Sources and fates of heavy metals in a mining-impacted stream: temporal variability and the role of iron oxides.

ABSTRACT: Heavy metal contamination of surface waters at mining sites often involves complex interactions of multiple sources and varying biogeochemical conditions. We compared surface and subsurface metal loading from mine waste pile runoff and mine drainage discharge and characterized the influence of iron oxides on metal fate along a 0.9-km stretch of Tar Creek (Oklahoma, USA), which drains an abandoned Zn/Pb mining area. The importance of each source varied by metal; mine waste pile runoff contributed 70% of Cd, while mine drainage contributed 90% of Pb, and both sources contributed similarly to Zn loading. Subsurface inputs accounted for 40% of flow and 40-70% of metal loading along this stretch. Streambed iron oxide aggregate material contained highly elevated Zn (up to 27,000 μg g(-1)), Pb (u

SUBMITTER: Schaider LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4145074 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature