Chemical investigations of aquifers affected by pyrite oxidation in the Bitterfeld lignite district

Grützmacher, Gesche; Hindel, Roland; Kantor, W.; Wimmer, Roland

doi:10.1016/s0956-053x(00)00062-3

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…These are the typical relationships for water receiving products of oxidation of pyrite minerals (Grutzmacher et al, 2001). The correlation signifies that the dominant dissolved anion species was sulfate.…”

Section: Acid Drainedmentioning

confidence: 68%

Geochemical characteristics of runoff from acid sulfate soils in the northern area of Okinawa Island, Japan

2003

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The oxidation of pyrite in acid sulfate soils (ASS) produces high concentration of strong acid (H 2 SO 4 ) in the soil. The acid reacts with soil minerals and dissolves aluminum and other acid-soluble metals. During rainfall, they are flushed and discharged into terrestrial and aquatic environments. The authors examined the chemical characteristics of the runoffs from ASS in Arashiyama and in Ooshitai, which are located in the northern part of Okinawa Island and evaluated their potential effects on surrounding environments.The results show that the runoffs were very acidic with pH range of 2.87 to 4.29, and minimum values were close to the pH values of the soils. The dominant species were SO 4 2-, Al 3+ , and Fe 2+ and they were well correlated with pH. The acidity of the runoffs caused dissolution of metals in the following order: Mn > Zn > Cu = Cd. The quality of runoffs was found to be poor and was mainly governed by the interaction of rain and soil. A comparison between the stream waters collected during rain event and on fine day showed a marked changes in stream water chemistry during rainfall as follows: alkalinity was reduced by 3.7 times, sulfate concentration was increased by 3 times whereas pH was decreased by 0.18 units. These changes are attributed to the contamination by runoff from ASS. Moreover brown flocky sediments were observed to have covered entire streambed at the discharging point. The chemical composition of the sediments shows that as those of runoffs, they were dominated by Fe, Al, and SO 4 . These results indicate that the sediments were mainly formed as the results of mixing runoffs and stream water.

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Section: Acid Drainedmentioning

confidence: 68%

Geochemical characteristics of runoff from acid sulfate soils in the northern area of Okinawa Island, Japan

2003

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“…Differences of the geochemical composition of the soils resulted in differing chemical conditions in the water bodies at the bottom of the sub-basins: the water in the sub-basins Muehlbeck and Niemegk was acidic, while the water in sub-basin Doebern was neutral although high concentrations of sulphate indicated the occurrence of pyrite oxidation in this sub-basin, too (Kringel et al, 2000;Grützmacher et al, 2001).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is characterised by the occurrence of special structural elements like local depressions in almost all geological strata caused by subrosion in deeper salt deposits, Quaternary channels cutting deep into the Tertiary strata including the lignite seam, etc. (Grützmacher et al, 2001;Eissmann, 2002a, b;Wycisk et al, 2005). The common inhomogeneity of sedimentary geological strata like the aquifers and aquitards in the vicinty of Lake Goitsche also has to be considered.…”

Section: Changes In Pore Water Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flood effects on phosphorus immobilisation in a river water filled pit lake—Case study Lake Goitsche (Germany)

et al. 2010

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a b s t r a c tBetween 1999 and 2002, a former open-cast mine was filled with river water forming the recent Lake Goitsche. During filling initially acid water was neutralised. Phosphorus (P) imported from Mulde River was nearly completely removed from the water column by co-precipitation with iron (Fe) and aluminium (Al) and deposited in the sediment.During extremely high waters of the Mulde River in 2002, a dike breach facilitated a second high import of P into Lake Goitsche with suspended and dissolved matter. The analysis of total phosphorus (TP), however, showed that P again had been eliminated from the water body a few months after the flood event. Sediment investigations before filling with river water, during filling, and after the flood event were used to analyse the process of P immobilisation in a lake with acid mine drainage history.The ratios of Fe to soluble reactive P (SRP) of sediment pore water were up to three orders of magnitudes higher than in natural lakes and can serve as an indicator for potential internal P loading from sediments. The SRP concentrations at the oxic/anoxic boundary were near or below the limit of quantification (o 0.2 mmol/L). Fe and manganese (Mn) redox cycling were responsible for hindering P dissolution from sediment to lake water.Finally it can be stated, that the risk of eutrophication for such a lake seems to be low.

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“…Obviously the groundwater flux into Lake 1b is poorly represented by the sampling sites and δ 34 S distribution as shown in figure 7. It is possible that the wells in the west of the lake (which showed no remarkable general increase of the groundwater level between 1996 and 2002 despite the increasing lake water level) were constructed too far from the lake shore and do not reflect the conditions close to the infiltration zone, particularly the slopes of the mining pits which are of a particular importance for geochemical and hydrochemical changes [10].…”

Section: Interactions Between Lake Water and Groundwatermentioning

confidence: 99%

Flooding of lignite mines: isotope variations and processes in a system influenced by saline groundwater

Trettin

Gläßer

Lerche

et al. 2006

Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies

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The quality of both groundwaters and surface waters that arise during flooding of abandoned lignite open pits are influenced by regional and local factors. A typical regional factor is due to oxidised sedimentary sulfides. A more local factor is the interaction of shallow water with highly saline groundwater, which is important in Merseburg-Ost (Germany). Investigation of this system is aided by the use of many environmental isotope tracers but special problems can arise. In order to reveal processes in the mine environment (shallow groundwater, lake water) and to characterise mixtures with saline groundwater results are described using the tracers deltaD, delta18O, delta13C, delta34S, 87Sr/86Sr, 3H, 14C, 39Ar, and 222Rn. Deep highly saline groundwater had a radiocarbon concentration typically below 10 pMC. The values of delta13C(DIC) are around-5 per thousand. As delta13C of the aquifer rock samples (Permian, Zechstein carbonates) was in the range of-6...+5 per thousand, residence time corrections based on delta13C are questionable. Additional checks with 39Ar, as well as results from the variationof delta18O (or deltaD) with respect to the salinity, emphasise a Holocene age; as is also the case for most mineralised groundwaters and also for water having a low delta18O (and deltaD). For saline groundwater residing in the Zechstein aquifer the measured delta34S values of about 12 per thousand are close to those expected from the literature. In contrast, the 87Sr/86Sr ratio of dissolved strontium is far from the values anticipated for the aquifer rocks despite there being proportionality between the chloride concentration and the strontium concentration. Furthermore, the proportionality is not valid in lower mineralised water. The 87Sr/86Sr ratio can, therefore, hardly be used as a tracer for the distribution of ascending saline water. The amount of salt-water coming from below into the residual quarry basins is an essential contribution to the lake inventories. Therefore, 222Rn was used to assist in determining the renewal of salt-water layers that formed in deep lake locations. In the deep zones 222Rn concentrations up to 6 Bq/l were measured but were dominantly in equilibrium with 226Ra, which was found in all higher mineralised groundwater samples. Excess radon was limited to just a few decimetres above the lake sediment surface but does not appear to be caused by continuous groundwater discharge. Hydrochemical investigations of groundwater from the Quaternary aquifer were carried out over the last six years before flooding was complete. Apart from a slight downward shift of the average sulfate concentration, other changes showed virtually no trends. An increase of the sulfate concentration was mostly correlated with a decrease of delta34S for individual sites only, but not for the whole ensemble of sampling locations. Sulfate from pyrite oxidation plays an important role but cannot be attributed unequivocally to coal mining. There are hints that the conditions closer to the basin edges may differ from those r...

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Chemical investigations of aquifers affected by pyrite oxidation in the Bitterfeld lignite district

Cited by 7 publications

References 3 publications

Geochemical characteristics of runoff from acid sulfate soils in the northern area of Okinawa Island, Japan

Geochemical characteristics of runoff from acid sulfate soils in the northern area of Okinawa Island, Japan

Flood effects on phosphorus immobilisation in a river water filled pit lake—Case study Lake Goitsche (Germany)

Flooding of lignite mines: isotope variations and processes in a system influenced by saline groundwater

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