Sediment record of mining legacy and water quality from a drinking-water reservoir, Aztec, New Mexico, USA
August 27, 2020
The record of mining legacy and water quality was investigated in sediments collected in 2018 from four trenches in the Aztec, New Mexico, drinking-water reservoir #1. Bulk chemical analysis of sediments with depth in the reservoir revealed variable trace-element (uranium, vanadium, arsenic, copper, sulfur, silver, lead, and zinc) concentrations, which appear to coincide with historical mining and milling operations. Cesium-137 age dating, which identified the location of the 1963 radioactive fallout maximum, combined with the known age of the bottom and top of the sediment trenches, was used to estimate a polynomial sedimentation rate (average rate = 1.7 cm/yr). The clay size fraction (
Citation Information
| Publication Year | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Title | Sediment record of mining legacy and water quality from a drinking-water reservoir, Aztec, New Mexico, USA |
| DOI | 10.1007/s12665-020-09126-9 |
| Authors | Johanna Blake, Jeb E. Brown, Christina Ferguson, Rebecca Bixby, Naomi Delay |
| Publication Type | Article |
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Series Title | Environmental Earth Sciences |
| Index ID | 70215621 |
| Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |
| USGS Organization | New Mexico Water Science Center |