Limnological Characteristics Reveal Metal Pollution Legacy in Lakes near Canada’s Northernmost Mine, Little Cornwallis Island, Nunavut
We compared modern limnological characteristics of three lakes near the world’s northernmost base metal (lead-zinc) mine, Polaris Mine, which operated from 1981 to 2002 on Little Cornwallis Island (Nunavut, Canada), to a suite of sites from Resolute Bay (Qausuittuq), Cornwallis Island. Although both...
Published in: | ARCTIC |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
The Arctic Institute of North America
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/72515 |
id |
ftunivcalgaryojs:oai:journalhosting.ucalgary.ca:article/72515 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivcalgaryojs:oai:journalhosting.ucalgary.ca:article/72515 2023-05-15T14:18:48+02:00 Limnological Characteristics Reveal Metal Pollution Legacy in Lakes near Canada’s Northernmost Mine, Little Cornwallis Island, Nunavut Sivarajah, Branaavan Michelutti, Neal Wang, Xiaowa Grooms, Christopher Smol, John P. 2021-06-08 application/pdf https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/72515 eng eng The Arctic Institute of North America https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/72515/54933 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/72515/54934 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/72515 Copyright (c) 2021 ARCTIC http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC-BY ARCTIC; Vol. 74 No. 2 (2021): June: 113-238; 167-174 1923-1245 0004-0843 Polaris Mine lead-zinc mining water chemistry base metal mines legacy contaminants Mine Polaris exploitation du plomb et du zinc composition chimique de l’eau mines de métaux communs contaminants hérités info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion research-article 2021 ftunivcalgaryojs 2022-03-22T21:24:32Z We compared modern limnological characteristics of three lakes near the world’s northernmost base metal (lead-zinc) mine, Polaris Mine, which operated from 1981 to 2002 on Little Cornwallis Island (Nunavut, Canada), to a suite of sites from Resolute Bay (Qausuittuq), Cornwallis Island. Although both study regions are underlain by broadly similar geology and experience nearly identical climatic conditions, present-day water chemistry variables differed markedly between sites on the two islands. Specifically, the lakes near the Polaris Mine recorded substantially higher concentrations of zinc and lead, as well as several other heavy metals (cadmium, molybdenum, nickel, uranium, vanadium), relative to the sites on Cornwallis Island. Although the Polaris Mine closed in 2002, elevated levels of heavy metals in our 2017 survey are likely a legacy of contamination from prior operations. Nous avons comparé les caractéristiques limnologiques modernes de trois lacs situés à proximité de la mine de métaux communs (plomb-zinc) la plus au nord du globe, soit la mine Polaris exploitée de 1981 à 2002 sur la Petite île Cornwallis (Nunavut, Canada), à une série de sites de la baie Resolute (Qausuittuq) sur l’île Cornwallis. Même si les deux régions à l’étude possèdent une géologie grandement similaire et qu’elles connaissent des conditions climatiques quasi identiques, les variables de la composition chimique de l’eau actuelle affichaient des différences considérables entre les sites des deux îles. Plus précisément, les lacs à proximité de la mine Polaris avaient des concentrations de plomb et de zinc nettement supérieures ainsi que plusieurs autres métaux lourds (cadmium, molybdène, nickel, uranium, vanadium) comparativement aux sites de l’île Cornwallis. Même si la mine Polaris a fermé ses portes en 2002, la présence de taux élevés de métaux lourds dans notre levé de 2017 découle vraisemblablement de la contamination émanant d’activités antérieures. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Cornwallis Island Nunavut Polaris Qausuittuq Resolute Bay University of Calgary Journal Hosting Canada Cornwallis ENVELOPE(-54.464,-54.464,-61.072,-61.072) Cornwallis Island ENVELOPE(-95.001,-95.001,75.135,75.135) Little Cornwallis Island ENVELOPE(-96.502,-96.502,75.502,75.502) Nunavut Resolute Bay ENVELOPE(-94.842,-94.842,74.677,74.677) ARCTIC 74 2 167 174 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Calgary Journal Hosting |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcalgaryojs |
language |
English |
topic |
Polaris Mine lead-zinc mining water chemistry base metal mines legacy contaminants Mine Polaris exploitation du plomb et du zinc composition chimique de l’eau mines de métaux communs contaminants hérités |
spellingShingle |
Polaris Mine lead-zinc mining water chemistry base metal mines legacy contaminants Mine Polaris exploitation du plomb et du zinc composition chimique de l’eau mines de métaux communs contaminants hérités Sivarajah, Branaavan Michelutti, Neal Wang, Xiaowa Grooms, Christopher Smol, John P. Limnological Characteristics Reveal Metal Pollution Legacy in Lakes near Canada’s Northernmost Mine, Little Cornwallis Island, Nunavut |
topic_facet |
Polaris Mine lead-zinc mining water chemistry base metal mines legacy contaminants Mine Polaris exploitation du plomb et du zinc composition chimique de l’eau mines de métaux communs contaminants hérités |
description |
We compared modern limnological characteristics of three lakes near the world’s northernmost base metal (lead-zinc) mine, Polaris Mine, which operated from 1981 to 2002 on Little Cornwallis Island (Nunavut, Canada), to a suite of sites from Resolute Bay (Qausuittuq), Cornwallis Island. Although both study regions are underlain by broadly similar geology and experience nearly identical climatic conditions, present-day water chemistry variables differed markedly between sites on the two islands. Specifically, the lakes near the Polaris Mine recorded substantially higher concentrations of zinc and lead, as well as several other heavy metals (cadmium, molybdenum, nickel, uranium, vanadium), relative to the sites on Cornwallis Island. Although the Polaris Mine closed in 2002, elevated levels of heavy metals in our 2017 survey are likely a legacy of contamination from prior operations. Nous avons comparé les caractéristiques limnologiques modernes de trois lacs situés à proximité de la mine de métaux communs (plomb-zinc) la plus au nord du globe, soit la mine Polaris exploitée de 1981 à 2002 sur la Petite île Cornwallis (Nunavut, Canada), à une série de sites de la baie Resolute (Qausuittuq) sur l’île Cornwallis. Même si les deux régions à l’étude possèdent une géologie grandement similaire et qu’elles connaissent des conditions climatiques quasi identiques, les variables de la composition chimique de l’eau actuelle affichaient des différences considérables entre les sites des deux îles. Plus précisément, les lacs à proximité de la mine Polaris avaient des concentrations de plomb et de zinc nettement supérieures ainsi que plusieurs autres métaux lourds (cadmium, molybdène, nickel, uranium, vanadium) comparativement aux sites de l’île Cornwallis. Même si la mine Polaris a fermé ses portes en 2002, la présence de taux élevés de métaux lourds dans notre levé de 2017 découle vraisemblablement de la contamination émanant d’activités antérieures. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sivarajah, Branaavan Michelutti, Neal Wang, Xiaowa Grooms, Christopher Smol, John P. |
author_facet |
Sivarajah, Branaavan Michelutti, Neal Wang, Xiaowa Grooms, Christopher Smol, John P. |
author_sort |
Sivarajah, Branaavan |
title |
Limnological Characteristics Reveal Metal Pollution Legacy in Lakes near Canada’s Northernmost Mine, Little Cornwallis Island, Nunavut |
title_short |
Limnological Characteristics Reveal Metal Pollution Legacy in Lakes near Canada’s Northernmost Mine, Little Cornwallis Island, Nunavut |
title_full |
Limnological Characteristics Reveal Metal Pollution Legacy in Lakes near Canada’s Northernmost Mine, Little Cornwallis Island, Nunavut |
title_fullStr |
Limnological Characteristics Reveal Metal Pollution Legacy in Lakes near Canada’s Northernmost Mine, Little Cornwallis Island, Nunavut |
title_full_unstemmed |
Limnological Characteristics Reveal Metal Pollution Legacy in Lakes near Canada’s Northernmost Mine, Little Cornwallis Island, Nunavut |
title_sort |
limnological characteristics reveal metal pollution legacy in lakes near canada’s northernmost mine, little cornwallis island, nunavut |
publisher |
The Arctic Institute of North America |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/72515 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-54.464,-54.464,-61.072,-61.072) ENVELOPE(-95.001,-95.001,75.135,75.135) ENVELOPE(-96.502,-96.502,75.502,75.502) ENVELOPE(-94.842,-94.842,74.677,74.677) |
geographic |
Canada Cornwallis Cornwallis Island Little Cornwallis Island Nunavut Resolute Bay |
geographic_facet |
Canada Cornwallis Cornwallis Island Little Cornwallis Island Nunavut Resolute Bay |
genre |
Arctic Cornwallis Island Nunavut Polaris Qausuittuq Resolute Bay |
genre_facet |
Arctic Cornwallis Island Nunavut Polaris Qausuittuq Resolute Bay |
op_source |
ARCTIC; Vol. 74 No. 2 (2021): June: 113-238; 167-174 1923-1245 0004-0843 |
op_relation |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/72515/54933 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/72515/54934 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/72515 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2021 ARCTIC http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
container_title |
ARCTIC |
container_volume |
74 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
167 |
op_container_end_page |
174 |
_version_ |
1766290280874508288 |