Search Results (14)

Ammonia is a critical compound for numerous industrial processes; however, the conventional methods for its production present substantial environmental challenges. Co-producing biofuels and ammonia from biomass through anaerobic digestion offers a promising alternative to address these concerns. This study presents a theoretical assessment of the co-production of biomethane and ammonia from microalgae and cyanobacteria, utilising water from abandoned mine and quarry pit-lakes—specifically focusing on the Alessandria district as a case study. The analysis is based on the average values reported in the literature for the anaerobic digestion of selected biomass types. The results highlight Arthrospira platensis, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Chlorella spp., and Chlorella pyrenoidosa as the most promising species due to their superior yields of both ammonia and biomethane. This work aims to promote new opportunities for repurposing disused mining pit-lakes, contributing to the development of sustainable pathways for the integrated production of biofuels and ammonia. In this context, exploring integrated biorefinery systems within a bio-based economy represents an auspicious direction for future research, potentially enhancing the process efficiency and reducing costs. Full article

Given the current global context, in which emissions’ reduction to mitigate climate change is a primary concern, the use of new clean technologies is being explored. Floating photovoltaics (FPV), given their many advantages, such as increased efficiency and water savings, were examined here originally to estimate on a national scale their potential contribution to decarbonisation. Thus, our study assesses whether Italy is a suitable territory for hosting FPV plants on bodies of water. The analysis consisted of two phases: a selection of suitable bodies of water and a subsequent prioritization using scores. To perform these, predisposing factors were first determined. In parallel, quarry lakes on Italian plains were identified because they could be redeveloped by installing FPV plants. Other analyses, moreover, allowed us to estimate that, in the best scenario, there could be up to 507 plants larger than one hectare, which could come to satisfy almost 3% of the annual electricity demand and could save more than 4.6 million tons of CO₂ in one year. These results allow us to conclude that it is indeed possible to use this technology in Italy, marking a big step in terms of innovation. Full article

Human activities play a key role in landscape evolution. Mining is one of the most important of these since it changes large parts of the Earth’s surface. In abandoned mines and quarries, pit lakes are quite common due to water table blocking. These lakes have remarkable ecological characteristics, but they are still poorly understood. Northwestern Spain has a long tradition in the use of slate for roofs. This exploitation, mostly open-pit, has caused a great transformation in the landscape including the generation of pit lakes. In this work, 27 pit lakes in abandoned slate quarries areas have been analysed using orthophotos of different years, UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) images and field work. In each lake, the topographic context, geomorphological dynamics, morphometric parameters (including depth), pH, and ecological variables were measured. Other uses for these quarry pit lakes and their significance as a new geo-ecological environment are also discussed. The results show different types of pit lakes and, consequently, different potential uses in each case. Only six offer good conditions for recreational uses, whereas the rest (21) show slope instability or poor water quality. Full article

Over the past half century, the demand for sand and gravel has led to extensive quarrying activities, creating many pit lakes (PLs) which now dot floodplains and urbanized regions globally. Despite the potential importance of these environments, systematic data on their location, morphology and water quality remain limited. In this study, we present an extensive assessment of the physical and optical properties in a large sample of PLs located in the Po River basin (Italy) from 1990 to 2021, utilizing a combined approach of remote sensing (Landsat constellation and Sentinel-2) and traditional limnological techniques. Specifically, we focused on the concentration of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and the dominant wavelength (λ_dom, i.e., water colour). This study aims to contribute to the analysis of PLs at a basin scale as an opportunity for environmental rehabilitation and river floodplain management. ACOLITE v.2022, a neural network particularly suitable for the analysis of turbid waters and small inland water bodies, was used to atmospherically correct satellite images and to obtain SPM concentration maps and the λ_dom. The results show a very strong correlation between SPM concentrations obtained in situ and those obtained from satellite images, both for data derived from Landsat (R² = 0.85) and Sentinel-2 images (R² = 0.82). A strong correlation also emerged from the comparison of spectral signatures obtained in situ via WISP-3 and those derived from ACOLITE, especially in the visible spectrum (443–705 nm, SA = 10.8°). In general, it appeared that PLs with the highest mean SPM concentrations and the highest mean λ_dom are located along the main Po River, and more generally near rivers. The results also show that active PLs exhibit a poor water quality status, especially those of small sizes (<5 ha) and directly connected to a river. Seasonal comparison shows the same trend for both SPM concentration and λ_dom: higher values in winter gradually decreasing until spring–summer, then increasing again. Finally, it emerged that the end of quarrying activity led to a reduction in SPM concentration from a minimum of 43% to a maximum of 72%. In this context, the combined use of Landsat and Sentinel-2 imagery allowed for the evaluation of the temporal evolution of the physical and optical properties of the PLs in a vast area such as the Po River basin (74,000 km²). In particular, the Sentinel-2 images consistently proved to be a reliable resource for capturing episodic and recurring quarrying events and portraying the ever-changing dynamics of these ecosystems. Full article

This paper presents the results of bathymetric measurements of quarry lakes located in inactive granite quarries (Poland, Lower Silesia, County Strzelin), which were used, among other reasons, to determine the surface area, depth, and volume of water retained in the analysed quarry lakes. The usability of water in quarry lakes for agricultural irrigation was also assessed, based on the FAO Guidelines and the PN-84/C-04635 standard. The average surface area of the analysed quarry lakes was 0.99 ha, the average depth was 6.0 m, and the maximum depth was 14.3 m. At the same time, the total volume of the retained water amounted to 307.8 thousand m³, which accounts for 10.6% of the retention capacity of water reservoirs situated in the catchment of the Oława River. The average values of water quality indicators were as follows: electrical conductivity—0.332 mS × cm⁻¹; sodium adsorption ratio—0.56; total dissolved solids—212.4 mg/L; water pH—7.8; BOD₅—2.4 mgO₂/L. The mean concentrations of ions had the following values: nitrates—0.91 mgN-NO₃⁻/L; sulphates—176.3 mg SO₄²⁻/L; chlorides—36.56 mg Cl⁻/L; sodium ions—14.8 mg Na⁺/L; calcium—41.3 mg Ca²⁺/L; magnesium—7.48 mg Mg²⁺/L; manganese—0.1 mg Mn/L; and iron—0.01 mg Fe/L. The concentrations of water quality indicators that were recorded for the analysed Strzelin quarry lakes were similar to those observed in natural lakes and uncharged water bodies. Water from the analysed quarry lakes met (with some minor limitations) the requirements that enable them to be used for agricultural irrigation. The volume of the water retained in the analysed quarry lakes constitutes an important element of the total balance of water retained in all the reservoirs, ponds, and all Strzelin quarry lakes situated in the catchment of the Oława River, accounting for 10.6% of the total volume of retained water. The article presents the innovative concept of the possibility of using water from quarry lakes in agriculture, based on their quantity and quality and the requirements for the purpose for which they will be used, e.g., for agricultural irrigation. Full article

Long-term coal mining activities in the Upper Silesia significantly affect the environment in southern Poland. Discharges of brines (with TDS reaching over 110 g/L) from mines are the main source of pollution of many rivers in Poland, including the Vistula River. The Zakrzówek horst is a small geological structure composed of the Upper Jurassic limestones. These limestones were exploited in several quarries. In the largest one (the “Zakrzówek” quarry), exploitation reached the depth of 36 m below the water table, i.e., about 32 m below the average water level in Vistula River which flows 700 m from the quarry. An important part of this inflow into quarries came from the contaminated Vistula River, with a chloride concentration over 2 g/L. The exploitation ceased in 1991, and dewatering ended in 1992. In the old quarry area, pit lakes appeared, which are unique because they present an example of a post-mining site affected by the riverine water contaminated with brines. Investigations of physicochemical parameters of water in the Zakrzówek area were carried out in the period of 1990–2020. Results showed that the largest pit lake was initially meromictic with a distinct stratification. After several years, holomictic conditions developed due to the surface layer freshening and convective mixing. Full article

In northern Italy, most greenhouses rely on gas or oil heaters which are sometimes subject to high operating costs. Several greenhouses are nearby quarry lakes, which are the legacy of the expansion of cities in the last decades, including Turin (NW Italy). About 20 quarry lakes were excavated close to the Po riverbed in the southern part of this urban area, along a belt of more than 30 km in length, with an overall volume exceeding 10 million m³ water. The study addresses these artificial lakes as a low enthalpy thermal energy source, potentially providing heat to surrounding agri-business buildings. Detailed temperature monitoring of a large lake quarry was conducted over two years at different depths, measuring the surrounding groundwater level as well. Two different behaviors of the lake during the winter and summer seasons enabled the definition of a quite low water mixing process between the surrounding aquifers and the lake (in the range of 2–4 °C). An evaluation of the heat extraction potential using the lake as a heat source, depending on water temperature and its volume, and a qualitative comparison with groundwater systems are proposed. This study contributes to increasing knowledge on an overlooked resource for sustainable heating. Full article

The present article is an example of research on the tourism, scientific, and teaching potential of the ultrabasic-alkaline intrusion with perovskite minerals in Afrikanda (Kola Peninsula, North Russia) and the possibility of its development as part of a local geopark site. A proposal to create a protected zone in this site, to expose sites of geological, natural, historical, and tourist interest is presented. Didactic routes and locations of geo-point visitors are proposed. Currently, there are numerous quarries and other mining objects of high historical, technical, and geological value. In the vicinity, there is a trough lake and post-glacial formations that can supplement knowledge about this region and add interest to would-be visitors. The remains of a historical camp for workers and miners are also visible in the intrusion area. In the vicinity of Afrikanda village, there is an international railroad line to Murmansk and St. Petersburg with a working railroad station. The place has high historical and geological potential for tourists and very rare and interesting mineralization. The last is a key value. The location is associated with 30 alkaline intrusions in NE Fennoskandia. There are opportunities to create a museum with a park where, with relatively little funding (most of the existing infrastructure buildings are in good condition), the intrusions can be shown to tourists. We proposed a conservation area with exposures, quarries, mine infrastructure, and historical sites, along with the location of geosites, hiking trails, and a geo-point for visitors. These sites are prospective for the economic revival of Afrikanda village and can protect the unique exposures. Full article

Monchegorsk is an intrusion complex of basic and ultrabasic rocks of the Paleoproterozoic age. This complex formed during active magmatic mobility that took place in NE Scandinavia 2.5 Ga years ago. These were the subject of intensive exploration and exploitation at the beginning of the 20th century, the latter carrying on through to the beginning of the 21st century. This contributed to the creation of some different forms of post-industrail mining infrastructure in the area. Many mining settlements, including Monchegorsk, mining plants, adits and quarries were established during this time, the relics of which are still present today. The Monchegorsk intrusions complex is formed by several fragmented massifs: Traviannaya, Kumuzhia, Nittis, Sopcha, Nyud, Poaz, and Monchetundra, the highest elevations of which reach up to 1000 m above sea level. These massifs form a landscape of “islands” and mountain ranges that have influence upon the regional landscape over several tens of kilometers. Their geography is characterized by numerous reliefs, glacial cirques, rocky thresholds with waterfalls and trough lakes. The potential of this region lies in the heritage of historical exploitation, numerous monuments of which have been preserved to this day. An important value is a landscape resulting from the relief of these mountains, highlighted by glacial activity in the Pleistocene. There are also interesting examples of Arctic fauna and flora, and of the rocks that form the bedrock in this intrusion. Some of the mineralization of these outcroppings can also be admired in the collections of the local museum that serves as a geocenter. The possibility of admiring relatively easily accessible views (the international route St. Petersburg–Murmansk–Kirkenes passes through the middle of the hills) and the interesting geology of the area abounding in rocks of mineralogical significance, their exposures, and history, along with the possibility of observing various post-industrail forms, make this area of great tourist potential. This article describes the most interesting exposures of outstanding tourist value and proposes routes connecting these points. It also discusses the problem of securing these exposures and the necessary tourist infrastructure, which is currently lacking. Full article

Dissolved gases produce a gas pressure. This gas pressure is the appropriate physical quantity for judging the possibility of bubble formation and hence it is central for understanding exchange of climate-relevant gases between (limnic) water and the atmosphere. The contribution of ebullition has widely been neglected in numerical simulations. We present measurements from six lacustrine waterbodies in Central Germany: including a natural lake, a drinking water reservoir, a mine pit lake, a sand excavation lake, a flooded quarry, and a small flooded lignite opencast, which has been heavily polluted. Seasonal changes of oxygen and temperature are complemented by numerical simulations of nitrogen and calculations of vapor pressure to quantify the contributions and their dynamics in lacustrine waters. In addition, accumulation of gases in monimolimnetic waters is demonstrated. We sum the partial pressures of the gases to yield a quantitative value for total gas pressure to reason which processes can force ebullition at which locations. In conclusion, only a small number of gases contribute decisively to gas pressure and hence can be crucial for bubble formation. Full article

We present an approach for the calibration of simplified evaporation model parameters based on the optimization of parameters against the most complex model for evaporation estimation, i.e., the Penman–Monteith equation. This model computes the evaporation from several input quantities, such as air temperature, wind speed, heat storage, net radiation etc. However, sometimes all these values are not available, therefore we must use simplified models. Our interest in free water surface evaporation is given by the need for ongoing hydric reclamation of the former Ležáky–Most quarry, i.e., the ongoing restoration of the land that has been mined to a natural and economically usable state. For emerging pit lakes, the prediction of evaporation and the level of water plays a crucial role. We examine the methodology on several popular models and standard statistical measures. The presented approach can be applied in a general model calibration process subject to any theoretical or measured evaporation. Full article

Evaporation is one of the main components of the water cycle in nature. Our interest in free water surface evaporation is due to the needs of ongoing hydric recultivation of the former Ležáky–Most quarry, i.e., Lake Most, and also other planned hydric recultivations in the region. One of the key components of hydric reclamation planning is the securitization of long-term sustainability, which is based on the capability to keep the final water level at a stable level. In our work, we are interested in the evaporation estimation in the area of Lake Most (Czech Republic, Europe). This lake has been artificially created only a few years ago, and nowadays we are looking for a simple evaporation model, based on which we will be able to decide which measurement devices have to be installed at the location to provide more localized data to the model. In this paper, we calibrate state-of-the-art simplified evaporation models against the Penman–Monteith equation based on the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency maximization. We discuss the suitability of this approach using real-world climate data from the weather station located one km from the area of interest. Full article

The aims of this case study are to assess water quality in a small, forested mountain catchment in the Black Forest, forming part of a National Park and Natura 2000 zone. Field work was carried out in the catchment of the Seebächle torrent, a small headwater basin of the River Acher, a confluent of the Rhine, in Southern Germany between late winter and early summer of 2018. The catchment has a diverse natural setting of water bodies, including springs, torrents, and a lake, and is impacted by anthropogenic activities such as summer tourism, winter sports, two quarries, road traffic, and an isolated construction site. Physio-chemical and bacterial water samples were obtained at 10 measurement sites, including a spring, a lake (Mummelsee), a fountain, artificial and natural snow on and next to a ski run (Seibelseckle), artificial ditches and parking lots draining the ski run, and the Seebächle torrent above two granite mines. Samples were either taken directly on site or analyzed in corresponding hydrology and hospital microbiology laboratories. Water of the Seebächle is oxygen-rich, peaty, and mostly acidic, but the pH varies between 4.1 and 9.5 throughout the catchment, inclining towards acid in the fountain and below the ski run and towards alkaline in the lake. Conductivity is spatially highly variable, reaching the most elevated values below the ski run and its parking lot (149 µS/cm). A high density of bacteria including enterobacteria was detected at nearly all sites. Human pathogenic bacteria were found below and surrounding the ski run, at parking lots draining the ski run, as well as at the lowest site during the mid-spring campaign. They were also detected in the touristically highly frequented lake and in the spring feeding the lake during the end-of-spring campaign. Whilst most physico-chemical parameters followed a similar pattern and fell within good to very good EU drinking water quality status, the lake turbidity levels (19.2 NTU) by far exceeded norms after ice thawing. The most contaminated site in terms of bacteria and turbidity (5.2 NTU), ammonium nitrogen (0.18 mg/L), and total nitrogen (5.06 mg/L) was the spring feeding the Mummelsee draining the construction site of a new restaurant. These field analyses show that the water quality of a virtually uninhabited, natural headwater catchment is strongly interconnected and can degrade both by direct and indirect impacts of overtourism. Full article

This paper presents the results of an analysis of the pace of filling one of the deepest European granite quarries with water. A DTM (digital terrain model) based on data from LiDAR ALS (light detection and ranging airborne laser scanning) was used to create a model of the pit of the Strzelin I granite quarry and to determine the reach and surface area of the direct catchment of the excavation pit. The increase in the volume of water in the excavation pit was determined. Analogue maps and DTM were used to calculate the maximum depth of the pit (113.3 m), its surface area (9.71 ha), and its capacity (5.1 million m³). The volume of water collected in the excavation pit during the years 2011–2018 was determined based on the analogue base map and the DTM. The result was 0.335 million m³. Based on the data made available by the mining company, the correlation of the DTM with the orthophotomap of the mining area and additional field measurements, the ordinates of the water level in the years 2011–2018 were determined. Initially, the water surface level in the quarry was located on the ordinate of 66.6 m a.s.l. (July 20, 2011). After the pumping of water was discontinued, the level rose to 96.1 m a.s.l. (January 28, 2018). The increase in the water volume in the quarry pit during specific periods was determined (actual retention increase). The obtained data on the volume of the retained water referred to the period during which it accumulated in the quarry. On average, the net increase in water retention in the excavation pit was 138.537 m³∙d⁻¹, and the calculated net supply from the direct catchment (16.04 ha) was 101.758 m³∙d⁻¹. The use of DTM and measurements of the water level in the excavation pit seem to be an efficient means of estimating the pace of spontaneous filling of the quarry with water supplied from the direct physiographic catchment. Full article