• Title/Summary/Keyword: river mining

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Ecological and Geomorphic Fallout of Escalating River Mining Activities: A Review

  • Sk. Rakibul Islam;Rafi Uddin;Miftahul Zannat;Jahangir Alam
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.57 no.3
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    • pp.293-303
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    • 2024
  • River mining, the extraction of sand and gravel from riverbeds, is rising at an alarming rate to keep pace with the increasing demand for construction materials worldwide. The far-reaching deleterious effects of river mining include the lowering of water levels, the augmentation of turbidity, and the erosion of riverbanks, i.e., the disruption of water flow and alteration of river morphology. Aggregates demand, geolocation, and the economy of Bangladesh accelerated illegal extraction. However, limited research has been carried out in this region, despite the severe impact on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. To address the corresponding consequences and direct the scope for further research, it is required to evaluate existing studies of other countries having similarities in river morphology, climate, economy, and other related parameters. In this respect, based on previous studies, the effects of sand extraction are particularly prominent in India, having 54 cross-boundary rivers with Bangladesh. The geological profile of numerous rivers in the past decades has been altered due to natural aggregate mining in the Indian subcontinent. Hence, this study focused on relevant research in this region. However, the existing research only focuses on the regional portion of the aforementioned international rivers, which lacks proper assessments of these rivers, taking into account especially the mining effects. Moreover, several global rivers that have similarities with Bangladeshi rivers, considering different parameters, are also included in this study. The findings of this article underline the pressing need for more efficacious measures to address the adverse effects of river mining and safeguard ecosystems and communities globally, especially in the Indian subcontinent, where the situation is particularly vulnerable. For this reason, targeting the aforementioned region, this review highlights the global evidence in assessing the future effects of river mining and the need for further research in this field.

Case study of the mining-induced stress and fracture network evolution in longwall top coal caving

  • Li, Cong;Xie, Jing;He, Zhiqiang;Deng, Guangdi;Yang, Bengao;Yang, Mingqing
    • Geomechanics and Engineering
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    • v.22 no.2
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    • pp.133-142
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    • 2020
  • The evolution of the mining-induced fracture network formed during longwall top coal caving (LTCC) has a great influence on the gas drainage, roof control, top coal recovery ratio and engineering safety of aquifers. To reveal the evolution of the mining-induced stress and fracture network formed during LTCC, the fracture network in front of the working face was observed by borehole video experiments. A discrete element model was established by the universal discrete element code (UDEC) to explore the local stress distribution. The regression relationship between the fractal dimension of the fracture network and mining stress was established. The results revealed the following: (1) The mining disturbance had the most severe impact on the borehole depth range between approximately 10 m and 25 m. (2) The distribution of fractures was related to the lithology and its integrity. The coal seam was mainly microfractures, which formed a complex fracture network. The hard rock stratum was mainly included longitudinal cracks and separated fissures. (3) Through a numerical simulation, the stress distribution in front of the mining face and the development of the fracturing of the overlying rock were obtained. There was a quadratic relationship between the fractal dimension of the fractures and the mining stress. The results obtained herein will provide a reference for engineering projects under similar geological conditions.

A Study on Chemical Compositions of Sediment and Surface Water in Nakdong River for Tracing Contaminants from Mining Activities (광해오염원 추적을 위한 낙동강 지역 퇴적물 및 하천수의 화학조성 연구)

  • Kim, Jiyun;Choi, Uikyu;Baek, Seung-Han;Choi, Hye-Bin;Lee, Jeonghoon
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
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    • v.37 no.4
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    • pp.211-217
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    • 2016
  • There have been found mine tailings, wastes, and mining drainage scattered in the area of Nakdong River due to the improper maintenance of the abandoned mines. These contaminants can flow into rivers during the heavy rain periods in summer. Along the study area beginning Seokpo-myeon, Bonghwa-gun of Gyeongsangbuk-do untill Dosan-myeon, Andong-si, there are one hundred five mines including sixty metalliferous mines and forty-five nonmetal mines, which can adversely affect the adjacent rivers. To verify the contamination, we collected sediments, seepage water and surface water for a year both in rainy season and dry season. This study found that sediments, containing high concentrations of heavy metals caused by mining activities, are dispersed throughout the entire river basin (68 sample points with pollution index, based on the concentration of trace element, (PI) >10 among the total of 101 samples). The results of river water analysis indicated the increased concentrations of arsenic and cadmium at branches from Seungbu, Sambo, Okbang and Janggun mine, which concerns that the river water may be contaminated by mining drainage and tailing sediments. However, it is difficult to sort out the exact sources of contamination in sediments and waters only by using the chemical compositions. Thus the control of mining pollution is challenging. To prevent water from being contaminated by mining activities, we should be able to divide inflow rates from each origin of the mines. Therefore, there should be a continued study about how to trace the source of contaminants from mining activities by analyzing stable isotopes.

Evaluation of Water Quality Prediction Models at Intake Station by Data Mining Techniques (데이터마이닝 기법을 적용한 취수원 수질예측모형 평가)

  • Kim, Ju-Hwan;Chae, Soo-Kwon;Kim, Byung-Sik
    • Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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    • v.20 no.5
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    • pp.705-716
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    • 2011
  • For the efficient discovery of knowledge and information from the observed systems, data mining techniques can be an useful tool for the prediction of water quality at intake station in rivers. Deterioration of water quality can be caused at intake station in dry season due to insufficient flow. This demands additional outflow from dam since some extent of deterioration can be attenuated by dam reservoir operation to control outflow considering predicted water quality. A seasonal occurrence of high ammonia nitrogen ($NH_3$-N) concentrations has hampered chemical treatment processes of a water plant in Geum river. Monthly flow allocation from upstream dam is important for downstream $NH_3$-N control. In this study, prediction models of water quality based on multiple regression (MR), artificial neural network and data mining methods were developed to understand water quality variation and to support dam operations through providing predicted $NH_3$-N concentrations at intake station. The models were calibrated with eight years of monthly data and verified with another two years of independent data. In those models, the $NH_3$-N concentration for next time step is dependent on dam outflow, river water quality such as alkalinity, temperature, and $NH_3$-N of previous time step. The model performances are compared and evaluated by error analysis and statistical characteristics like correlation and determination coefficients between the observed and the predicted water quality. It is expected that these data mining techniques can present more efficient data-driven tools in modelling stage and it is found that those models can be applied well to predict water quality in stream river systems.

Natural and Artificial Bed Change Analysis through Sediment Budget Analysis of Nakdong River Channel (before the Four Rivers Restoration Project) (낙동강 하도의 유사수지 분석을 통한 자연적 그리고 인위적 하상변동 분석(4대강살리기 사업 이전))

  • Son, Kwang Ik;Ji, Un
    • Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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    • v.48 no.1
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    • pp.1-8
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    • 2015
  • General features of sediment budget for the Nakdong River before the Four Rivers Restoration Project were analyzed using surveying, dredging, and mining data for the past 20 years, as well as sediment data measured from the tributaries, and numerical modeling, etc. As a result of the sediment budget analysis of the Nakdong River before the Four Rivers Restoration Project, sediment inflow supplied from the watershed is $2,100,000m^3/yr$ and sediment outflow including mining and dredging volumes is $10,180,000m^3/yr$. Therefore, the bed change volume estimated by the sediment budget analysis is $-8,080,000m^3/yr$ of the bed erosion volume which is similar to the analysis result ($-8,300,000m^3/yr$) of natural and artificial bed changes using the surveyed data.

Late Pleistocene Lowstand Wedges on the Southeastern Continental Shelf of Korea (Korea Strait)

  • Yoo D. G.;Park S. C.;Park K. S.;Sunwoo D.;Han H. S.
    • 한국석유지질학회:학술대회논문집
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    • spring
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    • pp.15-21
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    • 1998
  • Sparker profiles and sediment cores collected from the Korea Strait show a distinct pattern of stacked prograding wedges consisting of three distinct units. These wedges are interpreted as the lowstand deposits formed during glacioeustatic sea-level lowstands. Repeated sea-level falls during late Pleistocene with high sediment discharge from the paleo-Nakdong River system resulted in the formation of thick lowstand wedges.

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Bioassessment of the quality of surface waters of the Chipoco River using indicators of epilithic diatoms in macrophytes from the mining district of Hidalgo, Mexico

  • Maria Jesus Puy-Alquiza;Raul Miranda-Aviles;Yuriko Jocselin Martinez Hernandez;Miren Yosune Miranda Puy;Gabriela A Zanor;Cristina Daniela Moncada Sanchez
    • Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.48 no.3
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    • pp.233-246
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    • 2024
  • Background: In this research work, epilithic communities of diatoms in macrophytes are listed and described to evaluate the ecological conditions of the surface waters of the Chipoco River, whose basin has been exploited for agricultural and mining purposes, degrading natural ecosystems. The diatoms studied are found in calcareous tufa deposits developed in swampy environments where little of their benthic microbiota has been studied, despite the regional relevance of these calcareous formations within the manganese mining district. To describe the diatoms and evaluate the ecological condition of the surface waters, the Chipoco River was divided into three sectors (North, Center, and South) collecting a total of 15 samples along 10 km. For the taxonomic identification of diatoms, scanning electron microscopy techniques, consultations with specialists and specialized literature were used. To evaluate the ecological conditions of the Chipoco River, the linear correlation coefficient was used, where the relationships between diatom species and environmental variables were evaluated. Likewise, species diversity was determined by applying the Shannon-Wiener index and Simpson's dominance value (D) was calculated to detect diversity impoverishment processes. Results: Ten genera of diatoms were identified in bryophytes of the species Plagiomnium cuspidatum that grow on the banks of said river. The linear correlation coefficient indicated that physicochemical characteristics such as total dissolved solids, temperature, and calcium, and hydrochemical characteristics of the water intervene in the distribution and abundance of four diatoms Rhoicosphenia abreviate, Epithemia turgida, Calloneis bacillum and Achanthidium minutissimum in the different sectors studied. The Shannon-Wiener diversity indices and Simpson's dominance show that there is greater diversity and marked dominance of diatoms in the northern sector compared to the central and southern sectors. Conclusions: Agricultural and mining activities and the poor sanitary infrastructure of human settlements have caused the Chipoco River to have poor ecological quality.

Characteristics of NPS Pollution from a Coal Mining (가행광산 지역의 비점오염물질 유출특성)

  • Seo, Jiyeon;Shin, Minhwan;Won, Chul-hee;Choi, Yong-hun;Jung, Myung-suk;Lim, Kyoung Jae;Choi, Joongdae
    • Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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    • v.26 no.3
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    • pp.474-481
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    • 2010
  • This study was conducted to describe the characteristics of Non-point source (NPS) Pollution discharge from a coal mining area in Korea. The study areas is located on the Dogye site, Samchuk, Kangwon Province Coal Corporation and the Jangsung site, Taebaek, Kangwon Province Coal Corporation. The monitoring system was installed at a drainage channel and water samples and rainfall events were collected during March 2008 to February 2009. The collected water samples were analyzed with respect to SS, BOD, $COD_{Cr}$, $COD_{Mn}$, T-N, T-P, and TOC, respectively. It was observed that the runoff and water quality were largely influenced by mine drainage. Also a significant relationship was observed from the correlation between flow and water quality, flow and NPS. And estimated Event Mean Concentration (EMC), NPS pollution loads were Dogey coal mine and Taeback coal mine respectively. As the study progresses in the future, runoff and pollution loads will be updated.

Application of Remote Sensing and GIS technology for monitoring coastal changes in estuary area of the Red river system, Vietnam

  • Lan, Pham Thi;Son, Tong Si;Gunasekara, Kavinda;Nhan, Nguyen Thi;Hien, La Phu
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography
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    • v.31 no.6_2
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    • pp.529-538
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    • 2013
  • Coastline is the most dynamic part of seascape since its shape is affected by various factors. Coastal zone is an area with immense geological, geomorphological and ecological interest. Monitoring coastal change is very important for safe navigation, coastal resource management. This paper shows a result of monitoring coastal morphological changes using Remote Sensing and GIS. Study was carried out to obtain intensity of erosion, deposition and sand bar movement in the Red River Delta. Satellite images of ALOS/AVNIR-2 and Landsat were used for the monitoring of coastal morphological changes over the period of 1975 to 2009. Band rationing and threshold technique was used for the coastline extraction. Tidal levels at the time of image acquisition varied from -0.89m to 2.87m. Therefore, coastline from another image at a different tidal level in the same year was considered to get the corrected coastline by interpolation technique. A series of points were generated along the coastal line from 1975 image and were established as reference points to see the change in later periods. The changes were measured in Euclidean distances from these reference points. Positive values represented deposition to the sea and negative values are erosion. The result showed that the Red river delta area expanded to the sea 3500m in Red river mouth, and 2873m in Thai Binh river mouth from 1975 to 2009. The erosion process occurred continuously from 1975 up to now with the average magnitude 23.77m/year from 1975 to 1989 and 7.85m/year from 2001 to 2009 in Giao Thuy area. From 1975 to 2009, total 1095.2ha of settlement area was eroded by sea. On the other hand, land expanded to the sea in 4786.24ha of mangrove and 1673.98ha of aquaculture.