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Solute Transport at Low Flow in an Acid Stream in Appalachian Ohio

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Abstract

The spatial variability in chemical composition of water and sediments along Snow Fork, a stream draining 70 km2 of southeastern Ohio, was investigated under low-flow conditions. The stream is affected by acid mine drainage (AMD) beginning atEssex Mine, an abandoned mine opening, and extending 23 km downstream to the confluence with Monday Creek. Volumetric discharge and changes in stream water and sediment metalconcentrations were examined to identify chemical interactionsand processes controlling the transport and fate of metalcontaminants. The stream loses water to the groundwater system insome sections. The water loss probably occurs through fracturesconnecting the stream to underlying underground coal mines. Massbalance (loading) and mineral saturation index calculations wereused to identify metal sources and sinks. Dissolved metal loadingincreases downstream along the length of Snow Fork, despite theprecipitation of metals as hydroxides in the streambed,indicating multiple groundwater sources of AMD along the flowpath. Relatively high dissolved metal concentrations and lowsediment metal concentrations occur where the pH is low,indicating that local sediment-water interaction dominates masstransfer between sediments and water. Calculated mineralsaturation indexes indicate that aluminum and iron hydroxidesprecipitate in some stream segments and dissolve in others. X-raydiffractograms of sediments show two distinct mineral groups.Amorphous or weakly crystalline minerals dominate one group foundnear the stream headwaters near the underground mine. Crystallinemineral phases dominate the sediments downstream. Thesediffractograms contain the primary peaks for quartz, kaoliniteand illite all of which constitute the local sandstones, shalesor underclay. Peaks of amorphous phases of iron and manganese,if present, are obscured. The implications of these findings arethat the transport of metals in sediments may be as important asdissolved metal transport in estimating the overall stream load,particularly if downstream sources of AMD may remobilize metalsfrom soluble precipitates.

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  1. Kenneth C. Carroll

    Present address: Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, 45701

    Kenneth C. Carroll, Dina L. López & Mary W. Stoertz

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  2. Dina L. López
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Carroll, K.C., López, D.L. & Stoertz, M.W. Solute Transport at Low Flow in an Acid Stream in Appalachian Ohio. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 144, 195–222 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022925519292

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