Upper Animas River Basin Abandoned Mine Lands Initiative
Completed
By Colorado Water Science Center
October 20, 1996
The USGS Abandoned Mine Lands Initiative (AMLI) is developing and demonstrating scientific knowledge and technologies that will help Federal land management agencies clean up contamination in areas near abandoned hardrock mines across the Nation. The Initiative is being conducted in two pilot watersheds, the Upper Animas River Basin in Colorado and the Boulder River watershed in Montana, where the USGS is partnering with the U.S. Forest Service, BLM, NPS, EPA, and State agencies in Colorado and Montana.
OBJECTIVES:
- To define background (premining) conditions.
- To define baseline (current) conditions.
- To identify target sites that contribute most to environmental deterioration.
- To characterize target sites and processes for contaminant dispersal.
- To characterize ecosystem health and controlling processes.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Integrated investigations of environmental effects of historical mining in the Animas River Watershed, San Juan County, Colorado
This publication comprises a Volume Contents of chapters (listed below) and a CD-ROM of data (contents shown in column at right).
The Animas River watershed in southwest Colorado is one of many watersheds in the western United States where historical mining has left a legacy of acid mine drainage and elevated concentrations of potentially toxic trace elements in surface streams. U.S. Geological
Filter Total Items: 37
Formation of mixed Al-Fe colloidal sorbent and dissolved-colloidal partitioning of Cu and Zn in the Cement Creek - Animas River Confluence, Silverton, Colorado
Transport and chemical transformations of dissolved and colloidal Al, Fe, Cu and Zn were studied by detailed sampling in the mixing zone downstream from the confluence of Cement Creek (pH 4.1) with the Animas River (pH 7.6). Complete mixing resulted in circumneutral pH in the downstream reach of the 1300 m study area. All four metals were transported through this mixing zone without significant lo
Authors
Laurence E. Schemel, Briant A. Kimball, Robert L. Runkel, Marisa H. Cox
A simulation-based approach for estimating premining water quality: Red Mountain Creek, Colorado
Regulatory agencies are often charged with the task of setting site-specific numeric water quality standards for impaired streams. This task is particularly difficult for streams draining highly mineralized watersheds with past mining activity. Baseline water quality data obtained prior to mining are often non-existent and application of generic water quality standards developed for unmineralized
Authors
Robert L. Runkel, Briant A Kimball, Katherine Walton-Day, Philip L. Verplanck
Quantification and simulation of metal loading to the Upper Animas River, Eureka to Silverton, San Juan County, Colorado, September 1997 and August 1998
Drainage from abandoned and inactive mines and from naturally mineralized areas in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado contributes metals to the upper Animas River near Silverton, Colorado. Tracer-injection studies and associated synoptic sampling were performed along two reaches of the upper Animas River to develop detailed profiles of stream discharge and to locate and quantify sources o
Authors
Suzanne S. Paschke, Briant A. Kimball, Robert L. Runkel
Identification of spectrally similar materials using the USGS Tetracorder algorithm: The calcite-epidote-chlorite problem
A scheme to discriminate and identify materials having overlapping spectral absorption features has been developed and tested based on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Tetracorder system. The scheme has been applied to remotely sensed imaging spectroscopy data acquired by the Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) instrument. This approach was used to identify the minerals ca
Authors
J.B. Dalton, D. J. Bove, C.S. Mladinich, B.W. Rockwell
Application of Tracer-Injection Techniques to Demonstrate Surface-Water and Ground-Water Interactions Between an Alpine Stream and the North Star Mine, Upper Animas River Watershed, Southwestern Colorado
Tracer-injection studies were done in Belcher Gulch in the upper Animas River watershed, southwestern Colorado, to determine whether the alpine stream infiltrates into underground mine workings of the North Star Mine and other nearby mines in the area. The tracer-injection studies were designed to determine if and where along Belcher Gulch the stream infiltrates into the mine. Four separate tracer
Authors
Winfield G. Wright, Bryan Moore
Water quality and aquatic toxicity data of 2002 spring thaw conditions in the upper Animas River watershed, Silverton, Colorado
This report presents hydrologic, water-quality, and biologic toxicity data collected during the annual spring thaw of 2002 in the upper Animas River watershed near Silverton, Colorado. The spring-thaw runoff is a concern because elevated concentrations of iron oxyhydroxides can contain sorbed trace metals that are potentially toxic to aquatic life. Water chemistry of streams draining the San Juan
Authors
D. L. Fey, L. Wirt, J.M. Besser, W. G. Wright
Assessment of metal loads in watersheds affected by acid mine drainage by using tracer injection and synoptic sampling: Cement Creek, Colorado, USA
Watersheds in mineralized zones may contain many mines, each of which can contribute to acidity and the metal load of a stream. In this study the authors delineate hydrogeologic characteristics determining the transport of metals from the watershed to the stream in the watershed of Cement Creek, Colorado. Combining the injection of a chemical tracer, to determine a discharge, with synoptic samplin
Authors
B. A. Kimball, R.L. Runkel, K. Walton-Day, K.E. Bencala
Evaluating remedial alternatives for an acid mine drainage stream: Application of a reactive transport model
A reactive transport model based on one-dimensional transport and equilibrium chemistry is applied to synoptic data from an acid mine drainage stream. Model inputs include streamflow estimates based on tracer dilution, inflow chemistry based on synoptic sampling, and equilibrium constants describing acid/base, complexation, precipitation/dissolution, and sorption reactions. The dominant features o
Authors
R.L. Runkel, B. A. Kimball
Geochronology and geology of late Oligocene through Miocene volcanism and mineralization in the western San Juan Mountains, Colorado
This paper presents 25 new 40Ar/39Ar dates from the main calc-alkaline ash-flow sheets and related younger plutons of the western San Juan volcanic field, the ash-flow sheets of the Lake City caldera cycle, and veins and other altered rocks in the Lake City region. The goal of the study was to produce similar quality 40Ar/39Ar ages to those currently published for the eastern and central San Juan
Authors
Dana J. Bove, Ken Hon, Karin E. Budding, John F. Slack, Lawrence W. Snee, Ross A. Yeoman
Bioavailability of metals in stream food webs and hazards to brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in the upper Animas River watershed, Colorado
The water quality, habitats, and biota of streams in the upper Animas River watershed of Colorado, USA, are affected by metal contamination associated with acid drainage. We determined metal concentrations in components of the food web of the Animas River and its tributaries - periphyton (aufwuchs), benthic invertebrates, and livers of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) - and evaluated pathways o
Authors
J.M. Besser, W. G. Brumbaugh, T.W. May, S. E. Church, B. A. Kimball
Metal loading assessment of a small mountainous sub-basin characterized by acid drainage -- Prospect Gulch, upper Animas River watershed, Colorado
strongly affected by natural acidity from pyrite weathering.
Metal content in the water column is a composite of multiple
sources affected by hydrologic, geologic, climatic, and anthropogenic
conditions. Identifying sources of metals from various
drainage areas was determined using a tracer injection approach
and synoptic sampling during low flow conditions on September
29, 1999 to determine
Authors
Laurie Wirt, Kenneth J. Leib, Roger Melick, Dana J. Bove
Hydrologic and water-quality data at selected sites in the Upper Animas River watershed, southwestern Colorado, 1997-99
No abstract available.
Authors
Alisa Mast, J. B. Evans, K.J. Leib, W. G. Wright
The USGS Abandoned Mine Lands Initiative (AMLI) is developing and demonstrating scientific knowledge and technologies that will help Federal land management agencies clean up contamination in areas near abandoned hardrock mines across the Nation. The Initiative is being conducted in two pilot watersheds, the Upper Animas River Basin in Colorado and the Boulder River watershed in Montana, where the USGS is partnering with the U.S. Forest Service, BLM, NPS, EPA, and State agencies in Colorado and Montana.
OBJECTIVES:
- To define background (premining) conditions.
- To define baseline (current) conditions.
- To identify target sites that contribute most to environmental deterioration.
- To characterize target sites and processes for contaminant dispersal.
- To characterize ecosystem health and controlling processes.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Integrated investigations of environmental effects of historical mining in the Animas River Watershed, San Juan County, Colorado
This publication comprises a Volume Contents of chapters (listed below) and a CD-ROM of data (contents shown in column at right).
The Animas River watershed in southwest Colorado is one of many watersheds in the western United States where historical mining has left a legacy of acid mine drainage and elevated concentrations of potentially toxic trace elements in surface streams. U.S. Geological
Filter Total Items: 37
Formation of mixed Al-Fe colloidal sorbent and dissolved-colloidal partitioning of Cu and Zn in the Cement Creek - Animas River Confluence, Silverton, Colorado
Transport and chemical transformations of dissolved and colloidal Al, Fe, Cu and Zn were studied by detailed sampling in the mixing zone downstream from the confluence of Cement Creek (pH 4.1) with the Animas River (pH 7.6). Complete mixing resulted in circumneutral pH in the downstream reach of the 1300 m study area. All four metals were transported through this mixing zone without significant lo
Authors
Laurence E. Schemel, Briant A. Kimball, Robert L. Runkel, Marisa H. Cox
A simulation-based approach for estimating premining water quality: Red Mountain Creek, Colorado
Regulatory agencies are often charged with the task of setting site-specific numeric water quality standards for impaired streams. This task is particularly difficult for streams draining highly mineralized watersheds with past mining activity. Baseline water quality data obtained prior to mining are often non-existent and application of generic water quality standards developed for unmineralized
Authors
Robert L. Runkel, Briant A Kimball, Katherine Walton-Day, Philip L. Verplanck
Quantification and simulation of metal loading to the Upper Animas River, Eureka to Silverton, San Juan County, Colorado, September 1997 and August 1998
Drainage from abandoned and inactive mines and from naturally mineralized areas in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado contributes metals to the upper Animas River near Silverton, Colorado. Tracer-injection studies and associated synoptic sampling were performed along two reaches of the upper Animas River to develop detailed profiles of stream discharge and to locate and quantify sources o
Authors
Suzanne S. Paschke, Briant A. Kimball, Robert L. Runkel
Identification of spectrally similar materials using the USGS Tetracorder algorithm: The calcite-epidote-chlorite problem
A scheme to discriminate and identify materials having overlapping spectral absorption features has been developed and tested based on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Tetracorder system. The scheme has been applied to remotely sensed imaging spectroscopy data acquired by the Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) instrument. This approach was used to identify the minerals ca
Authors
J.B. Dalton, D. J. Bove, C.S. Mladinich, B.W. Rockwell
Application of Tracer-Injection Techniques to Demonstrate Surface-Water and Ground-Water Interactions Between an Alpine Stream and the North Star Mine, Upper Animas River Watershed, Southwestern Colorado
Tracer-injection studies were done in Belcher Gulch in the upper Animas River watershed, southwestern Colorado, to determine whether the alpine stream infiltrates into underground mine workings of the North Star Mine and other nearby mines in the area. The tracer-injection studies were designed to determine if and where along Belcher Gulch the stream infiltrates into the mine. Four separate tracer
Authors
Winfield G. Wright, Bryan Moore
Water quality and aquatic toxicity data of 2002 spring thaw conditions in the upper Animas River watershed, Silverton, Colorado
This report presents hydrologic, water-quality, and biologic toxicity data collected during the annual spring thaw of 2002 in the upper Animas River watershed near Silverton, Colorado. The spring-thaw runoff is a concern because elevated concentrations of iron oxyhydroxides can contain sorbed trace metals that are potentially toxic to aquatic life. Water chemistry of streams draining the San Juan
Authors
D. L. Fey, L. Wirt, J.M. Besser, W. G. Wright
Assessment of metal loads in watersheds affected by acid mine drainage by using tracer injection and synoptic sampling: Cement Creek, Colorado, USA
Watersheds in mineralized zones may contain many mines, each of which can contribute to acidity and the metal load of a stream. In this study the authors delineate hydrogeologic characteristics determining the transport of metals from the watershed to the stream in the watershed of Cement Creek, Colorado. Combining the injection of a chemical tracer, to determine a discharge, with synoptic samplin
Authors
B. A. Kimball, R.L. Runkel, K. Walton-Day, K.E. Bencala
Evaluating remedial alternatives for an acid mine drainage stream: Application of a reactive transport model
A reactive transport model based on one-dimensional transport and equilibrium chemistry is applied to synoptic data from an acid mine drainage stream. Model inputs include streamflow estimates based on tracer dilution, inflow chemistry based on synoptic sampling, and equilibrium constants describing acid/base, complexation, precipitation/dissolution, and sorption reactions. The dominant features o
Authors
R.L. Runkel, B. A. Kimball
Geochronology and geology of late Oligocene through Miocene volcanism and mineralization in the western San Juan Mountains, Colorado
This paper presents 25 new 40Ar/39Ar dates from the main calc-alkaline ash-flow sheets and related younger plutons of the western San Juan volcanic field, the ash-flow sheets of the Lake City caldera cycle, and veins and other altered rocks in the Lake City region. The goal of the study was to produce similar quality 40Ar/39Ar ages to those currently published for the eastern and central San Juan
Authors
Dana J. Bove, Ken Hon, Karin E. Budding, John F. Slack, Lawrence W. Snee, Ross A. Yeoman
Bioavailability of metals in stream food webs and hazards to brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in the upper Animas River watershed, Colorado
The water quality, habitats, and biota of streams in the upper Animas River watershed of Colorado, USA, are affected by metal contamination associated with acid drainage. We determined metal concentrations in components of the food web of the Animas River and its tributaries - periphyton (aufwuchs), benthic invertebrates, and livers of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) - and evaluated pathways o
Authors
J.M. Besser, W. G. Brumbaugh, T.W. May, S. E. Church, B. A. Kimball
Metal loading assessment of a small mountainous sub-basin characterized by acid drainage -- Prospect Gulch, upper Animas River watershed, Colorado
strongly affected by natural acidity from pyrite weathering.
Metal content in the water column is a composite of multiple
sources affected by hydrologic, geologic, climatic, and anthropogenic
conditions. Identifying sources of metals from various
drainage areas was determined using a tracer injection approach
and synoptic sampling during low flow conditions on September
29, 1999 to determine
Authors
Laurie Wirt, Kenneth J. Leib, Roger Melick, Dana J. Bove
Hydrologic and water-quality data at selected sites in the Upper Animas River watershed, southwestern Colorado, 1997-99
No abstract available.
Authors
Alisa Mast, J. B. Evans, K.J. Leib, W. G. Wright