Philip L Verplanck

As part of a multidisciplinary project to determine the processes that control ground-water chemistry and flow in mineralized alpine environments, ground- and surface-water samples from Handcart Gulch, Colorado were collected for analysis of inorganic solutes and water and dissolved sulfate stable isotopes in selected samples. The primary aim of this study was to document variations in...

PREFACE This Open-File Report consists of a presentation given in Crested Butte, Colorado on December 13, 2007 to the Standard Mine Advisory Group. The presentation was paired with another presentation given by the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety on the physical features and geology of the Standard Mine. The presentation in this Open-File Report summarizes the...

The Boulder Creek Watershed, within the Front Range region of Colorado, is typical of many western watersheds because it is composed of a high-gradient upper reach mostly fed by snowmelt, a substantial change in gradient at the range front, and an urban corridor within the lower gradient section. A stream ecosystem within an urban landscape not only can provide water for municipal...

Ester Dome, an upland area near Fairbanks, Alaska, was chosen for a detailed hydrogeochemical study because of the previously reported elevated arsenic in groundwater, and the presence of a large set of wells amenable to detailed sampling. Ester Dome lies within the Fairbanks mining district, where gold-bearing quartz veins, typically containing 2–3 vol.% sulfide minerals (arsenopyrite...

The goal of this study is to compare and contrast the leachability of metals and the acidity from individual mine waste-rock piles and natural erosional scars in the study area near Questa, New Mexico. Surficial multi-increment (composite) samples less than 2 millimeters in diameter from five waste-rock piles, nine erosional-scar areas, a less-altered site, and a tailings slurry-pipe...

Recent interdisciplinary studies by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have resulted in substantial progress in understanding the processes that control * the release of metals and acidic waters from inactive mines and mineralized areas, * the transport of metals and acidic waters to streams, and * the fate and effect of metals and acidity on downstream ecosystems.