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Coal mining impacts and remediation in the Chattanooga region; field trip to North Chickamauga Creek upper watershed

Gregory A. Brodie
Coal mining impacts and remediation in the Chattanooga region; field trip to North Chickamauga Creek upper watershed (in Diverse excursions in the Southeast; Paleozoic to present, Ann E. Holmes (editor))
Field Guide (Geological Society of America) (2015) 39: 79-93

Abstract

Upper North Chickamauga Creek in Hamilton and Sequatchie Counties, Tennessee, is severely impacted by acid mine drainage (AMD) emanating from more than 15 abandoned coal mines in headwater tributaries. AMD is formed when pyrite and other sulfide minerals are exposed to air and water during coal mining. It is characterized by low pH (<2.8) and elevated concentrations of acidity, iron, aluminum, sulfate, and other pollutants. These attributes tend to be toxic to most aquatic life and result in reduced aesthetics and potential uses of the water. The North Chickamauga Creek Watershed Restoration Project is a multi-organizational effort to restore the upper 18 miles of the North Chickamauga Creek watershed to a level that will support a warm-water fishery. Several passive treatment systems (PTS) have been installed at abandoned mining sites in the North Chickamauga Creek watershed where AMD is generated and is flowing into surface waters. PTS is the engineered use of natural and enhanced geological, biological, chemical, and physical processes to prevent pollutant generation or to remove pollutants from aqueous discharges. PTS include technologies such as constructed wetlands, anoxic limestone drains, mine seals and flooding, successive alkalinity-producing systems, limestone trenches, and other components. During this field trip to the upper reaches of the North Chickamauga Creek watershed, we will visit several of the operational systems and observe untreated AMD. Participants will gain an understanding of how AMD is generated, its impacts and characteristics, and how it can be prevented or treated. This field trip requires extensive hiking over moderate slopes and sometimes vegetated terrain.


ISSN: 2333-0937
EISSN: 2333-0945
Serial Title: Field Guide (Geological Society of America)
Serial Volume: 39
Title: Coal mining impacts and remediation in the Chattanooga region; field trip to North Chickamauga Creek upper watershed
Title: Diverse excursions in the Southeast; Paleozoic to present
Author(s): Brodie, Gregory A.
Author(s): Holmes, Ann E.editor
Affiliation: University of Tennessee, Department of Physics, Geology, and Astronomy, Chattanooga, TN, United States
Affiliation: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Physics, Geology and Astronomy, Chattanooga, TN, United States
Pages: 79-93
Published: 2015
Text Language: English
Publisher: Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO, United States
References: 10
Accession Number: 2015-052338
Categories: Environmental geology
Document Type: Serial
Bibliographic Level: Analytic
Illustration Description: illus. incl. sects.
N34°58'00" - N35°34'60", W85°40'00" - W84°57'00"
Country of Publication: United States
Secondary Affiliation: GeoRef, Copyright 2017, American Geosciences Institute. Reference includes data supplied by the Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO, United States
Update Code: 201524
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