Abstract
In the Holy Cross Mountains (southern Poland), there are numerous disused quarries. Some of these are filled with water, and some, despite their nearby location, have extremely diverse physicochemical and chemical properties of their waters. One such object is the Wiśniówka Mała reservoir. Its waters contain large amounts of sulfates (> 700 mg/L) and iron (24 mg/L), which are weathering products of rocks containing metal sulfides (mainly pyrite) in the direct drainage zone. As a consequence, there is an increase in the electrolytic conductivity of the water supplying the reservoir, resulting in very low pH values (< 4). This article presents the detailed limnological characteristics of this reservoir and explains the process that led to its water acidification. A control reservoir, Barcza, was also selected for the tests. Although it is also a post-mining excavation, it has a neutral pH and a low concentration of sulfates and iron. The examined reservoirs differ in the hydrochemical type of waters. The Wiśniówka Mała reservoir represents a sulfate–calcium double-ion type (SO42−–Ca2+) and the Barcza reservoir, a bicarbonate–calcium type (HCO3−–Ca2+). The concentrations of the main ions occurring here are shaped by the lithological features of the surrounding rocks (respectively: Upper Cambrian quartzite sandstones with pyrite mineralization zones, Lower Devonian sandstones cut by mudstones and claystones with tuffite inserts).
Highlights
In recent years, the interest of many researchers has been focused on the water that fills the post-excavation pits in which the excavated materials were magma sedimentary rocks of various ages, including metal ores (Lentz 2002; Ramstedt et al 2003; Pellicori et al 2005; Stevens et al 2005; Balistrieri et al 2006; Hrdinka et al 2013; Tucci and Gammons 2015) and rock raw materials (Hrdinka 2007; España et al 2008; Molenda 2015; Jawecki et al 2018; Tadeusz Molenda, Tadeusz Ciupa and Roman Suligowski have contributed to this work.Pociecha et al 2018)
The water in some flooded quarries may be a local threat to the local natural environment (Nordstrom 2011, Migaszewski et al 2014, 2018b), because it has unfavorable physical and chemical parameters (Migaszewski et al 2007; España et al 2008) and a high concentration of trace elements (Williams and Smith 2000; Bozau et al 2004; Szarek-Gwiazda and Żurek 2006; Triantafyllidis and Skarpelis 2006; Migaszewski et al 2008, 2016, 2018a, 2019). These include the reservoirs in which the properties of the water are determined by the course of natural geochemical processes that are caused by the presence of metal sulfides, mainly pyrite in the underground and acid mine drainage (AMD) (e.g., 1 3 Vol.:(0123456789)
The chemical composition of the waters in the reservoirs that were formed in the excavations after the exploitation of quartzite sandstones in the Holy Cross Mountains (Poland) is determined by the course of the natural geochemical processes
Summary
The interest of many researchers has been focused on the water that fills the post-excavation pits in which the excavated materials were magma sedimentary rocks of various ages, including metal ores (Lentz 2002; Ramstedt et al 2003; Pellicori et al 2005; Stevens et al 2005; Balistrieri et al 2006; Hrdinka et al 2013; Tucci and Gammons 2015) and rock raw materials (Hrdinka 2007; España et al 2008; Molenda 2015; Jawecki et al 2018; Tadeusz Molenda, Tadeusz Ciupa and Roman Suligowski have contributed to this work.Pociecha et al 2018). The water in some flooded quarries may be a local threat to the local natural environment (Nordstrom 2011, Migaszewski et al 2014, 2018b), because it has unfavorable physical and chemical parameters (Migaszewski et al 2007; España et al 2008) and a high concentration of trace elements (Williams and Smith 2000; Bozau et al 2004; Szarek-Gwiazda and Żurek 2006; Triantafyllidis and Skarpelis 2006; Migaszewski et al 2008, 2016, 2018a, 2019). These include the reservoirs in which the properties of the water are determined by the course of natural geochemical processes that are caused by the presence of metal sulfides, mainly pyrite (the effect is a very low pH value) in the underground and acid mine drainage (AMD)
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