Photos that show a series of underground oil spills seeping to the surface at an Alberta oilsands operation were leaked from a government source.

Postmedia News has confirmed the photos, which show bitumen emulsion coating more than two feet up tree trunks in an unnamed water body on the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range, were obtained by researcher and Huffington Post blogger Emma Pullman.

The photos were reportedly supplied to Pullman by an unidentified government scientist who, "expressed concerns he might be identified and fired for leaking details about the spills," reports Postmedia.

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