Climate Change Adaptation in Acid Sulfate Landscapes

Abstract

Oxidation of sulfide minerals produces sulfuric acid and consequently creates Acid Sulfate Landscapes (ASLs), which represent one of the most degraded types of land-surface environments. Although acid sulfate-producing weathering is a naturally occurring process, it is markedly facilitated by human intervention. Mining is by far the dominant anthropogenic cause for the creation of inland acid sulfate footprints while land reclamation in coastal lowlands is the driver for the formation of coastal ASLs. The projected climate change highlights the possibility of an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events such as droughts and heavy rains, which is likely to accelerate the acid generation in some circumstances and increase the frequency and magnitude of acid discharge. Sea level rise as a result of global warming will cause additional problems with the coastal ASLs. This is a review article. The following aspects are covered: (a) the overriding biogeochemical processes leading to acid sulfateproducing weathering, (b) a brief introduction to the inland acid sulfate landscapes, (c) a brief introduction to the coastal acid sulfate landscapes, (d) the likely impacts of climate change on ASLs and (e) the possible measures to combat climate change-induced environmental degradation in the identified key acid sulfate footprints. The projected climate change is like to significantly affect the acid sulfate landscapes in different ways. Appropriate management strategies and cost-effective technologies need to be developed in order to minimize the climate change-induced ecological degradation.

A novel environmental restoration method for an abandoned limestone quarry with a deep open pit and steep palisades: a case study

“…Considering the typical characteristics of limestone exploitation, the environmental damages caused by limestone exploitation mainly include species extinction, wetland destruction [18][19][20][21], dust and particulate matter pollution [22,23], and potential mining geological hazards [24] etc. In addition, these limestone exploitation activities usually also have a significant adverse effect on hydrological processes [25][26][27], consuming significant quantities of water [28,29] and contaminating the surface water and shallow groundwater [30]. Many studies have examined how to treat environmental problems and restore the ecosystems of abandoned limestone quarries.…”