Thanks for the summary on local geology. Can you find any information on acid mine drainage? There was some acid mine drainage problems in the area I went through yesterday. Its been a long time since I've heard anything about the problem.
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From Wikipedia:
Acid mine drainage (AMD), or acid rock drainage (ARD), refers to the outflow of acidic water from (usually) abandoned metal mines or coal mines. However, other areas where the earth has been disturbed (e.g. construction sites, subdivisions, transportation corridors, etc.) may also contribute acid rock drainage to the environment. In many localities the liquid that drains from coal stocks, coal handling facilities, coal washeries, and even coal waste tips can be highly acidic, and in such cases it is treated as acid rock drainage. Acid rock drainage occurs naturally within some environments as part of the rock weathering process but is exacerbated by large-scale earth disturbances characteristic of mining and other large construction activities, usually within rocks containing an abundance of sulfide minerals.
Sub-surface mining often progresses below the water table, so water must be constantly pumped out of the mine in order to prevent flooding. When a mine is abandoned, the pumping ceases, and water floods the mine. This introduction of water is the initial step in most acid rock drainage situations. Tailings piles or ponds may also be a source of acid rock drainage.
After being exposed to air and water, oxidation of metal sulfides (often pyrite, which is iron-sulfide) within the surrounding rock and overburden generates acidity. Colonies of bacteria and archaea greatly accelerate the decomposition of metal ions, although the reactions also occur in an abiotic environment. These microbes, called extremophiles for their ability to survive in harsh conditions, occur naturally in the rock, but limited water and oxygen supplies usually keep their numbers low. Special extremophiles known as acidophiles especially favor the low pH levels of abandoned mines. In particular, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans is a key contributor to pyrite oxidation[1]
Metal mines may generate highly acidic discharges where the ore is a sulfide or is associated with pyrites. In these cases the predominant metal ion may not be iron but rather zinc, copper, or nickel. The most commonly-mined ore of copper, chalcopyrite, is itself a copper-iron-sulfide and occurs with a range of other sulfides. Thus, copper mines are often major culprits of ARD.
In some ARD systems temperatures reach 117 degrees Fahrenheit (47 °C), and the pH can be as low as -3.6. [2]
ARD-causing organisms can thrive in waters with pH very close to zero. Negative pH occurs when water evaporates from already acidic pools thereby increasing the concentration of hydrogen ions.
About half of the coal mine discharges in Pennsylvania have pH under 5 standard units. However, a significant portion of mine drainage in both the bituminous and anthracite regions of Pennsylvania is alkaline, because limestone in the overburden neutralizes acid before the drainage emanates.
ARD has recently been a hindrance to the completion of the construction of Interstate 99 near State College, but this ARD didn't come from a mine: pyritic rock was unearthed during a road cut and then used as filler material in the I-99 construction.
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