Learn More about Acid Mine Drainage
Although mining-related environmental degradation of streams occurs throughout the Appalachian Basin, problems are most acute where mining occurs in upper Middle and Upper Pennsylvanian age strata. The USGS and WV Geological and Economic Survey conducted a pilot study to core these strata and examine the mineralogy and neutralization potential of the rocks with analyses conducted on one-foot intervals of rock in order to examine the spatial variability of the deleterious materials over the northern and southern coal fields of WV. In this study, the results using down-hole geochemical wireline logging (GCL) were compared to the core analyses. GCL has the advantage of "real-time" anlaysis and provides a down-hole log of net neutralization potential. Results of CGL showed a good qualitative record of iron, sulfur, and calcium but could not be quantitatively compared to the core analyses.
A photographic example of acid mine drainage water.
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U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
