Contamination of water and soil by the Erdenet copper–molybdenum mine in Mongolia

Arsenic toxicity effects on microbial communities and nutrient cycling in indoor experimental channels mimicking a fluvial system

“…On the other hand, the negative effects of arsenic on the role that fish played as a resource subsidy, exacerbated nutrient limitation, thus enhancing As effects on the growth and contribution to the nutrient cycling of periphytic and epipsammic biofilm. The maximum exposure (120 μg/L) and the remaining As concentration in water (28±0.5μg/L) are similar to values measured in naturally As polluted fresh waters and near mining areas (Inam et al, 2011;Battogtokh et al, 2013;(Rosso et al 2011, Alonso et al 2014, where processes similar to those described in this experiment may drive the fate of arsenic. The remaining As concentration is five times lower than the criterion continuous concentration (150 μg/L) demonstrating that this criterion will not preserve the ecological integrity of fluvial systems.…”

“…In addition to naturally occurring high concentrations of As in freshwater (Safiuddin and Karim, 2001;Rodríguez-Lado et al, 2013;Bundschuh et al, 2012;Alonso et al, 2014), several parts of the world have been affected by As. Since it has poisoned soils, sediments and water as a result of past and recent mining activities (Smedley and Kinniburgh, 2002;Wang and Mulligan, 2006;Inam et al, 2011;Battogtokh et al, 2013). While the effect of arsenic on human health has been studied in relation to contaminated groundwater problems, the impacts of this substance on the aquatic ecosystem are little known.…”

Global patterns of shallow groundwater temperatures

“…The highest offset of 11.0 K (LST: 2.0°C; GWT: 13°C, one measurement in 06/2005 at a depth in between 21 and 40 m below ground) is measured in Erdenet, Mongolia ( figure S7(c), table S1). It is plausible that the high GWT is caused by the subsurface urban heat island phenomenon (Menberg et al 2013), where GWTs are raised by anthropogenically induced heat flow (Benz et al 2015) from underground structures such as buildings or, in this specific case, the local copper-molybdenum mine (Battogtokh et al 2013).…”

Environmental change in the Selenga River—Lake Baikal Basin

“…As a consequence, elevated levels of heavy metals and other mining-related pollutants (cyanides, phosphorus) have been detected in the water and sediments of the Selenga and its tributaries, as well as floodplain soils and groundwater (Battogtokh et al 2014;Brumbaugh et al 2013;Chalov et al 2015;Inam et al 2011;McIntyre et al 2016;Nadmitov et al 2014;Pavlov et al 2008;Pfeiffer et al 2015;Stubblefield et al 2005;Thorslund et al 2012). Even though contaminant transport towards the Selenga delta does take place (Chalov et al 2015;Khazheeva et al 2004;Karthe et al 2014), it should be noted that contaminations currently have the largest effects in local hot spots (Hofmann et al 2010;Inam et al 2011;Pfeiffer et al 2015).…”