ENV100 final
What is placer mining?
uses running water, miners sift through material in riverbeds; Commonly used for gold, gems; Debris washed into streams makes them uninhabitable for wildlife; Disturbs stream banks, causes erosion , harms riparian plant communities
What is gangue?
waste rock and nonvaluable minerals
What is a diversion dam?
water diverted but not stored in reservoir
What is recharge?
water flows into aquifer via precipitation/ infiltration
What is discharge?
water flows out of aquifer via percolation/ streams/springs/ocean
What is groundwater?
water located beneath the Earth's surface; in soil pore spaces; fractures of rock formations; largest unfrozen freshwater reservoir
What is an unconfined aquifer?
water seeps in from above
What is surface water?
where water table intersects surface
What is subsurface mining?
Deepest mines extend nearly 4 km underground; most dangerous form; used for Gold, zinc, lead, nickel, tin, diamonds, phosphate, salt, coal, uranium
What is the post-operational stage?
Depends on management effectiveness; Discharge of contaminants to surface water; Leftover equipment, radiation, etc.; Subsidence; Social and economic impacts - "ghost" towns
What are the env impacts of groundwater use?
Depletion of aquifers; Declining water table; Ground subsidence; Urban flooding; Contamination; Saltwater intrusion
What is the smelting/ refining stage?
Discharge of airborne contaminants, including heavy metals; organics; sulphur; etc.; Slag heaps; Indirect effects from energy use
What are the impacts of mining on human health?
Exposure to radiation; Black lung disease; Coal dust explosions; Mine collapse and rock bursts; Health impacts of pollution from smelting, acid drainage, etc.; Exposure to asbestos (mesothelioma, etc.)
What are the drawbacks of dams?
Habitat alteration; Fisheries declines; Population displacement; Sediment capture; Waterlogged land; Risk of dam failure; Lost recreational opportunities
What is overburden?
overlying soil and rock that is removed by heavy machinery
How does gravity drive the hydrologic cycle?
precipitation, runoff, groundwater percolation
What is the purpose of dams?
prevent floods, provide drinking water, allow irrigation, generate electricity
What is solution mining?
resources in a deep deposit are dissolved in a liquid and siphoned out; Less surface area is disturbed than in other methods; used for Salts, lithium, boron, bromine, potash, copper, uranium
What is the purpose of dam removal?
restores riparian ecosystems, fisheries, river recreation
What is reclamation?
return the site to a condition similar to its pre-mining condition
What is valley filling?
rock waste from mountaintop removal is dumped into neighboring valleys
What are the characteristics of a marsh?
shallow water allows plants to grow above water surface (emergents); marine & freshwater
What are the characteristics of a swamp?
shallow water; emergent vegetation + trees
What does water on earth do?
shapes the surface of the Earth; allows for life; makes Earth different from all other planets!; exists in all 3 states; in atmosphere, on surface, and under the ground
What additional water problems and shortages will be caused by climate change?
shift northward in mid-latitude rain belt; earlier snowmelt and spring runoff; more evapotranspiration; drier summers in the interior continental region; warmer rivers (impacting fish); lower water levels in the Great Lakes; higher ocean water levels (salinization)
What is manganese nodules?
small, ball-shaped ores scatter across the ocean floor
What is a rock?
solid aggregation of minerals, tightly compacted or held together by cement-like material or by interlocking grains
What is the unsaturated zone?
some air, some water
What are the different types of mines?
subsurface (underground), solution, and surface
What is acid mine drainage?
sulfide minerals form sulfuric acid and flow into waterways
What is mining?
systematic removal of rock, regolith, or other materials for the purpose of extracting minerals of economic interest
What are wetlands?
systems that combine elements of land and water; areas of land whose soil is saturated (inundated) permanently, seasonally or tidally; may be covered partially or completely by shallow pools of water; water may be fresh, saline or brackish
What is a reserve?
that portion of a resource that has been identified and is economically recoverable with existing technology
What do the impacts of mining depend on?
the geological and ecological setting; mine procedures and technologies; company policies and management processes; the stage of mining; the laws and policies in place
Why are wetlands so important?
the most biologically diverse & productive ecosystems on Earth; "kidneys" of terrestrial system; important breeding and staging grounds for migrating species (esp. birds); Slow runoff and erosion; Reduce flooding; Buffer shorelines against storms; Recharge aquifers; Filter pollutants; Retain sediment & nutrients
What is a resource?
the whole stock of an economically useful or valuable commodity
What is erosion?
the work of rivers carrying sediment to the ocean
How does solar energy drive the hydrologic cycle?
through evaporation, transpiration, condensation
What is the water table?
top of the saturated zone
What is leachate?
toxic liquid from strip mining
What is an aquifer?
underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, gravel, sand, or silt
What is open-pit mining?
used for evenly distributed minerals and Terraced so workers; machines can move about; Huge amounts of rock are removed to get small amounts of minerals; Habitat loss, aesthetic degradation, acid drainage; used for Copper, iron, gold, diamonds, coal
What is the aquiclude?
zone the prevents water from moving among aquifers
What is the management approach for Earth resources?
Conservation, efficiency, 3R's
What are the processes of the hydrologic cycle?
Precipitation, surface runoff, infiltration, percolation, evaporation, transpiration
What are "Critical flow" resources?
Rate of withdrawal > rate of replenishment; Resource becomes effectively nonrenewable
What is Metal Mining Effluent Regulation (MMER)?
2002; Established limits for cyanide, arsenic, and other hazards
How are living resources managed?
Balancing stocks & flows
What are the impacts of mining on land?
Construction of roads and buildings; Stripping of surface vegetation and soil; Mine shafts and excavation pits; Ground subsidence; Rock waste and tailings piles
What are the env impacts of surface water use by humans?
Downstream and transboundary impacts; Decreased flow; Changes in erosion and siltation rates; Changes in water salinity; Impacts on local climate; Evaporative loss from reservoirs and irrigation; Impacts on habitat, wildlife, ecosystems; Pollution, eutrophication; Salinization; Waterlogging
What is the mining/milling stage?
Dust, noise; Land disruption; Increased erosion, siltation; Acid mine drainage; Heavy metals in ore and tailings; Organic compounds in chemical reagents; Cyanide, ammonia used to separate ores; Waste rock piles and tailings
What are the different stages of mining?
Exploration; Mining/milling; Refining/smelting; Post-operational
What are the impacts of mining on water?
Effluents containing toxic metals; Toxic leakage from tailings ponds; Effluents containing chemical reagents; Acidic and saline mine drainage
What are living resources?
Living, growing, regenerating populations and Stock is renewable (at least in theory)
What is the exploration stage?
Relatively low impacts; Habitat disturbance; Noise from flyovers; Discharge of contaminants from drilling, trenching, road access
What do people living in communities near the sites experience social and health impacts?
Mine blasting cracks foundations and walls; Psychological distress from constant noise; Floods and rock slides affect properties; Overloaded coal trucks speed down rural roads; Coal dust and contaminated water cause illness; High-efficiency mining reduces the need for workers
Why are reserve estimates uncertain?
New discoveries, technologies, consumption patterns, and recycling affect mineral supplies; As minerals become scarcer, demand and price rise
What are types of surface water pollution?
Nutrient pollution (From fertilizers, etc.; causes eutrophication); Pathogens and waterborne diseases (From improperly treated waste; cause disease, death); Toxic chemicals (From industrial sources; cause genetic, somatic damage); Sediment pollution (From agriculture, mining, clearcut logging, construction; degrades aquatic habitat, affects light levels); Thermal pollution (Heat and hot water; kills fish, affects oxygen levels)
What are the reservoirs of the hydrologic cycle?
Ocean; ice caps and glaciers; and then groundwater
How are resources classifies?
Perpetual (inexhaustible) resources; Nonrenewable resources ("wasting" or nonregenerative); Recyclable resources (classified on basis of management); Renewable resources; Replenishable resources; Earth resources and living resources (classified on basis of origin); Critical flow resources (effectively nonrenewable because of mismanagement); Common property resources (classified on basis of ownership); Other (human resources, ecological knowledge, etc.)
What are the impacts of mining on air?
Pollution from smelting and refining; Dust from waste rock and tailings piles
What are the benefits of dams?
Power generation; Emission reduction; Crop irrigation; Drinking water; Flood control; Shipping; New recreational opportunities
What are Replenishable resources?
Replenishable in principle, but on a long time scale; Susceptible to mismanagement in practice; "Critical flow" resources
What are sources of surface freshwater?
Rivers and streams; Springs; Lakes and ponds; and Wetlands
How does colton affect the DR?
Soldiers control mining operations; Profits from coltan sales financed the war = "conflict minerals"; People doing artisanal mining in national parks killed wildlife, cleared rainforests, polluted rivers, caused uncontrolled erosion; Most tantalum from the Congo is smuggled into China
What is hydrology?
Study of water in the hydrosphere, both on and under the ground; Movement, distribution, quantity, quality; Reservoirs, processes, ecosystems
What minerals can be extracted from seawater or dredged from the ocean floor?
Sulfur, phosphate, calcium carbonate (for cement), silica (for insulation and glass), copper, zinc, silver, gold
What are the fluxes of the hydrologic cycle?
The global hydrologic cycle maintains mass balance- total amount of water is fixed; Local variations affect supply, and cause problems like floods and droughts
What is decommissioning?
mine operation is shut down
What are the challenges of global water management?
Urban and rural drinking water and sanitation; Water for industry and agriculture; Protection of aquatic ecosystems; "Holistic" watershed management; Impacts of environmental change on water resources
What is tantalite?
a mineral that consists of the elements oxygen, iron, manganese, and tantalum bonded together in specific proportions (Fe,Mn)Ta2O6, and occurs most commonly in pegmatite (a type of igneous rock similar to granite).
What is a tributary?
a smaller river flowing into a larger one
What is the biggest problem with mining in Canada today?
acid mine driange
What is mountaintop removal?
an extension of strip mining; Entire mountaintops are blasted off; Used for coal in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern U.S., tar sands in Canada; Economically efficient; Degrades and destroys vast areas; Pollutes streams, deforests areas, erosion, mudslides, and flash floods
What is effluent?
any contaminated liquid runoff
What is a confined aquifer?
between impermeable layers
What is a drainage basin?
catchment = watershed= area drained by one river; separated from one another by divides
What is a metal?
chemical element that is shiny, opaque, malleable, and conducts heat and electricity
What is the saturated zone?
completely filled with water
Why is ground water pollution particularly difficult to manage?
contaminated groundwater is hidden; retains contaminants for decades and longer; slow breakdown due to low dissolved oxygen levels
What are the factors that affect the productive lifetime of a mineral deposit?
discovery of new deposits; new extraction technologies; changing social and technological dynamics; changing consumption patterns; and recycling
What are point sources?
discrete locations where pollutants are generated or released; examples: emissions from factories, slaughterhouses, mines, industrial effluent, or sewage outfall pipes
What is ore?
economically valuable material in a deposit
What is Mine Environment Neutral Drainage (MEND)?
established in Canada in 1988; Development of new technologies and approaches to prevent, control, and remediate the effects of acid mine drainage
What are the characteristics of peat?
forms in acidic, low O2 conditions; organic matter doesn't fully decay; builds up; the wetter it is, the faster it accumulates; stores massive amounts of carbon
What does water in the atmosphere do?
important in moving heat from equator to the poles; and rises as vapour, falls as rain/snow
What are the components of P = R + ET + ΔS ?
inputs: P = Precipitation; Catchment: ΔS = Storage in lakes, aquifers, etc.; Outputs: R = Runoff (+ Infiltration/Percolation) and ET = Evaporation + Transpiration
What is strip mining?
layers of soil and rock are removed to expose a resource close to the surface; Destroys natural communities over large areas and triggers erosion; and can lead to acid mine drainage; used for coal, oil sands, sand, gravel
What is grade?
level of concentration of ore in a deposit
What is a static lifetime?
lifetime expectancy of a resource at current rates of production and use
What are the characteristics of bogs & fens?
low productivity; accumulate peat (decaying vegetation); often mineral nutrient limited; mosses, carnivorous plants
What does water in Earth's mantle do?
makes the mantle elastic; affects the dynamics of plate tectonics; may be largest water reservoir on the planet; unknown how much cycles between internal & surface reservoirs through tectonics
What are nonpoint sources?
multiple cumulative inputs over a large area; examples: atmospheric fallout from car emissions
What is a deposit?
natural occurrence of a resource
What are the sources of ground water pollution?
natural, anthropogenic, manufacturing and military sites
What is a mineral?
naturally occurring solid inorganic chemical element or compound with a crystal structure, a specific chemical composition, and distinct physical properties
What are Earth resources?
nonrenewable on a humanly accessible timescale
What is a dam?
obstruction to block the flow of water in a river so the water can be stored in a reservoir
What does water on surface do?
ocean currents; sculpts terrestrial landscape; carrier for many substances
What are quarries?
open pits for clay, gravel, sand, stone (limestone, granite, marble, slate)
