Simulation of the hydrogeologic effects of oil-shale mining on the neighbouring wetland water balance: case study in north-eastern Estonia

Marandi, Andres; Karro, Enn; Polikarpus, Maile; Jõeleht, Argo; Kohv, Marko; Hang, Tiit; Hiiemaa, Helen

doi:10.1007/s10040-013-1032-x

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Further studies are needed to estimate the hydraulic conductivity of peat at different humification levels in order to model potential impact of groundwater lowering on water levels on the bog surface. Two contrasting opinions have been published and further plans for oil shale mining in mire-rich NE Estonia require a clear answer to that question (Marandi et al 2013(Marandi et al , 2014Orru et al 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Geological settings of the protected Selisoo mire (northeastern Estonia) threatened by oil shale mining

Hiiemaa¹,

Mustasaar²,

Kohv³

et al. 2014

Estonian J. Earth Sci.

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The protected Selisoo mire in northeastern Estonia is located above valuable oil shale resources, partly in the permitted mining area. We describe in detail the geomorphology and geological setting of the mire to understand the natural preconditions for its formation, development and preservation. We used the LiDAR-based digital elevation model for relief analysis, mapped the peat thickness with ground-penetrating radar and described the Quaternary cover through corings. Ridges, oriented perpendicular to the generally southward-sloping terrain, and shallow depressions at the surface of mineral soil have influenced mire formation and its spatio-temporal dynamics. The Quaternary cover under the mire is thin and highly variable. Therefore the mire is hydrogeologically insufficiently isolated from the limestone bedrock that is drained by the nearby oil shale mine and consequently the mining activities approaching the mire may have a negative influence on the wetland and proposed Natura 2000 site. Natura 2000 type wetlands, both protected or currently outside the nature reserves, cover a significant portion of the prospective oil shale mining areas. The distribution and resilience of those sites may significantly influence further utilization of oil shale resources.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Marandi et al (2013) used a 3-D hydrogeological model that was calibrated according to the extent of the mine, groundwater level observations and water-abstraction rates at two regimes in 2000 and 2010. They concluded that bedrock aquitard does not confine sufficiently and considerable lowering of groundwater takes place below the mire.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geological settings of the protected Selisoo mire (northeastern Estonia) threatened by oil shale mining

Hiiemaa¹,

Mustasaar²,

Kohv³

et al. 2014

Estonian J. Earth Sci.

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“…The model is a mathematical deterministic conceptual model which' spatial discretisation is based on a fully distributed model discretising the model into a grid of relatively small elements. The model can be used for simulating scenarios for the vertical hydraulic conductivity of the subsurface, which is of critical importance to potential wetland dewatering as a result of mining (Marandi et al 2013).…”

Section: Hydrological Model Classificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of Peatland Hydrological Models

Cīrulis

Jansons

Java

et al. 2022

Rural Development 2019

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Peatlands have a vital role in carbon sequestration and mitigation of global climate change. Peatlands in the boreal and sub-arctic regions store around 15-30% of global soil carbon. In the European Union the move towards the climate neutrality policy includes activities specifically aimed at the reduction of negative greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands through nature conservation and renewal. In Latvia the total area of peatlands is 645 100 ha. Due to industrial peat extraction and other processes a considerable proportion of peatlands in Latvia are degraded, thus leaving negative impact on both the local wildlife environment and on the global effort to tame the climate change. Areas in Latvia where peat extraction has ended or has been suspended without revitalisation activities in place amount to 18 010 ha. Given the conditions the restoration of degraded peatland environments is important and most often take place in the raised bogs calling for evidence-based decision making through deployment of hydrological models that are applicable for restoration of raised bogs in conditions of Latvia. The analysis of available hydrological models indicate that mathematical deterministic physically based models are applicable for the restoration activities of peatlands. The raised bog model deployed in Männikjärve bog holds the potential to be integrated within a virtual reality environment after further improvements, thus potentially improving decision and environmental policy making process for raised bog area restoration activities. Further work on tailored model for bog restoration considering the data acquisition challenges with input data fed through remote sensing capabilities is proposed.

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“…Due to the mining activities, about 200,000 m 3 of water are drained daily from the aquifer system and collected into the surface water network. This results in a decrease of the groundwater levels in the bedrock aquifer and also in the Quaternary sediments below the bog, influencing the water regime in the whole area and, thus, endangering the overall functioning of the wetland water budget [85].…”

Section: Selisoo Bog Estoniamentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial Data Management and Numerical Modelling: Demonstrating the Application of the QGIS-Integrated FREEWAT Platform at 13 Case Studies for Tackling Groundwater Resource Management

Filippis

Pouliaris

Kahuda

et al. 2019

Water

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Because of the spatial nature of groundwater-related data and their time component, effective groundwater management requires the application of methods pertaining to the Information and Communication Technologies sector, such as spatial data management and distributed numerical modelling. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the effectiveness of the QGIS-integrated FREEWAT platform and an approach combining spatial data management and numerical models to target groundwater management issues. FREEWAT is a free and open source platform integrated in a Geographic Information System environment and embedding tools for pre-and post-processing of Water 2020, 12, 41 2 of 31 spatial data and integrating numerical codes for the simulation of the hydrological cycle, with a main focus on groundwater. To this aim, this paper briefly presents the FREEWAT platform, introduces the FREEWAT approach, and showcases 13 case studies in European and non-European countries where the FREEWAT platform was applied. Application of the FREEWAT platform to real-world case studies is presented for targeting management of coastal aquifers, ground-and surface-water interaction, climate change impacts, management of transboundary aquifers, rural water management and protection of groundwater-dependent ecosystems. In this sense, compared to other existing software suites, FREEWAT allows data analysis and visualization to accomplish each step of the modelling workflow, i.e., from data analytics, to conceptual model definition, to numerical modelling and reporting of results. The presented experiences demonstrate that improved access to data and the portability of models and models' results can help to promote water sustainability from the localto the basin-scale. Furthermore, FREEWAT may represent a valuable tool to target the objective of increasing the capabilities of public authorities and private companies to manage groundwater resources by means of up-to-date, robust, well-documented and reliable software, without entailing the need of costly licensing, nowadays seldom affordable by public water authorities. Based on the strengths highlighted, the FREEWAT platform is a powerful tool for groundwater resources management, and for data collection, sharing, implementation and comparison of scenarios, for supporting planning and decision-making.

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Simulation of the hydrogeologic effects of oil-shale mining on the neighbouring wetland water balance: case study in north-eastern Estonia

Cited by 11 publications

References 5 publications

Geological settings of the protected Selisoo mire (northeastern Estonia) threatened by oil shale mining

Geological settings of the protected Selisoo mire (northeastern Estonia) threatened by oil shale mining

Comparison of Peatland Hydrological Models

Spatial Data Management and Numerical Modelling: Demonstrating the Application of the QGIS-Integrated FREEWAT Platform at 13 Case Studies for Tackling Groundwater Resource Management

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