica Emelko of the University of Waterloo. Scientists believe the lingering presence of fire-related material could be related to the province’s geology being rich in fine-grained sediments.
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