Stable Isotope Studies of the Water Cycle and Terrestrial Environments

This volume is devoted to Earth surface environmental reconstructions and environmental changes that may be deciphered and modelled using stable isotopes along with mineralogical/chemical, sedimentological, palaeontological/biological and climatological methodologies. The book is divided into two sections, both using stable isotopes (δD, δ18O, δ13C, d15N, δ34S, clumped isotopes Δ47) in various samples and phases as the main research tool. The first section is devoted to studies focusing on the distribution of isotopes in precipitation, groundwater, lakes, rivers, springs, tap water, mine water and their relationship with terrestrial environments at regional to continental scale. In relation to this, the second section includes case studies from a range of continental settings, investigating cave deposits (stalagmites, bat guano), animal skeletons (dinosaurs, alligators, turtles, bivalves), present and past soils (palaeosols) and limestones. The sections focus on the interaction between the surficial water cycle and underground water storage with deposits acting as archives of short- to long-term climatic and environmental changes. Examples from the Early Cretaceous to present time come from Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America.
Applicability of selected stable isotopes to study the hydrodynamics and contaminant transport within mining areas in Romania and Finland
Correspondence: [email protected]
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Published:October 28, 2021
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CiteCitation
Delia C. Papp, Călin Baciu, Kaisa Turunen, Anniina Kittilä, 2021. "Applicability of selected stable isotopes to study the hydrodynamics and contaminant transport within mining areas in Romania and Finland", Stable Isotope Studies of the Water Cycle and Terrestrial Environments, A.-V. Bojar, A. Pelc, C. Lécuyer
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Abstract
Mining operations disturb the natural hydrological cycle at a local scale by creating new pathways for water flow and conveying large amounts of water, both for use in ore beneficiation and through the dewatering of mining workings. Sulfide minerals exposed to water and oxygen are oxidized through chemical and microbial-enhanced reactions, significantly altering the quality of water (acid mine drainage). Stable isotopes may reveal important information concerning water origin and transfer, as well as chemical processes and solute fluxes within the aqueous environment. Several case studies illustrate the use of stable isotope techniques for clarifying aspects related to water circulation in mining areas within Romania and Finland. Hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes coupled with total dissolved solids have been used to characterize mine water and for assessing water sources, flow paths and mixing processes at some Romanian mining sites. At Talvivaara mine in Finland, water isotopes and chemical composition were used to determine the extent of waste water contamination in groundwater systems after a leakage at gypsum ponds.
- acid mine drainage
- aquatic environment
- beneficiation
- case studies
- chemical composition
- D/H
- Europe
- Finland
- gold ores
- ground water
- gypsum
- hydrodynamics
- hydrogen
- hydrologic cycle
- hydrology
- isotope ratios
- isotopes
- metal ores
- mine dewatering
- mining
- movement
- O-18/O-16
- oxidation
- oxygen
- pollutants
- pollution
- polymetallic ores
- Romania
- Scandinavia
- seasonal variations
- solute transport
- solutes
- Southern Europe
- stable isotopes
- sulfates
- sulfides
- surface water
- tailings ponds
- transport
- waste water
- water pollution
- water quality
- water resources
- Western Europe
- Kittila Mine
- Talvivaara Mine