Potential for remediation of acidic mining lakes evaluated by hydrogeochemical modelling: Case study Grünewalder Lauch (Plessa 117, Lusatia/Germany)

About one third of several hundred mining lakes in Eastern Germany are highly acidified, and there is a need to restore them to neutral conditions because they constitute an environmental hazard for water resources and downstream environments. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficiency of three different acid pit lake water remediation treatments: dilution with alkaline (river) water, limestone treatment and biological neutralization by organic carbon-driven alkalinity generation. The efficiency is evaluated for the acidic mining lake Grünewalder Lauch by adjusting input values into a geochemical model and making future projections. Current approaches, such as flooding with neutral surface water or extensive liming, are not suitable for many lakes because of a limited supply of alkaline water or high lime immobilizing potential of Fe- and Al-rich water in acidic lakes, respectively. Further treatment methods are, therefore, designed to combine water supply and biological measures with the management of water quality by the application of in-lake microbial processes. These processes are focused on the metabolic response of aquatic ecosystems to nutrient enrichment (enhancement of primary production and thereby organic carbon supply) and the microbial decomposition of organic matter and their effects on the gain or loss of alkalinity.The results and comparisons of different neutralization measures will be generalized by the application of hydrogeochemical models for alkalinity production showing

a)

the long term efficiency of the measures, depending on carbon turnover at the sediment/water interface,

b)

the development of bicarbonate buffering capacity as a consequence of biological measures,

c)

the importance of pyrite formation instead of FeS.

     

Tectonic observations in the northern Saih Hatat,Sultanate of Oman

The Saih Hatat region, in northeastern Oman, is characterized by a large tectonic window, tectonically overlain during the upper Cretaceous by nappes composed of sedimentary rocks from the Mesozoic Hawasina ocean and the Samail ophiolite. In this window, the autochthonous sedimentary cover of the eastern Arabian Platform from the Late Neoproterozoic to the Cenomanian is well exposed. The oldest of these strata, the Hatat schists, were deformed into a NE-facing fold nappe during the upper Cretaceous. Within the overturned and thrusted lower limb of that fold nappe, we identified three small windows exposing stratigraphically younger Hiyam carbonates and Ordovician sandstone. The structural inventory of the windows and the surrounding area indicates three major tectonic phases. The first deformation led to NNE-SSW trending fold structures which probably formed simultaneously with the major fold nappe of the Hatat schists, followed by the extreme attenuation and thrusting of the lower limb of the fold nappe. The second phase was a gentle folding of the thrust with N-S oriented fold axes and third deformation phase that formed WNW-ESE oriented open folds. The windows are situated in the intersection of anticline axes of these two superposed fold generations and represent a mini basin-and-dome structure with an extension of just 1 km?×?1 km.     

Slope failures and erosion rates on a glacierized high‐mountain face under climatic changes

In this study, rapid topographic changes and increased erosion rates caused by massive slope failures in a glacierized and permafrost‐affected high‐mountain face were investigated with respect to the current climatic change. The study was conducted at one of the highest periglacial rock faces in the European Alps, the east face of Monte Rosa, Italy. Pronounced changes in ice cover and repeated rock and ice avalanche events have been documented in this rock wall since around 1990. The performed multi‐temporal comparison of high‐resolution digital terrain models (DTMs) complemented by detailed analyses of repeat photography represents a unique assessment of topographic changes and slope failures over half a century and reveals a total volume loss in bedrock and steep glaciers in the central part of the face of around 25 × 10⁶ m³ between 1988 and 2007. The high rock and ice avalanche activity translates into an increase in erosion rates of about one order of magnitude during recent decades. The study indicates that changes in atmospheric temperatures and connected changes in ice cover can induce slope destabilization in high‐mountain faces. Analyses of temperature data show that the start of the intense mass movement activity coincided with increased mean annual temperatures in the region around 1990. However, once triggered, mass movement activity seems to be able to proceed in a self‐reinforcing cycle, whereby single mass movement events might be strongly influenced by short‐term extreme temperature events. The investigations suggest a strong stability coupling between steep glaciers and underlying bedrock, as most bedrock instabilities are located in areas where surface ice has disappeared recently and the failure zones are frequently spatially correlated and often develop from lower altitudes progressively upwards. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.