Geochemistry of coal mine drainage, groundwater, and brines from the Ibbenbüren mine, Germany: A coupled elemental-isotopic approach

Rinder, Thomas; Dietzel, Martin; Stammeier, Jessica Alexandra; Leis, Albrecht; Bedoya-González, Diego; Hilberg, Sylke

doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2020.104693

Cited by 26 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 101 publications

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“…2). Centuries-old mining industry was founded here on the exploitation of anthracitic coal seams encountered in a Carboniferous crustal block (Drozdzewski and Dölling 2018;Rinder et al 2020). The coal-bearing sequence was brought to the surface by a compression event during the Upper Cretaceous, which produced a crustal uplifting of about 2 km compared to the Triassic and Jurassic foreland, currently under the Quaternary.…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A dual-continuum model (TOUGH2) for characterizing flow and discharge in a mechanically disrupted sandstone overburden

et al. 2022

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Underground hard coal mining usually disrupts the mechanical equilibrium of rock sequences, creating fractures within minor permeable rocks. The present study employs a dual-continuum model to assess how both fractured and porous sandstone media influence the percolation process in postmining setups. To test the approach, the software TOUGH2 was employed to simulate laminar fluid flow in the unsaturated zone of the Ibbenbüren Westfield mining area. Compared to other coal mining districts in Germany, this area is delineated by the topography and local geology, leading to a well-defined hydrogeological framework. Results reveal good agreement between the calculated and measured mine water discharge for the years 2008 and 2017. The constructed model was capable of reproducing the bimodal flow behavior of the adit by coupling a permeable fractured continuum with a low-conductivity rock matrix. While flow from the fractured continuum results in intense discharge events during winter months, the rock matrix determines a smooth discharge limb in summer. The study also evaluates the influence of individual and combined model parameters affecting the simulated curve. A detailed sensitivity analysis displayed the absolute and relative permeability function parameters of both continua among the most susceptible variables. However, a strong a priori knowledge of the value ranges for the matrix continuum helps to reduce the model ambiguity. This allowed for calibration of some of the fractured medium parameters for which sparse or variable data were available. However, the inclusion of the transport component and acquisition of more site-specific data is recommended to reduce their uncertainty.

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Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A dual-continuum model (TOUGH2) for characterizing flow and discharge in a mechanically disrupted sandstone overburden

et al. 2022

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“…The purpose of this study was to examine the individual water-rock interaction processes that cause the overall chemical composition of the AMD solutions. This step is indeed essential to accurately predict the future long-term evolution of water quality [Rinder et al, 2020]. The collected samples were analyzed for their major element and trace element compositions, as well as the isotopic ratios of S and O in sulfates, and O and H in waters.…”

Section: " (In: Vii)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pyrite oxidation is the dominant source of sulfate in shallow mine drainage, and in groundwater with low ionic strength (I < 0.035). In all cases, modern meteoric waters are the primary source of water for brines, groundwater and mine drainage [Rinder et al, 2020].…”

Section: " (In: Vii)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Literature & Geosciences: Jules Verne’s geological novels, from the 19th to the 21st century

Bollinger¹

2022

Comptes Rendus. Géoscience

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A friend of both François Arago, who founded the Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, and his brother Jacques, a renowned traveler, Jules Verne wrote many novels in which his heroes made use of the most recent scientific knowledge of the time. While the novelist only really had a legal background, he did keep himself apprised of all the latest scientific developments. This study, based on a selection of novels wherein geology is very present as well as on contemporary or current scientific publications, shows that today's understanding of the geosciences does indeed agree with Jules Verne's extrapolations. Among the subjects developed are: coal extraction and the hazards of firedamp, so-called "mud volcanoes" and the special case of gold trickling from volcanoes, diamond geo-genesis, the creation of an inland sea in the Sahara, and a foretelling of the Anthropocene Epoch.Résumé. Ami de François Arago, le fondateur des Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, et de son frère Jacques, un grand voyageur, Jules Verne (1828-1905) a écrit de nombreux romans dans lesquels ses héros utilisent les connaissances scientifiques les plus récentes de l'époque. En effet le romancier, s'il n'avait qu'une formation juridique, se tenait informé des développements de la science. Dans cette étude, basée d'une part sur un choix de romans où la géologie est très présente, et d'autre part sur des publications scientifiques contemporaines ou actuelles, on montre que les géosciences d'aujourd'hui sont en accord avec les extrapolations de Jules Verne. Parmi les sujets développés, citons : l'extraction du charbon et les risques de grisou, les volcans dits « de boue » et le cas particulier de l'or qui s'écoule de certains volcans, la géo-genèse des diamants, la création d'une mer intérieure dans le Sahara, et une prédiction de l'époque Anthropocène.

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“…However, with the end of mining activities the need for mitigation of environmental impacts still continues [4,5]. Amongst others, management of mineralized mine drainage remains a considerable challenge in many places [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. The problem begins as soon as operations start, but may continue for centuries after mine closures [14][15][16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Historically, the drainage of Ibbenbüren Westfield has displayed high iron (100-1000 mg/L) and sulfate (1000-5000 mg/L) contents [22,23]. Even after its closure and subsequent flooding in 1979, the mine drainage has continued to bear high loads of total dissolved solids and metals [10]. A comprehensive clarification of this mineralization, which is the highest reported for European hard coal mines, requires an approach that considers geological, hydrological and mining conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Petrographic Investigation of the Carboniferous Sequence from the Ibbenbüren Mine: Tracing the Origin of the Coal Mine Drainage

et al. 2021

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The mine drainage of the Ibbenbüren anthracite coal mine is characterized by exceptionally high concentrations of dissolved iron and sulfate. The elevated position of the coal field with respect to the surrounding area makes the neighboring sediments an unlikely source of these elements. Accordingly, it has been hypothesized that interaction between infiltrating rainwater and the fractured overburden is a key process governing the mine drainage chemistry. To test this hypothesis, two full-diameter core samples drilled above the discharging adit of the coal mine were investigated. The methodology combined several analytical techniques to identify and characterize traces of water–rock interaction related to both diagenesis and relatively recent weathering processes along open fractures. The coupled appearance of kaolinite-dickite-illite minerals in weathered and unweathered rock sections was clearly connected to the burial history of the Carboniferous sequence. In contrast, the formation of iron (oxide-) hydroxides together with the presence of oxidized pyrite in weathering profiles along both sides of the fractures was positively related to the geochemical footprint of the coal mine drainage. Thus, open fractures, possibly originated from mining activities, may play a significant role in the drainage chemistry, especially considering the rather poor hydraulic conditions of the overburden.

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Geochemistry of coal mine drainage, groundwater, and brines from the Ibbenbüren mine, Germany: A coupled elemental-isotopic approach

Cited by 26 publications

References 101 publications

A dual-continuum model (TOUGH2) for characterizing flow and discharge in a mechanically disrupted sandstone overburden

A dual-continuum model (TOUGH2) for characterizing flow and discharge in a mechanically disrupted sandstone overburden

Literature & Geosciences: Jules Verne’s geological novels, from the 19th to the 21st century

A Petrographic Investigation of the Carboniferous Sequence from the Ibbenbüren Mine: Tracing the Origin of the Coal Mine Drainage

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