New publication: The Role of Snow in a Pilot Scale Pit-Lake Constructed Upland Catchment Within the Athabasca Oilsands Region

Members of our research group, along with collaborators, have published a new paper in Hydrological Processes exploring the role of snow in a pilot-scale pit-lake reclamation system in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region.

The study examines snow accumulation and spring snowmelt within a constructed upland catchment draining into Lake Miwasin. Because snowmelt often represents the largest precipitation event of the year in northern Alberta, understanding how it is stored and released across reclaimed landscapes is critical for pit-lake design and long-term sustainability.

By monitoring the system over two spring melt seasons, this work highlights the importance of snow as a key component of pit-lake water budgets and provides insights to support future reclamation planning in cold-region environments.

Read the full paper:

Trembath, T., Petrone, R., & Ketcheson, S. (2026). The Role of Snow in a Pilot Scale Pit-Lake Constructed Upland Catchment Within the Athabasca Oilsands Region. Hydrological Processes, 40(1), e70391. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.70391