In the last centuries several highland river basins in the United Kingdom had a geomorphological transformation, due to mining for metals. The study area for this research is the basin of the river Swale, in northern England (map), where intent mining occurred over a period in the 18th and 19th century. With the help of erosion and deposition, sediment of floodplains which is contaminated by metals, was and still is set loose into the water flows.
The rate of contamination can oscillate remarkably, due to the main dependency on the quantity of sediment which is affected by fluvial processes. The metals are furthermore able to reside in the floodplain for millennia, thereby having the possibility to have a serious effect on the environment, even long after sediment release. Researchers used several techniques, e.g. floodplain samples, to investigate the metal concentrations per location alongside the river. The contamination of the river water itself, is left out of the picture.
The contamination patterns are dependent on the location of the mining and the aforementioned fluvial processes and are furthermore dimensionally heterogeneous, due to phenomena such as regional deposition or the natural process of covering relatively old metal-contaminated sediment with so-called clean sediment. Generally sediment upstream, has a relatively higher metal concentration, with exception of peaks at new input of tributaries or a broad stream. The levels of contamination for sediments that are exposed to the atmosphere, and sediments that are not, are in correlation, however substantially higher for the subsurface soil, which is also vertically deviate. The concentration is almost invariable over the course downstream, however decreasing at a...
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Sedimentary rock from the older Silurian Period is further from the river banks (Geological map of Victoria, 1973). Mudstone, inter-bedded shale and greywacke depositions indicate the Maribyrnong River may have previously taken a different shape, and younger sediments have replaced the older sediments in more recent geological periods.
The purpose of this paper is to explain and highlight different aspects of the Powder River Basin to include paleogeography, stratigraphy, maturation history of organic material, vitrinite reflectance data, sulfur content, both historical and current production data, as well as the environmental impact in the basin.
As can be seen from the photo( Image 1), looking downstream, there were steep sections of bank where it appeared the erosive forces of the river when high have cause part of the bank to fall away leaving steep about 1m high drops on the bank with exposed rocky soil visible. The phenomenon also illustrate that it is an alluvial landforms, which will find erosional feature from fluvial
Throughout this mining process a byproduct is created called chat. The chat is leftover rock and waste from mining that did not contained the desired materials. The chat was left on the site because the Bureau of Indian Affairs thought it could be of value to the Quapaw tribe (1). This chat contained high levels of toxic lead and other harmful chemicals. It is estimated that there are 75 Million tons (150 billion pounds) of chat piles remaining exposed to the environment as well as numerous flotation ponds that haven’t been taken into account (4).
The alluviam sediments (sand, gravel, and silt) were deposited in a fluvial environment along the creek. Sand, gravel, and silt-sized grains are commonly
On December 22, 2008 in Roane County, Tennessee, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston Fossil Plant had a dike rupture releasing more the 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash into the Emory River. There were no recorded deaths or serious injuries , but the surrounding ecosystem was affected severely. The ash slurry contained heavy metals such as arsenic, barium, chromium, mercury, nickel and many more, all of which were released directly into water the ways. Preliminary tests of drinking water showed that the toxins did not affect it, however later individual organizations tests show high amounts of arsenic and other toxins in the water. Officials say that the discrepancy is due to original water test being done before the polluted water had a chance to reach Tennessee Valley Authority, water treatment plant. Authorities claim that the reason for the dam failure was due to the high rain fall and subzero temperatures. However, local residents are saying that they’d observed leakages ever since the plant was opened, as well as...
Most of the rivers are the one being used by large communities like drinking water supply and for the farmers in their produce. The State of Department put together a commission of knowledgeable people and carried out an investigation about the risk and consequences of this project. Some of the conclusion about the spills were, for example, that: “A million of gallons of tar soil war poured into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan… 40 miles of this river still are contaminated to this day”. Another example of spills affecting communities, is the one in 2013, caused by a twenty foot crack in a pipeline, causing a huge spill of oil, damaging the residential neighborhoods and the Lake Conway in Arkansas. This spills and oil “accidents” are affecting not only the lives of people but also the wildlife, the ecosystems and the quality of air and water
Over time an oxbow lake may become filled with organic material and be transformed into a marsh. In conclusion hydraulic variables and physical variables (relief/climate) aid the development of depositional landforms along a river. The more turbulent a river is, the more it will occur. The turbulence differentiates through the three courses; upper, middle and lower.
Mississippi has a variety of different soils .The three general soils are 1) the river flood plain, known as the Delta, 2) a loess region, or bands of soils formed in windblown material that adjoins the Delta, and 3) Coastal Plain. The Mississippi Delta is better for growing row crop, while the loess and Coastal Plain region are better for animal production and forestry. The loess and Coastal Plain regions are divided based on similar soils, geology, climate, water resources, and land use called Major Land Resource Areas. The Mississippi Delta’s soil comes from sediments left by flooding various rivers in the region, rather than being a typical Delta formed by the mouth of a river. In the Delta most of the land is farmed, with three-fourths of the cropland to the north. Controlling surface water and drainage are major soil management issues. In the Delta soils are naturally diverse because of their alluvial origin. Particle sizes within the sediment decrease as distance from the originating stream increase. Another factor in Delta soil formation us surface water movement over time, because soils that formed under standing water have different properties than soils formed under moving water. Soils with large amounts of clay particles have unique features. When the soil is dry, small round aggregates form at the surface that look like shotgun buckshot, which is where the popular name for Delta clay soils “buckshot” came from. Soils with large clay content have very slow water filtration rates; this has led to significant aquaculture and rice production in the region. When floodwaters receded in the Delta, strong winds blew some of the dry sediment left by flooded river to the adjacent uplands to form the loess areas. Because of eas...
Do you believe that because Canada is a multicultural society that there is no racism? While the idea of inclusion and buried racism is what one might hope for, the realities of Canada’s national policy when experienced is quiet opposite than the messages expressed though text and other media outlets. Canada is suppose to be a multicultural society which includes all races and cultural backgrounds, everyone is suppose to be included and accepted in our group instead there are instances of discrimination and marginalization to certain racialized groups that have entered Canada the land that is promised to be of freedom and inclusion for all. Multiculturalism is a fundamental characteristic of the Canadian heritage and identity it is what fills our national center. (Harmony 2014). Multiculturalism has been a good policy designed to give people a great impression of our country yet: The Novels Indian Horse (2012) by Richard Wagamese and Obasan (1981) by Joy Kogawa portrays acts of violence, terror, exclusion and hardship. It is observed through reading and analysis that Racism is a never-ending struggle that people of minority backgrounds who immigrate to the land of the free have to endure. Finally, Racism stifles and affects everyone negatively who is an immigrant in the Canadian society; multiculturalism is only a façade which serves to cover up the root of the problem.
Water contamination comes in various different forms. The most common in today’s world is chemical contamination. At the dawn of the industrial era, factories and sewage plants were the main culprits behind water contamination. In her article Water Quality, author Mary Cooper notes that “although the most egregious point-source pollution [factories and sewage treatment plants] has been reduced, a more insidious form of pollution continues to dirty the nation’s waterways – runoff from city streets, suburban construction sites and farms” (955). In farmland America today, the focus of contamination is mostly on runoff. Runoff...
Objectives • To evaluate the difficulty of mining and reclamation To calculate costs, expenses, income, and profit from a hands-on mining exercise. • To evaluate the effectiveness of reclamation and its added costs to mining. To describe the increasing rarity of some non-renewable mineral resources. Introduction Minerals play an important role in our day-to-day life, but we often do not contemplate how the minerals are obtained. Minerals are scattered all over the world, just like any other resource.
In a marine environment, different types of sediments are associated with varying depths of ocean water. Sediments accumulate over time and are deposited by water, air, or both. ...
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Cunningham, William, and Mary Ann Cunningham. "Chapter 18: Water Pollution." Environmental Science. ; A Global Concern. 12th ed. McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2011. 396-421. Print.