Trend Analysis of Water-Soluble Salts Leaching Along Surfaces of Reclaimed Mine Dumps in Western Donbass (Ukraine)

Iryna Klimkina,Mykola Kharytonov,Oleksandr Zhukov

doi:10.5755/j01.erem.74.2.19940

Abstract

Surface evaporation rates that are greater than precipitation rates lead to upward salinization processes and, consequently, man-made contamination of the covering surface layers on coal dumps in Western Donbass, Ukraine. The effectiveness of capping the mine dumps with different layers of black-soil mass, both with and without a shielding layer of loess-like loam, was studied in order to develop the optimal scheme for the reclamation of these dumps. Principal component analyses were carried out in order to reveal the regularities of the upward salt migration to the surfaces of reclaimed coal mine dumps. The parameters of the layer-by-layer variation of the physical and chemical data in soil water extracts (namely, pH, total salinity and concentrations of bicarbonates, chlorides, sulfates, calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium) which were obtained in 1987, 2003 and 2016 along the reclaimed profiles of various models of technogenic edaphotop, gradually acquire a stable-equilibrium state of mineralization in space and time. The alkaline barrier is the main factor for pH-changes and profile salinization of reclaimed land.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.74.2.19940

Highlights

The need for land reclamation in Ukraine’s Western Donbass region is associated with the long-term underground coal development in the Samara River floodplain
The principal component 1 (PC1) accounts for 47.01 % of total variance, and this component is characterized by statistically significant correlation coefficients with
The PC1 reflects the level of total mineralization of the soil solution, indicating that the increase in mineralization is associated with a decrease in pH values

Summary

Introduction

The need for land reclamation in Ukraine’s Western Donbass region is associated with the long-term underground coal development in the Samara River floodplain. The problems associated with environmental restoration after coal mining are relevant even for such developed countries as USA, Germany, UK and others (Chugh and Behum 2014; Bellenfant et al 2013; Wiessner et al 2013; Lottermoser 2010; Bian Zhengfu et al 2010). The problem of nature conservation in Western Donbass is very real since almost half of the coal reserves are deposited under Samara River floodplain and its tributaries. Among the negative impacts after coal mining, contamination of surface and groundwater bodies is the most significant. The coal mining results in the formation of deep fissures and intense subsidence on the floodplain surface (up to 1 m, and sometimes up to 3-7 m). The environmental state is aggravated by leaching toxic substances from waste rocks accumulated in slag heaps, which contaminates soils and groundwater (Yevgrashkina et al 2009)

Methods

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Conclusion