Geochemistry of Surface and Ground Water in Cement Creek from Gladstone to Georgia Gulch and in Prospect Gulch, San Juan County, Colorado

Johnson, Raymond H.; Wirt, Laurie; Manning, Andrew H.; Leib, Kenneth J.; Fey, D.L.; Yager, Douglas B.

doi:10.3133/ofr20071004

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…A correlation between apparent tracer age and EA has been observed in other mountain settings [ Plummer et al , 2001; Manning et al , 2003, Figure 4b]. Figure 11 shows modeled EA (expressed as ΔNe) plotted versus apparent 3 H/ 3 He ages for the previously described alpine groundwater samples presented by Johnson et al [2007]. Samples with low sampling pressures (<1 m) and samples with higher sampling pressures (>2 m) are plotted separately because gas loss is a concern, as at Handcart Gulch.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…However, these data have generally been collected from (1) springs, which probably cannot preserve high EA concentrations; (2) shallow alluvial wells, which may not intercept bedrock waters; or (3) environments that are mountainous but not alpine. Dissolved gas data presented by Johnson et al [2007] are an important exception. These data were collected from Prospect Gulch, an alpine watershed in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado at elevations >3100 m asl.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Apparent 3 H/ 3 He age versus excess air expressed as ΔNe for samples from Prospect Gulch, Colorado, from Johnson et al [2007]. Separate linear regression lines are shown for samples with sampling pressures <1 m (dashed line) and >1 m (solid line).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Groundwater noble gas, age, and temperature signatures in an Alpine watershed: Valuable tools in conceptual model development

Manning

Caine

2007

Water Resources Research

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[1] Bedrock groundwater in alpine watersheds is poorly understood, mainly because of a scarcity of wells in alpine settings. Groundwater noble gas, age, and temperature data were collected from springs and wells with depths of 3-342 m in Handcart Gulch, an alpine watershed in Colorado. Temperature profiles indicate active groundwater circulation to a maximum depth (aquifer thickness) of about 200 m, or about 150 m below the water table. Dissolved noble gas data show unusually high excess air concentrations (>0.02 cm 3 STP/g, DNe > 170%) in the bedrock, consistent with unusually large seasonal water table fluctuations (up to 50 m) observed in the upper part of the watershed. Apparent 3 H/ 3 He ages are positively correlated with sample depth and excess air concentrations. Integrated samples were collected from artesian bedrock wells near the trunk stream and are assumed to approximate flow-weighted samples reflecting bedrock aquifer mean residence times. Exponential mean ages for these integrated samples are remarkably consistent along the stream, four of five being from 8 to 11 years. The tracer data in combination with other hydrologic and geologic data support a relatively simple conceptual model of groundwater flow in the watershed in which (1) permeability is primarily a function of depth; (2) water table fluctuations increase with distance from the stream; and (3) recharge, aquifer thickness, and porosity are relatively uniform throughout the watershed in spite of the geological complexity of the Proterozoic crystalline rocks that underlie it.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Groundwater noble gas, age, and temperature signatures in an Alpine watershed: Valuable tools in conceptual model development

Manning

Caine

2007

Water Resources Research

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“…However, the pH downstream of the plant at the outlet of Cement Creek remains low (∼3 < pH < ∼4.5), which is likely a result of several other draining mines such as the Mogul Mine or Red and Bonita Mine ( Figure 1C) that contribute low pH and metal-rich water to Cement Creek and do not undergo treatment (USGS, 2020). Historic data show dissolved aluminum, copper, and zinc concentrations as high as ∼18,500, 285, and 7,280 µg/L, respectively, in Cement Creek downstream of the Prospect Gulch inflow (Johnson et al, 2007). Recently, the Bonita Peak Mining District Superfund identified the Henrietta Mine as a priority contamination source as a result of elevated aqueous concentrations of Al, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn and high sediment-As concentrations (USEPA, 2017).…”

Section: Hydrogeologic Setting and Site Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Four samples of stream chemistry and streamflow were compiled from recent US EPA reports (USEPA, 2016, 2017) for MC-Fen. For the CC-PG reach, a total of 10 geochemical samples and corresponding streamflow measurements were compiled from Johnson et al (2007) and one from a US EPA report (site no. CC27) (USEPA, 2017).…”

Section: Compilation Of Historic Data and Cq Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Groundwater–Stream Connectivity Mediates Metal(loid) Geochemistry in the Hyporheic Zone of Streams Impacted by Historic Mining and Acid Rock Drainage

et al. 2020

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High concentrations of trace metal(loid)s exported from abandoned mine wastes and acid rock drainage pose a risk to the health of aquatic ecosystems. To determine if and when the hyporheic zone mediates metal(loid) export, we investigated the relationship between streamflow, groundwater–stream connectivity, and subsurface metal(loid) concentrations in two ~1-km stream reaches within the Bonita Peak Mining District, a US Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site located near Silverton, Colorado, USA. The hyporheic zones of reaches in two streams—Mineral Creek and Cement Creek—were characterized using a combination of salt-tracer injection tests, transient-storage modeling, and geochemical sampling of the shallow streambed (<0.7 m). Based on these data, we present two conceptual models for subsurface metal(loid) behavior in the hyporheic zones, including (1) well-connected systems characterized by strong hyporheic mixing of infiltrating stream water and upwelling groundwater and (2) poorly connected systems delineated by physical barriers that limit hyporheic mixing. The comparatively large hyporheic zone and high hydraulic conductivities of Mineral Creek created a connected stream–groundwater system, where mixing of oxygen-rich stream water and metal-rich groundwater facilitated the precipitation of metal colloids in the shallow subsurface. In Cement Creek, the precipitation of iron oxides at depth (~0.4 m) created a low-hydraulic-conductivity barrier between surface water and groundwater. Cemented iron oxides were an important regulator of metal(loid) concentrations in this poorly connected stream–groundwater system due to the formation of strong redox gradients induced by a relatively small hyporheic zone and high fluid residence times. A comparison of conceptual models to stream concentration–discharge relationships exhibited a clear link between geochemical processes occurring within the hyporheic zone of the well-connected system and export of particulate Al, Cu, Fe, and Mn, while the poorly connected system did not have a notable influence on metal concentration–discharge trends. Mineral Creek is an example of a hyporheic system that serves as a natural dissolved metal(loid) sink, whereas poorly connected systems such as Cement Creek may require a combination of subsurface remediation of sediments and mitigation of upstream, iron-rich mine drainages to reduce metal export.

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Application of iron and zinc isotopes to track the sources and mechanisms of metal loading in a mountain watershed

Borrok

Wanty

Ridley

et al. 2009

Applied Geochemistry

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Geochemistry of Surface and Ground Water in Cement Creek from Gladstone to Georgia Gulch and in Prospect Gulch, San Juan County, Colorado

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Groundwater noble gas, age, and temperature signatures in an Alpine watershed: Valuable tools in conceptual model development

Groundwater noble gas, age, and temperature signatures in an Alpine watershed: Valuable tools in conceptual model development

Groundwater–Stream Connectivity Mediates Metal(loid) Geochemistry in the Hyporheic Zone of Streams Impacted by Historic Mining and Acid Rock Drainage

Application of iron and zinc isotopes to track the sources and mechanisms of metal loading in a mountain watershed

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