Acid Mine Pollution Effects On Lake Biology

For greater recreational potential of stripmine lakes, certain fundamental limnological information and the unique water chemistry resulting from leaching of substances contained in the cast overburden of the lakes were investigated. Increasing levels of dissolved oxygen and decreasing concentrations of dissolved substances showed environmental trends in surface waters. These tendencies were somewhat obscured by differences in the annual cycles of stratification, four of the lakes proving to be unexpectedly meromictic. Biological changes associated with increasing pH included increasing diversity and increasing homeostasis. Both pH and circulation patterns (meromixis vs. holomixis) influenced biomass, and bottom fauna was further limited by the steep-sided basin form. All stripmine lakes had much higher solute concentrations and lower biological diversity than a small local non-stripmine reservoir studied as control. Sport fishing in stripmine lakes could be improved by management techniques.

Acidification is a universal problem at all mining sites in which oxygenated water comes in contact with sulfide minerals or other reduced sulfur compounds. An International Workshop was held in September 1995 at the Department for Inland Water Research of the UFZ-Centre for Environmental Research in Magdeburg on the limnology of lakes created by open-cast lignite mining, emphasizing the often observed geogenic acidification after oxidation of pyrite. The volume has 25 chapters including a chapter with results of group discussions about the topics mentioned above and further problems that were identified during the meeting. The monograph gives a baseline of the state of science on the worldwide problem of geogenic acidification of lakes following human mining activities.