Modelling integrated extreme hydrology

Padilla, Francisco; Hernández, J.-H.; Juncosa, Ricardo; Vellando, P.

doi:10.2495/safe-v6-n3-685-696

Cited by 3 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 8 publications

(8 reference statements)

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“…Despite the inconsistency in the breaking time, this time (3:30 a.m.) was preferred by some authors (Gallart et al 1999;Moreno-Millán and Valdés-Morillo 2003). On the other hand, an earlier time between 0:30 and 1:00 a.m. is also extensively supported in the literature (Alonso and Gens 2000;Arenas et al 2001;Ayala-Carcedo 2004;CSIC 2008;Fajardo et al 2016;McDermott and Sibley 2000;Padilla et al 2016).…”

Section: Breaking Type and Timementioning

confidence: 61%

“…Values of the spilled volume found in the literature range from 0.45 hm 3 (Dorronsoro 2009) to 10.32 hm 3 (Padilla et al 2016). Frequently reported values of the spilled volume are between 4 and 6 hm 3 .…”

Section: Spilled Volumementioning

confidence: 96%

“…In this sense, the volume calculated from the data of Consultec Ingenieros (1999) at the pond is 64% higher than that estimated at EA90 gauge station, suggesting that the rating curve used to transform the limnograph into a hydrograph was inadequate. On the other hand, it is unclear whether the spill was released in two time-separated phases as suggested by Padilla et al (2016) because the dyke failure was very quick and probably affected both dykes concurrently (Alonso and Gens 2006a, b;Ayala-Carcedo 2004).…”

Section: Spilled Volumementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this sense, only a handful of hydraulic studies have been carried out till now, probably due to the lack of topographical resolution, besides the discrepancies presented and discussed herein of the hydraulics of the event. Simulations accomplished by subsurface and surface regional hydrological modelling (Padilla et al 2016) were based on a military topography and then discretised by a triangular mesh with an average density of 4.8 elements per ha, far from the values commonly used for hydraulic characterization (Sanz-Ramos et al 2021a). In contrast, and probably looking for more spatial resolution, the numerical modelling presented by Castro-Díaz et al (2008) uses the post-failure topographical data of Consultec Ingenieros (1999).…”

Section: Flood Event Reproductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The literature contains a wide range of values regarding the variables that characterized the phenomenon, though few studies have attempted to reproduce the flood using numerical methods (see "Discussion"). Only a few researchers have questioned if the pond volume was enough to affect the area it did (Ayala-Carcedo 2004;Padilla et al 2016;Turner et al 2002), and none have looked for other water sources (e.g. overland flow) that entered into the area after the event and, in such case, how they might have interacted with the spill and distorted the volume ultimately recovered.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Revisiting the Hydraulics of the Aznalcóllar Mine Disaster

et al. 2022

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The Aznalcóllar tailings pond failure (1998) is regarded as one of the severe ecological mine disasters ever reported. The spill of the mine tailings affected more than 60 km of the Agrio and Guadiamar rivers and caused major environmental damage. Despite the event being well-documented with more than 400 scientific publications, including two special issues and two reviews, several hydraulic uncertainties and inconsistencies remain. This paper conducts a state-of-the-art review of the most relevant hydraulic aspects of the mine disaster. It addresses the pond and fluid characteristics, the break type, the breaking time, the flow propagation, the volume potentially stored and subsequently spilled, area dimensions affected by the spill, and the morphological changes generated in the river and riverbanks caused by the spill, and later on by the restoration activities. Several discrepancies and plenty of controversial data have been unearthed that may affect general understanding of the event. In addition, new data is introduced and analysed applying photointerpretation and digital terrain analysis techniques, aiming to derive in essential hydraulic parameters. The most important findings are that the spill could have had a volume about 11.5 hm3, affecting about 86.7 km of river length, twice the most referenced values in the literature, and that applied restoration activities have substantially modified the hydro-sedimentary processes of the affected system. Additionally, a first video observation-based classification reveals that the fluid behaved more like a highly concentrated sediment-laden flow than like a mud flow.

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Section: Breaking Type and Timementioning

confidence: 61%

Section: Spilled Volumementioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Spilled Volumementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Flood Event Reproductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Revisiting the Hydraulics of the Aznalcóllar Mine Disaster

et al. 2022

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Reconstructing the Spill Propagation of the Aznalcóllar Mine Disaster

Sanz-Ramos,

Vales-Bravo,

Bladé

et al. 2024

Mine Water Environ

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The mine pond failure of Los Frailes (Aznalcóllar, Spain) was one of the most catastrophic mining-related disasters worldwide. Despite having been analysed from different disciplines, there have been only two attempts to simulate the propagation of the spill. In both cases, the spill was reconstructed using poor or incorrect topographical data, assuming a spilled hydrograph at the breaking point, and considering the fluid as water. In this research, new pre-failure topographical data were obtained combining field data with remote sensing techniques. These data were used to estimate the spilled hydrograph at the breaking point utilising a two-dimensional hydrodynamic numerical tool. Finally, due to the nature of the spilled fluid, two different attempts of reconstructing the spill propagation process of the Aznalcóllar mine disaster were performed. First, the fluid was considered as water with a suspended sediment load (26–660 g/L), i.e. assuming Newtonian fluid flow. Then the fluid was assumed to be mud-like (non-Newtonian fluid flow). These new simulations revealed that using a Newtonian fluid model, such as water with or without sediment, produced the best results in matching observed and simulated data. The non-Newtonian approach (muds) performed poorly. This suggests the spill behaved more like a concentrated sediment-laden flow than a mud-like one, possibly due to changes in fluid behaviour caused by the mine tailings in the pond after the failure.

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Discrepancies on the spilled volume in the Aznalcóllar mine disaster

Sanz-Ramos¹,

Castellet²,

Dolz³

2022

Proceedings of the 39th IAHR World Congress

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The failure of the pond that stored the tailing of the mining activity of Aznalcóllar (1998) supposed one of the most catastrophic mine disasters ever worldwide. More than 400 scientific publications, including two special issues and two reviews, attempt to clarify the causes and the environmental consequences of the spill. However, some hydraulic aspects were analysed in less detail, and nowadays several uncertainties and inconsistencies still persist. The spilled volume was officially determined to be 4.5 hm 3 , and later on increased up to 6 hm 3 . Despite that, in the literature this value ranges from 0.45 to 10.32 hm 3 , being increased up to 14.4 hm 3 from data inferred from rating curves and the registered hydrograph. Additionally, the volume recovered during the restoration activities is also uncertain, ranging from 4.7 to 10 hm 3 . Differences between the spilled and the recovered volume can be due to the natural hydrological processes. To clarify that, this paper firstly conducts a state-of-the-art review of the spilled volume of the mine disaster, and then new data is introduced and analysed aiming to get some light in this essential hydraulic parameter. To that end, photointerpretation and digital terrain analysis techniques were applied to determine the volume that could potentially be spilled, and then unpublished data of the mean discharge registered at EA90 gauge station was analysed to estimate the volume spilled. The most important findings reveal that the spill could have had a volume around 11.5 hm 3 , twice the most referenced values in the literature.

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Modelling integrated extreme hydrology

Cited by 3 publications

References 8 publications

Revisiting the Hydraulics of the Aznalcóllar Mine Disaster

Revisiting the Hydraulics of the Aznalcóllar Mine Disaster

Reconstructing the Spill Propagation of the Aznalcóllar Mine Disaster

Discrepancies on the spilled volume in the Aznalcóllar mine disaster

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