A Geochemical and Mineralogical Comparison of Soil Formation on Mine Spoil and Undisturbed Shale and their Contributions to Pore Water, Huff Run Watershed, Ohio

A Geochemical and Mineralogical Comparison of Soil Formation on Mine Spoil and Undisturbed Shale and their Contributions to Pore Water, Huff Run Watershed, Ohio

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Zemanek, Laura Marie
Language:English
Published: Kent State University / OhioLINK 2021
Subjects:
Geochemistry
Geology
Huff Run
mine spoil
coal
pyrite
sequential extraction
loss on ignition
ICP
dissolved organic carbon
high wall
electrical conductivity
contamination
non-point source
watershed
lysimeter
ion chromatography
organic
Online Access:http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent162967269357275
id ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-kent162967269357275
record_format oai_dc
collection NDLTD
language English
sources NDLTD
topic Geochemistry
Geology
Huff Run
mine spoil
coal
pyrite
sequential extraction
loss on ignition
ICP
dissolved organic carbon
high wall
electrical conductivity
contamination
non-point source
watershed
lysimeter
ion chromatography
organic
spellingShingle Geochemistry
Geology
Huff Run
mine spoil
coal
pyrite
sequential extraction
loss on ignition
ICP
dissolved organic carbon
high wall
electrical conductivity
contamination
non-point source
watershed
lysimeter
ion chromatography
organic
Zemanek, Laura Marie
A Geochemical and Mineralogical Comparison of Soil Formation on Mine Spoil and Undisturbed Shale and their Contributions to Pore Water, Huff Run Watershed, Ohio
author Zemanek, Laura Marie
author_facet Zemanek, Laura Marie
author_sort Zemanek, Laura Marie
title A Geochemical and Mineralogical Comparison of Soil Formation on Mine Spoil and Undisturbed Shale and their Contributions to Pore Water, Huff Run Watershed, Ohio
title_short A Geochemical and Mineralogical Comparison of Soil Formation on Mine Spoil and Undisturbed Shale and their Contributions to Pore Water, Huff Run Watershed, Ohio
title_full A Geochemical and Mineralogical Comparison of Soil Formation on Mine Spoil and Undisturbed Shale and their Contributions to Pore Water, Huff Run Watershed, Ohio
title_fullStr A Geochemical and Mineralogical Comparison of Soil Formation on Mine Spoil and Undisturbed Shale and their Contributions to Pore Water, Huff Run Watershed, Ohio
title_full_unstemmed A Geochemical and Mineralogical Comparison of Soil Formation on Mine Spoil and Undisturbed Shale and their Contributions to Pore Water, Huff Run Watershed, Ohio
title_sort geochemical and mineralogical comparison of soil formation on mine spoil and undisturbed shale and their contributions to pore water, huff run watershed, ohio
publisher Kent State University / OhioLINK
publishDate 2021
url http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent162967269357275
work_keys_str_mv AT zemaneklauramarie ageochemicalandmineralogicalcomparisonofsoilformationonminespoilandundisturbedshaleandtheircontributionstoporewaterhuffrunwatershedohio
AT zemaneklauramarie geochemicalandmineralogicalcomparisonofsoilformationonminespoilandundisturbedshaleandtheircontributionstoporewaterhuffrunwatershedohio
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spelling ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-kent1629672693572752021-10-12T05:12:55Z A Geochemical and Mineralogical Comparison of Soil Formation on Mine Spoil and Undisturbed Shale and their Contributions to Pore Water, Huff Run Watershed, Ohio Zemanek, Laura Marie Geochemistry Geology Huff Run mine spoil coal pyrite sequential extraction loss on ignition ICP dissolved organic carbon high wall electrical conductivity contamination non-point source watershed lysimeter ion chromatography organic The Huff Run Watershed, located in Mineral City, Ohio, was mined for coal, limestone, and clay from 1853 to the late 1970s. Mine spoil is left scattered on the surface of about one third of the watershed, contributing to metal leaching to the watershed. Although the mine spoil has had time to become vegetated, camouflaging itself among the native landscape, the disturbed pyrite from coal layers is exposed to water and oxygen leading to a chain of chemical reactions, resulting in the production of potentially acidic and metal-rich porewater, which can infiltrate into the groundwater and streams. Remediation efforts for this watershed have totaled around 4.5 million dollars, but most of the remediation is focused on the point sources of contamination. Runoff from the spoil is a nonpoint source of contamination, and most areas are left untreated. These untreated areas can affect the immediate area and many kilometers downstream of the leaching. For this project, soil samples were collected from a vegetated mine spoil hill and a vegetated shale hill in this watershed, to make a physical and chemical comparison of the soils and their pore water. Solid phase characterization included particle size analysis, bulk X-ray powder diffraction, and loss on ignition (LOI). Soil pore water was collected from suction lysimeters installed at different depths (10, 40, 80, and 120 cm) at the two sites. Field-based water quality analyses included pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), electrical conductivity, and temperature; collected samples were analyzed for metals by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), anions by ion chromatography, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The speciation of Al, Fe, and Mn was also determined by a sequential extraction procedure. The particle size distribution showed a sandy loam, with an overall average of 4.4% clay, 47.7% silt, and 47.9% sand in the high wall (HW) and 6.3% clay, 41.8% silt, and 51.9% sand in the mine spoil (MS). The bulk mineralogy was dominated by quartz (30.6 – 43.3 % HW; 27.5 – 49% MS) and muscovite (34.9 – 42.6% HW; 29.1 – 45.0 MS). LOI values ranged from 4.27– 8.53% in the HW and 5.35– 15.48% in the MS, with the LOI being fairly uniform throughout the vertical profile in the HW and found in high percentages of the MS in areas of residual coal. DOC values were highest in the first 10 cm of the HW (91.45 ± 23.61 mg/L), 5 times higher than the first 10 cm of the MS. Although mineralogy and particle size analysis between the two sampling sites were very similar, metal leaching and mobility were different based upon whether organics were plant-derived such as the thick organic layer on the native hill, or vs. rock-derived organics from the residual coal in layers found from 50 – 100 cm in the mine spoil hill. Aqueous Al, Fe, and Cu were highest in the first 10 cm of the HW, indicating that they are readily released from soil into solution when exposed to plant-derived organic matter, and at this depth and location increased in concentration over the field season (were fairly constant at other locations). Aqueous Mn, Ni, and Zn were found in higher concentrations in the MS. Mn and Ni concentrations at both sites and all depths decreased over the field season and Zn did not show a temporal trend. Evidence of coal in the mine spoil is found through higher LOI values (approximately 10% in MS vs. 5% in HW), and extractable Fe and Mn having its highest concentrations at depths where rock-derived organics were highest, lower levels of dissolved oxygen, and overall higher concentrations of extractable Al, Fe, and Mn. Al, Fe, and Mn were all found in highest concentrations in the reducible fraction, indicating the formation of (oxy)hydroxides after pyrite dissolution in the MS. Using the results, there is potential to quantify the amount of metal leaching from non-point source mine spoil hills the and pH changes that take place during the months of May – October and evaluate the potential for metal leaching over greater lengths of time. 2021-10-11 English text Kent State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent162967269357275 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent162967269357275 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

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