Lake-specific controls on the long-term stability of mining-related, legacy arsenic contamination and geochemical baselines in a changing northern environment, Tundra Mine, Northwest Territories, Canada
Climate change is influencing the biogeochemistry of northern lake ecosystems. These changes may affect the mobility of naturally occurring metal(loid)s and long-term stability of anthropogenic contaminants. Arsenic (As) concentrations in lake sediments in the Courageous Lake Greenstone Belt, Northw...
Published in: | Applied Geochemistry |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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2019
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Online Access: | https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/publications/36d7bef6-11a3-4eee-b9a1-83eb971a7625 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2019.104403 |
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ftqueensubelpubl:oai:pure.qub.ac.uk/portal:publications/36d7bef6-11a3-4eee-b9a1-83eb971a7625 2024-01-28T10:04:17+01:00 Lake-specific controls on the long-term stability of mining-related, legacy arsenic contamination and geochemical baselines in a changing northern environment, Tundra Mine, Northwest Territories, Canada Miller, Clare B. Parsons, Michael B. Jamieson, Heather E. Swindles, Graeme T. Nasser, Nawaf A. Galloway, Jennifer M. 2019-10-01 https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/publications/36d7bef6-11a3-4eee-b9a1-83eb971a7625 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2019.104403 eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess Miller , C B , Parsons , M B , Jamieson , H E , Swindles , G T , Nasser , N A & Galloway , J M 2019 , ' Lake-specific controls on the long-term stability of mining-related, legacy arsenic contamination and geochemical baselines in a changing northern environment, Tundra Mine, Northwest Territories, Canada ' , Applied Geochemistry , vol. 109 , 104403 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2019.104403 Arsenic mobility Climate change Geochemical baselines Lake sediments Mine waste Organic matter /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2300/2304 Environmental Chemistry /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2300/2310 Pollution /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1900/1906 Geochemistry and Petrology /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action SDG 13 - Climate Action article 2019 ftqueensubelpubl https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2019.104403 2024-01-04T23:21:47Z Climate change is influencing the biogeochemistry of northern lake ecosystems. These changes may affect the mobility of naturally occurring metal(loid)s and long-term stability of anthropogenic contaminants. Arsenic (As) concentrations in lake sediments in the Courageous Lake Greenstone Belt, Northwest Territories, Canada, are elevated from the operation of two high-grade, low-tonnage historical gold mines (Tundra Mine and Salmita Mine) and the weathering of mineralized bedrock. In sensitive sub-Arctic environments, it is not currently known how the cumulative effects of resource extraction and climate warming will impact geochemical baselines and the long-term stability of legacy contaminants. In this study, measurements of As concentration and speciation in waters and sediments are combined with multivariate analyses of climate proxies (sediment particle size and organic matter composition) from five lakes downstream of the former Tundra Mine site. Data from lake sediment cores were divided into geochemically distinct populations using a combination of radiometric dating and constrained incremental sum-of-squares cluster analysis to define geochemical baselines, examine the lake-specific controls on As distribution, and determine climate-related factors that may influence the long-term stability of As. Median As concentrations in near-surface impacted sediments (median: 110 mg kg −1 range: 31–1,010 mg kg −1 n = 22) and pre-mining sediment (median: 40 mg kg −1 range: 28–170 mg kg −1 n = 102) exceed the Canadian Council of the Ministers of the Environment Probable Effects Level of 17 mg kg −1 . Near the Tundra Mine, the long-term stability of As in the near-surface sediment is influenced by the source of As (direct disposal and weathering of waste rock, tailings overtopping and seepage, discharge of treated tailings effluent, weathering and airborne deposition of tailings and waste rock, and natural weathering of mineralized bedrock), lithology of the sediment, and composition of sediment organic matter. ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change Northwest Territories Tundra Queen's University Belfast Research Portal Arctic Canada Courageous Lake ENVELOPE(-111.251,-111.251,64.167,64.167) Northwest Territories Applied Geochemistry 109 104403 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Queen's University Belfast Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftqueensubelpubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Arsenic mobility Climate change Geochemical baselines Lake sediments Mine waste Organic matter /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2300/2304 Environmental Chemistry /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2300/2310 Pollution /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1900/1906 Geochemistry and Petrology /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action SDG 13 - Climate Action |
spellingShingle |
Arsenic mobility Climate change Geochemical baselines Lake sediments Mine waste Organic matter /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2300/2304 Environmental Chemistry /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2300/2310 Pollution /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1900/1906 Geochemistry and Petrology /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action SDG 13 - Climate Action Miller, Clare B. Parsons, Michael B. Jamieson, Heather E. Swindles, Graeme T. Nasser, Nawaf A. Galloway, Jennifer M. Lake-specific controls on the long-term stability of mining-related, legacy arsenic contamination and geochemical baselines in a changing northern environment, Tundra Mine, Northwest Territories, Canada |
topic_facet |
Arsenic mobility Climate change Geochemical baselines Lake sediments Mine waste Organic matter /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2300/2304 Environmental Chemistry /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2300/2310 Pollution /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1900/1906 Geochemistry and Petrology /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action SDG 13 - Climate Action |
description |
Climate change is influencing the biogeochemistry of northern lake ecosystems. These changes may affect the mobility of naturally occurring metal(loid)s and long-term stability of anthropogenic contaminants. Arsenic (As) concentrations in lake sediments in the Courageous Lake Greenstone Belt, Northwest Territories, Canada, are elevated from the operation of two high-grade, low-tonnage historical gold mines (Tundra Mine and Salmita Mine) and the weathering of mineralized bedrock. In sensitive sub-Arctic environments, it is not currently known how the cumulative effects of resource extraction and climate warming will impact geochemical baselines and the long-term stability of legacy contaminants. In this study, measurements of As concentration and speciation in waters and sediments are combined with multivariate analyses of climate proxies (sediment particle size and organic matter composition) from five lakes downstream of the former Tundra Mine site. Data from lake sediment cores were divided into geochemically distinct populations using a combination of radiometric dating and constrained incremental sum-of-squares cluster analysis to define geochemical baselines, examine the lake-specific controls on As distribution, and determine climate-related factors that may influence the long-term stability of As. Median As concentrations in near-surface impacted sediments (median: 110 mg kg −1 range: 31–1,010 mg kg −1 n = 22) and pre-mining sediment (median: 40 mg kg −1 range: 28–170 mg kg −1 n = 102) exceed the Canadian Council of the Ministers of the Environment Probable Effects Level of 17 mg kg −1 . Near the Tundra Mine, the long-term stability of As in the near-surface sediment is influenced by the source of As (direct disposal and weathering of waste rock, tailings overtopping and seepage, discharge of treated tailings effluent, weathering and airborne deposition of tailings and waste rock, and natural weathering of mineralized bedrock), lithology of the sediment, and composition of sediment organic matter. ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Miller, Clare B. Parsons, Michael B. Jamieson, Heather E. Swindles, Graeme T. Nasser, Nawaf A. Galloway, Jennifer M. |
author_facet |
Miller, Clare B. Parsons, Michael B. Jamieson, Heather E. Swindles, Graeme T. Nasser, Nawaf A. Galloway, Jennifer M. |
author_sort |
Miller, Clare B. |
title |
Lake-specific controls on the long-term stability of mining-related, legacy arsenic contamination and geochemical baselines in a changing northern environment, Tundra Mine, Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_short |
Lake-specific controls on the long-term stability of mining-related, legacy arsenic contamination and geochemical baselines in a changing northern environment, Tundra Mine, Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_full |
Lake-specific controls on the long-term stability of mining-related, legacy arsenic contamination and geochemical baselines in a changing northern environment, Tundra Mine, Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Lake-specific controls on the long-term stability of mining-related, legacy arsenic contamination and geochemical baselines in a changing northern environment, Tundra Mine, Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Lake-specific controls on the long-term stability of mining-related, legacy arsenic contamination and geochemical baselines in a changing northern environment, Tundra Mine, Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_sort |
lake-specific controls on the long-term stability of mining-related, legacy arsenic contamination and geochemical baselines in a changing northern environment, tundra mine, northwest territories, canada |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/publications/36d7bef6-11a3-4eee-b9a1-83eb971a7625 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2019.104403 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-111.251,-111.251,64.167,64.167) |
geographic |
Arctic Canada Courageous Lake Northwest Territories |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada Courageous Lake Northwest Territories |
genre |
Arctic Climate change Northwest Territories Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change Northwest Territories Tundra |
op_source |
Miller , C B , Parsons , M B , Jamieson , H E , Swindles , G T , Nasser , N A & Galloway , J M 2019 , ' Lake-specific controls on the long-term stability of mining-related, legacy arsenic contamination and geochemical baselines in a changing northern environment, Tundra Mine, Northwest Territories, Canada ' , Applied Geochemistry , vol. 109 , 104403 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2019.104403 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2019.104403 |
container_title |
Applied Geochemistry |
container_volume |
109 |
container_start_page |
104403 |
_version_ |
1789329897519316992 |