Pollutant dispersal and stability in a severely polluted floodplain: A case study in the Litavka River, Czech Republic

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11310%2F15%3A10312454" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11310/15:10312454 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/61388980:_____/15:00445241 RIV/44555601:13520/15:43886744

Result on the web

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2015.05.006" target="_blank" >http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2015.05.006</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2015.05.006" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.gexplo.2015.05.006</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Pollutant dispersal and stability in a severely polluted floodplain: A case study in the Litavka River, Czech Republic

Original language description

The fluvial system of the Litavka River in the Czech Republic has been severely polluted by polymetallic ore mining and smelting that occurred mainly between the 1780s and 1970s. To decipher the mechanisms of the pollution transport pathways, we analysed river valley sediments from river headwaters upstream from the ore district through mining and smelting areas to downstream sites. We sampled recently inundated areas as well as sites just outside 100-year (Q100) inundation. In the river valley, it was necessary to distinguish anthropogenic alluvium (AA) floodplain sediments produced due to ore mining and processing. AA had changed K/Rb signal ratios (measured by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence, ED XRF); Pb and Zn pollution; and 206Pb/207Pb isotope ratios. The main part of the primary pollution of the river system was deposited in 19th century and during the first half of the 20th century, a few kilometres far downstream from the primary pollution sources (waste deposits of ore mining processing and the smelter). AA has a Zn/Pb ratio of ~1.5 and a local enrichment factor (LEF) of up to ~160 for Pb and up to ~130 for Zn. The floodplain further downstream has received diluted primary pollution with the same Zn/Pb ratio and a LEF of up to ~80 for Pb and up to ~50 for Zn. Much less severe pollution is recognised in fallout-polluted soils at the river valley edges outside Q100 (Zn/Pb ~0.9, LEF ~7 for Pb and LEF ~2 for Zn). The secondary pollution currently exported from the watershed and floodplain is substantially enriched in Zn (Zn/Pb ~1.5-6). That is obviously a consequence of the higher mobility of Zn in the temporary reservoirs in the mining and smelting area and floodplain.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10505 - Geology

Project

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Continuities

S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach<br>I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2015

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Journal of Geochemical Exploration

ISSN

0375-6742

e-ISSN

—

Volume of the periodical

156

Issue of the periodical within the volume

SEPTEMBER

Country of publishing house

NL - THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS

Number of pages

14

Pages from-to

131-144

UT code for WoS article

000358098700010

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-84930753455