Title: Iron Mountain, California: An Extreme Acid Mine Drainage Environment
Charles N Alpers
Since 1991, as a Research Chemist with USGS, Dr. Alpers has led numerous water-quality investigations involving the environmental effects of historical mining.
This work has included research on acid mine drainage at the Iron Mountain Superfund site, including documentation of negative-pH water and associated sulfate minerals. Since 1999, he has been lead scientist for several multi-disciplinary studies regarding mercury contamination, transport, and bioaccumulation associated with historical gold mining in the Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges of California. He is also investigating arsenic bioavailability and bioaccessibility in gold-mine waste at the Empire Mine in Grass Valley, California as part of a multi-disciplinary team involving USGS and non-USGS scientists.
The overarching theme of Dr. Alpers' research is the environmental geochemistry of metal contamination from historical mining. A secondary theme is the use of mineral deposits and areas contaminated by mining as laboratories for process-oriented research. His career has evolved from an emphasis on acid mine drainage (late 1980s to 2000) to an emphasis on mercury (since 2000) with growing interests in wetlands, arsenic, and lead.
Science and Products
Hydrologic and Aquatic Ecology Studies at Clear Lake, California
Monitoring and Modeling of Nutrients and Other Water-Quality Constituents in Tributaries to Clear Lake, California
Scotts Creek Nutrient Erosion Study, Lake County, California
Effects of Wildfire and Fire Retardants on Nutrient Transport in California Watersheds
Mercury studies at Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine and Clear Lake, California
Examining Erosion at Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park, a Sierra Nevada Gold Mine
Developing Spatial Data on Mineral Deposits Found on Abandoned Mine Lands
Add-on to: Determination of Mercury Loads for Cache Creek Settling Basin Inflow and Outflows and Related Investigations
Quantification of Mercury Flux in Eroding Mining Debris, Yuba River Watershed, California
Technical Support to the U.S. EPA for Leviathan Mine, Alpine County, California
Additional characterization of the impact of suction dredging, South Yuba River – Humbug Creek
Determination of Mercury Loads for Cache Creek Settling Basin Inflow and Outflows and Related Investigations
Stable isotope data for sulfur, oxygen, and hydrogen in minerals and gases and electron microprobe data for minerals from Sulphur Bank mercury mine, Lake County, California
Geochemical data for water, sediment, and biota in areas affected by historical mining, northwestern Sierra Nevada and Trinity Mountains, California
Geochemical data for post-fire surface water, streambed sediment, and soils from areas affected by the 2018 Camp Fire, Butte County, California
During November 2018, the Camp Fire burned more than 150,000 acres in Butte County, California. The fire was the deadliest and most destructive in California history, destroying more than 18,000 structures and causing at least 85 fatalities. The U.S. Geological Survey sampled surface water in areas affected by the Camp Fire, plus an unburned control site, during two post-fire sampling events, Janu
Aqueous and solid phase geochemistry of water and mineral precipitates from draining adits in California and Colorado
This dataset is a compilation of samples collected from draining mine adits, including water and mineral precipitates, from several mines in California and Colorado. The Golinsky, Copper Bluff, and Afterthought Mines (located in northern California) and the Gold King mine (located in southern Colorado) have historically operated to recover metals including copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver and othe
Geochemical and mineralogical data for mine waste from Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine, Lake County, California
Mercury stable isotopes in biota, sediment, groundwater, and waste piles, Clear Lake area, Lake County, California, 2019-2022
Geochemical data for water, sediment, and biota in Lake Combie, California, 2017-2021
Environmental chemistry from selected sites in Lakeport, Lake County, California (version 1.1, August 2023)
High resolution and discrete temporal and spatial water-quality measurements in support of modeling mercury and methylmercury concentrations in surface waters of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta
Mercury in fishes from Clear Lake, California, 2019 and 2020 (ver. 2.0, February 2022)
Geochemical data including mercury for subsamples of deep cores from the Cache Creek Settling Basin, Yolo County, California
The Geochemistry of Mercury and Other Constituents in Redox Manipulated Sediment cores from Clear Lake, Lake County, California
Title: Iron Mountain, California: An Extreme Acid Mine Drainage Environment
A call for strategic water-quality monitoring to advance assessment and prediction of wildfire impacts on water supplies
Discovery and potential ramifications of reduced iron-bearing nanoparticles — Magnetite, wüstite, and zero-valent iron — In wildland–urban interface fire ashes
Effects of montane watershed development on vulnerability of domestic groundwater supply during drought
Formation and prevention of pipe scale from acid mine drainage at Iron Mountain and Leviathan Mines, California, USA
Quantifying erosion rates by using terrestrial laser scanning at Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park, Nevada County, California, 2014–17
Quantifying the eroded and deposited mass of mercury-contaminated sediment by using terrestrial laser scanning at the confluence of Humbug Creek and the South Yuba River, Nevada County, California, 2011–13
PFHydro: A new watershed-scale model for post-fire runoff simulation
Geochemical data for water, streambed sediment, and fish tissue from the Sierra Nevada Mercury Impairment Project, 2011–12
Geochemistry of mercury and other constituents in subsurface sediment—Analyses from 2011 and 2012 coring campaigns, Cache Creek Settling Basin, Yolo County, California
Challenges in recovering resources from acid mine drainage
Arsenic and mercury contamination related to historical goldmining in the Sierra Nevada, California
Science and Products
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Hydrologic and Aquatic Ecology Studies at Clear Lake, California
The USGS California Water Science Center conducts a variety of research activities at Clear Lake, California, including surface-water monitoring and water quality and aquatic habitat studies.Monitoring and Modeling of Nutrients and Other Water-Quality Constituents in Tributaries to Clear Lake, California
Clear Lake, the largest natural lake entirely within California, has a severe problem with harmful algal blooms (HABs). HABs can be detrimental to aquatic life because when the algae dies, sinks, and decays, the lake is deprived of the dissolved oxygen that fish need to breathe. A driving factor of these conditions are the nutrient loads being carried into the lake by soil erosion and the...Scotts Creek Nutrient Erosion Study, Lake County, California
Clear Lake, the largest natural lake entirely within California, has a severe problem with harmful algal blooms which can be detrimental to aquatic life by depriving it of oxygen when the algae dies, sinks, and decays. A driving factor of these conditions are the nutrient loads being carried into the lake by soil erosion and the transport of sediment from the lake’s tributaries. Recently, an...Effects of Wildfire and Fire Retardants on Nutrient Transport in California Watersheds
Large wildfires have increased in size and frequency in the western United States over the past several decades. This has led to increased soil erosion and the transport of sediment containing nutrients into streams and reservoirs. Excess nutrients typically lead to the increased production of algae which can then lead to low levels of dissolved oxygen. This degrades the habitat for fish and...Mercury studies at Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine and Clear Lake, California
The abandoned Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine on the shores of Clear Lake in Northern California has been designated as a "Superfund Site" by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This means that the EPA has determined that the area is contaminated by hazardous waste and requires cleanup because it poses a risk to human health and/or the environment. One of the chief contaminants at the site...Examining Erosion at Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park, a Sierra Nevada Gold Mine
Located in Nevada County, California, Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park was the Sierra Nevada’s largest hydraulic gold mine, operating from 1866 to 1884. Historically, part of the process of hydraulic mining included using mercury to extract gold from produced sediment through the process of amalgamation. This process left thousands of pounds of mercury and other heavy metals in the area...Developing Spatial Data on Mineral Deposits Found on Abandoned Mine Lands
Better understanding of mineral deposits and their impact on the environment, including the water system, is necessary for the protection of public health. The USGS is working with other federal and state agencies to identify the environmental behavior of these deposits and their waste products. USGS scientists are using geospatial data (data that can be mapped) to prioritize abandoned mine land...Add-on to: Determination of Mercury Loads for Cache Creek Settling Basin Inflow and Outflows and Related Investigations
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Cache Creek Settling Basin (CCSB) in Yolo County.Quantification of Mercury Flux in Eroding Mining Debris, Yuba River Watershed, California
At two priority locations on BLM-administered land in the Yuba River watershed, the USGS has documented relatively rapid erosion of river bank material that consists of mercury (Hg)-laden sediment with a significant component of mining debris.Technical Support to the U.S. EPA for Leviathan Mine, Alpine County, California
The Leviathan Mine, located in Alpine County is one of the worst sites in California for acid mine drainage. The site is on the National Priority List for CERCLA (Superfund) (U.S. EPA, 2011) and U.S. EPA is working with ARCO/BP (the Responsible Party) on designing and implementing site remediation. The USGS did research there during the 1980s on geochemistry (e.g., Nordstrom and Ball, 1986). The...Additional characterization of the impact of suction dredging, South Yuba River – Humbug Creek
The potential impacts of suction dredging on water quality remain largely undetermined, especially with regard to trace metals including Hg. Several State of California regulatory agencies have expressed concerns that suction dredging may cause deleterious impacts with regard to turbidity and Hg contamination in downstream areas.Determination of Mercury Loads for Cache Creek Settling Basin Inflow and Outflows and Related Investigations
Mercury (Hg), a legacy pollutant from mining of mercury deposits in the Coast Ranges as well as gold deposits in the Sierra Nevada, has contaminated surface waters throughout northern California. Methylmercury (MeHg) is an organic form of Hg that bioaccumulates in food webs to elevated concentrations that threaten ecological health and human health through consumption of sport fish. - Data
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Stable isotope data for sulfur, oxygen, and hydrogen in minerals and gases and electron microprobe data for minerals from Sulphur Bank mercury mine, Lake County, California
Stable isotope compositions (the ratios deuterium/hydrogen, oxygen-18/oxygen-16, and sulfur-34/sulfur-32) are reported for alunite, jarosite, kaolinite, silica, cinnabar, marcasite, and native sulfur from outcrops in and around the workings of the Sulphur Bank mercury mine, Lake County, California, and chemical compositions are reported, from electron microprobe analyses, for alunite and buddingtoGeochemical data for water, sediment, and biota in areas affected by historical mining, northwestern Sierra Nevada and Trinity Mountains, California
This dataset includes data for water, sediment, and biota samples collected at 250 locations in the northwestern Sierra Nevada and the Trinity Mountains during 1999–2012. The locations were chosen to assess potential effects from historical mining, with a focus primarily on mercury contamination associated with placer gold mines in the Sierra Nevada and the Trinity Mountains, and a hard-rock mercuGeochemical data for post-fire surface water, streambed sediment, and soils from areas affected by the 2018 Camp Fire, Butte County, California
During November 2018, the Camp Fire burned more than 150,000 acres in Butte County, California. The fire was the deadliest and most destructive in California history, destroying more than 18,000 structures and causing at least 85 fatalities. The U.S. Geological Survey sampled surface water in areas affected by the Camp Fire, plus an unburned control site, during two post-fire sampling events, Janu
Aqueous and solid phase geochemistry of water and mineral precipitates from draining adits in California and Colorado
This dataset is a compilation of samples collected from draining mine adits, including water and mineral precipitates, from several mines in California and Colorado. The Golinsky, Copper Bluff, and Afterthought Mines (located in northern California) and the Gold King mine (located in southern Colorado) have historically operated to recover metals including copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver and othe
Geochemical and mineralogical data for mine waste from Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine, Lake County, California
This data release presents geochemical and mineralogical data from mine waste at Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine (SBMM). This work is performed in cooperation with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to characterize sources of contamination at the SBMM cleanup site. A total of 23 samples were collected: 15 samples were collected by USGS from various waste piles (14 composites from the top 0-5cmMercury stable isotopes in biota, sediment, groundwater, and waste piles, Clear Lake area, Lake County, California, 2019-2022
Samples were collected from Clear Lake, California from 2019-2022 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) California Water Science Center, the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC), the US Environmental Protection Agency, and EA Engineering Science and Technology Inc. to assess the extent and cycling of legacy mercury (Hg) contamination from Sulphur Bank Mine. Samples of waste roGeochemical data for water, sediment, and biota in Lake Combie, California, 2017-2021
This dataset includes field measurements and laboratory analyses of surface water, bottom water (sediment-water interface), surficial (0-2 cm) sediment, pore water (0-2 cm), and biota collected in Lake Combie, California, from September 2017 through August 2021. The study area includes six sites within the reservoir where discrete samples of surface water, bottom water, sediment, and pore water weEnvironmental chemistry from selected sites in Lakeport, Lake County, California (version 1.1, August 2023)
This data release documents chemical analyses of environmental samples collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Lakeport (Lake County, California) during July 11-12, 2022. Environmental samples were collected at selected sites to assess the effects of lead-based paint on soil chemistry. This sampling was made as part of a broader study to attribute sources of lead in soils in cooperationHigh resolution and discrete temporal and spatial water-quality measurements in support of modeling mercury and methylmercury concentrations in surface waters of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta
The Sacramento / San Joaquin River Delta (SSJRD) is contaminated with legacy mercury (Hg) from historical mining and mineral processing activities throughout the watershed, as well as from contemporary atmospheric and industrial inputs. The current project was designed for the purpose of developing high-resolution spatial and temporal models for estimating concentrations of mercury species in surfMercury in fishes from Clear Lake, California, 2019 and 2020 (ver. 2.0, February 2022)
Comma-separated values (.csv) file containing data related to mercury in fishes collected from Clear Lake, California.Geochemical data including mercury for subsamples of deep cores from the Cache Creek Settling Basin, Yolo County, California
Sediment cores were collected in the Cache Creek Settling Basin (CCSB), Yolo County, California, during October 2011 at 10 locations (borehole sites) and during August 2012 at 5 other locations. Total core depths ranged from approximately 4.6 to 13.7 meters (15 to 45 feet), with penetration to about 9.1 meters (30 feet) at most locations. Detailed subsampling (3-centimeter intervals) was done at tThe Geochemistry of Mercury and Other Constituents in Redox Manipulated Sediment cores from Clear Lake, Lake County, California
Clear Lake, located within the Coast Range west of California's Central Valley, is the largest natural freshwater lake contained fully within the state and geologically is considered to be the oldest lake in North America. Clear Lake is popular for recreation and provides critical habitat to a wide variety of fish and bird species. Water quality in Clear Lake is degraded by both by mercury contami - Multimedia
PubTalk 7/2018— Extreme acid mine drainage at Iron Mountain CaliforniaPubTalk 7/2018— Extreme acid mine drainage at Iron Mountain CaliforniaPubTalk 7/2018— Extreme acid mine drainage at Iron Mountain California
Title: Iron Mountain, California: An Extreme Acid Mine Drainage Environment
Title: Iron Mountain, California: An Extreme Acid Mine Drainage Environment
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A call for strategic water-quality monitoring to advance assessment and prediction of wildfire impacts on water supplies
Wildfires pose a risk to water supplies in the western U.S. and many other parts of the world, due to the potential for degradation of water quality. However, a lack of adequate data hinders prediction and assessment of post-wildfire impacts and recovery. The dearth of such data is related to lack of funding for monitoring extreme events and the challenge of measuring the outsized hydrologic and eAuthorsSheila F. Murphy, Charles N. Alpers, Chauncey W. Anderson, John R. Banta, Johanna Blake, Kurt D. Carpenter, Gregory D. Clark, David W. Clow, Laura A. Hempel, Deborah A. Martin, Michael Meador, Gregory Mendez, Anke Mueller-Solger, Marc A. Stewart, Sean E. Payne, Cara L. Peterman-Phipps, Brian A. EbelDiscovery and potential ramifications of reduced iron-bearing nanoparticles — Magnetite, wüstite, and zero-valent iron — In wildland–urban interface fire ashes
The increase in fires at the wildland–urban interface has raised concerns about the potential environmental impact of ash remaining after burning. Here, we examined the concentrations and speciation of iron-bearing nanoparticles in wildland–urban interface ash. Total iron concentrations in ash varied between 4 and 66 mg g−1. Synchrotron X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy ofAuthorsMohammed Baalousha, Morgane Desmau, Sheryl A. Singerling, Jackson P. Webster, Sandrine Matiasek, Michelle A. Stern, Charles N. AlpersEffects of montane watershed development on vulnerability of domestic groundwater supply during drought
Climate change is expected to reduce recharge to montane aquifers in the western United States, but it is unclear how this will impact groundwater resources in watersheds where intensive surface-water development has disrupted the natural hydrologic regime. To better understand sources of recharge and associated vulnerabilities of groundwater supply in this setting, we made a detailed geochemicalAuthorsZeno Levy, Miranda S. Fram, Kirsten Faulkner, Charles N. Alpers, Evelyn M Soltero, Kimberly A. TaylorFormation and prevention of pipe scale from acid mine drainage at Iron Mountain and Leviathan Mines, California, USA
Pipelines carrying acid mine drainage (AMD) to treatment plants commonly form pipe scale, an Fe(III)-rich precipitate that forms inside the pipelines and requires periodic and costly cleanout and maintenance. Pipelines at Iron Mountain Mine (IMM) and Leviathan Mine (LM) in California carry acidic water from mine sources to a treatment plant and have developed pipe scale. Samples of scale and AMDAuthorsKate M. Campbell, Charles N. Alpers, D. Kirk NordstromQuantifying erosion rates by using terrestrial laser scanning at Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park, Nevada County, California, 2014–17
The abandoned hydraulic mine pit at Malakoff Diggins near Grass Valley, California, can produce large volumes of eroded sediment transportable by storm runoff. Sediment-laden water discharged from the pit is a major source of heavy metals to Humbug Creek and the South Yuba River. To develop a comprehensive sediment budget for the Malakoff Diggins mine pit and identify sources of sediment and metalAuthorsJames F. Howle, Charles N. Alpers, Alfred J. Ward, Sandra Bond, Jennifer A. CurtisQuantifying the eroded and deposited mass of mercury-contaminated sediment by using terrestrial laser scanning at the confluence of Humbug Creek and the South Yuba River, Nevada County, California, 2011–13
High-resolution, terrestrial laser scanning, also known as ground-based lidar (light detection and ranging), was used to quantify the volume of mercury-contaminated sediment eroded from an outcrop of historical placer-mining debris at the confluence of Humbug Creek and the South Yuba River in the Sierra Nevada foothills, about 17 kilometers northeast of Grass Valley, California, and delivered to aAuthorsJames F. Howle, Charles N. Alpers, Jeffrey Kitchen, Gerald W. Bawden, Sandra BondPFHydro: A new watershed-scale model for post-fire runoff simulation
Runoff increases after wildfires that burn vegetation and create a condition of soil-water repellence (SWR). A new post-fire watershed hydrological model, PFHydro, was created to explicitly simulate vegetation interception and SWR effects for four burn severity categories: high, medium, low severity and unburned. The model was applied to simulate post-fire runoff from the Upper Cache Creek WatershAuthorsJun Wang, Michelle A. Stern, Vanessa M. King, Charles N. Alpers, Nigel W. T. Quinn, Alan L. Flint, Lorraine E. FlintGeochemical data for water, streambed sediment, and fish tissue from the Sierra Nevada Mercury Impairment Project, 2011–12
This report presents geochemical data for surface water, streambed sediment, and fish tissue samples collected during low-flow conditions in 20 to 24 Sierra Nevada streams during 2011 and 2012. The dataset is part of a larger study designed to assess the factors that control mercury concentrations in fish tissue and to develop a model that predicts mercury concentration in the tissue of selected fAuthorsElizabeth B. Stumpner, Charles N. Alpers, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Jennifer L. Agee, Evangelos Kakouros, Michelle R. Arias, Le H. Kieu, David A. Roth, Darrell G. Slotton, Jacob A. FleckGeochemistry of mercury and other constituents in subsurface sediment—Analyses from 2011 and 2012 coring campaigns, Cache Creek Settling Basin, Yolo County, California
Cache Creek Settling Basin was constructed in 1937 to trap sediment from Cache Creek before delivery to the Yolo Bypass, a flood conveyance for the Sacramento River system that is tributary to the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. Sediment management options being considered by stakeholders in the Cache Creek Settling Basin include sediment excavation; however, that could expose sediments containing eAuthorsMichelle R. Arias, Charles N. Alpers, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Christopher C. Fuller, Jennifer L. Agee, Michelle Sneed, Andrew Y. Morita, Antonia SalasChallenges in recovering resources from acid mine drainage
Metal recovery from mine waters and effluents is not a new approach but one that has occurred largely opportunistically over the last four millennia. Due to the need for low-cost resources and increasingly stringent environmental conditions, mine waters are being considered in a fresh light with a designed, deliberate approach to resource recovery often as part of a larger water treatment evaluatiAuthorsD. Kirk Nordstrom, Robert J. Bowell, Kate M. Campbell, Charles N. AlpersArsenic and mercury contamination related to historical goldmining in the Sierra Nevada, California
Arsenic (As) is a naturally occurring constituent in low-sulphide gold-quartz vein deposits, the dominant deposit type for lode mines in the Sierra Nevada Foothills (SNFH) gold (Au) province of California. Concentrations of naturally occurring mercury (Hg) in the SNFH Au province are low, but extensive use and loss of elemental Hg during amalgamation processing of ore from lode and placer Au deposAuthorsCharles N. Alpers - News