Source, Transport, and Partitioning of
Metals between Water, Colloids, and Bed Sediments
of the Animas River, Colorado
By S.E. Church1, B.A. Kimball2, D.L. Fey1,
D.A. Ferderer1,T.J. Yager3, and R.B. Vaughn1
U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 97-0151
1U.S. Geological Survey, P.O. Box 25046, MS 973, Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225
2U.S. Geological Survey, 1745 West 1700 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84104
3U.S. Geological Survey, P.O. Box 25046, MS 415, Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225
This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with
U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards.
Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only
and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
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Table of Contents
| Executive Summary |
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| Introduction |
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| Summary of Acid-Mine Drainage Studies in Other Areas |
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| Study Objectives |
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| The Animas River Watershed |
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| Previous Geochemical Work |
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| Field Sampling |
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| Water and Colloids |
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| Stream Sediments |
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| Results from Water and Colloid Data |
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| Synoptic Sampling of Water and Colloids, October 1995 |
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| Aluminum |
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| Cadmium |
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| Copper |
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| Iron |
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| Manganese |
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| Strontium |
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| Zinc |
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| Arsenic, Mercury, and Selenium |
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| High-flow Sampling of Water and Colloids, Spring, 1996 |
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| Dissolved Versus Colloidal Transport |
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| Manganese |
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| Iron and Aluminum |
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| Copper |
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| Zinc |
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| Comparison of Metal Loads During Low Flow and Snowmelt Runoff |
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| Results from the Stream-Sediment Data |
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| Mineral Creek Drainage Basin |
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| Arsenic |
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| Cobalt |
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| Copper |
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| Lead |
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| Strontium |
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| Zinc |
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| Vanadium |
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| Lead-isotopic Data |
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| Cement Creek Drainage Basin |
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| Arsenic |
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| Cobalt |
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| Copper |
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| Lead |
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| Strontium |
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| Zinc |
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| Vanadium |
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| Lead-isotopic data |
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| Animas River Drainage Basin Upstream from Silverton |
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| Arsenic |
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| Cobalt |
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| Copper |
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| Lead |
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| Strontium |
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| Zinc |
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| Vanadium |
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| Lead-isotopic data |
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| Animas River Drainage Basin: Silverton, Colorado to Aztec, New Mexico |
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| Arsenic |
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| Cobalt |
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| Copper |
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| Lead |
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| Strontium |
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| Zinc |
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| Vanadium |
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| Lead-isotopic data |
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| Metal transport from the La Plata Mining District |
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| Metals from the smelter sites south of Durango |
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| Urban metal signatures |
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| Selenium and mercury in bed sediments of the Animas River |
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| Undiscovered Mineral Resources in the Silverton Area |
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| Geochemical Signature of Colloidal Component in Water and Bed Sediments |
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| Comparison of the 1995 and 1996 Bed-Sediment Data |
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| Calculation of the Contribution to the Total Amount of Metal in Bed Sediments
from Various Sources |
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| Differential Sorbtion of Copper and Zinc by Colloids |
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| Summary and Conclusions |
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| References Cited |
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| Appendix I. Methods used to prepare regional sediment geochemical maps |
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| Appendix II. Analytical Methods |
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| Appendix III. Site Identifications, Field Data, and Major Ion Chemistry from Samples
from the Animas River Basin, 1995-96 |
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| Appendix IV. Metals in Water and Colloids from the Animas River Basin, 1995-96 |
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| Appendix V. HCl-H2O2 Data from Stream-Sediment Samples |
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| Appendix VI. Total Digestion Data from Stream-Sediment Samples |
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Appendix VII. Lead-isotopic Data from Selected Samples
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List of Figures |
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| Figure 1. Index map of southwest Colorado showing Animas River watershed |
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| Figure 2. Map of Animas River watershed showing topography and mines and prospects |
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| Figure 3. Geologic map of the Animas River watershed |
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| Figure 4. Structural map of the Silverton caldera |
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| Figure 5. Geochemical map of Animas River watershed showing distribution of calcium |
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| Figure 6. Geochemical map of Animas River watershed showing distribution of copper |
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| Figure 7. Geochemical map of Animas River watershed showing distribution of lead |
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| Figure 8. Geochemical map of Animas River watershed showing distribution of zinc |
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| Figure 9. Hydrograph of the Animas River below Silverton Oct. 1, 1994 to Oct. 1, 1996 |
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| Figure 10. Map of Animas River watershed showing localities of water samples
collected in Oct., 1995 |
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| Figure 11. Map of Animas River watershed showing localities of sediment samples
collected in Oct., 1995 |
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| Figure 12. Dissolved and colloidal manganese concentrations from water samples,
Oct., 1995 |
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| Figure 13. Dissolved and colloidal zinc concentrations from water samples,
Oct., 1995 |
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| Figure 14. Dissolved and colloidal iron concentrations from water samples,
Oct., 1995 |
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| Figure 15. Dissolved and colloidal aluminum concentrations from water samples,
Oct., 1995 |
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| Figure 16. Summary diagram of mass transfer of aluminum in mixing zones
downstream from Mineral and Cement Creeks |
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| Figure 17. Summary diagram of mass transfer of iron in mixing zones
downstream from Mineral and Cement Creeks |
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| Figure 18. Comparison of metal loads for aluminum, iron, zinc, cadmium, copper
and lead at low flow (Oct., 1995) and high flow (May-June, 1996) |
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| Figure 19. Ribbon map showing copper dispersion in Animas River,
Cement Creek, and Mineral Creek |
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| Figure 20. Ribbon map showing lead dispersion in Animas River,
Cement Creek, and Mineral Creek |
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| Figure 21. Ribbon map showing zinc dispersion in Animas River,
Cement Creek, and Mineral Creek |
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| Figure 22. Metal distribution profiles for Mineral Creek |
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| Figure 23. Lead-isotope distribution profile for Mineral Creek |
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| Figure 24. Metal distribution profiles for Cement Creek |
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| Figure 25. Lead-isotope distribution profile for Cement Creek |
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| Figure 26. Metal distribution profiles for Animas River upstream from Silverton |
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| Figure 27. Lead-isotope distribution profile for Animas River upstream from Silverton |
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| Figure 28. Metal distribution profiles for Animas River: Silverton, Colo. to Aztec, New Mexico |
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| Figure 29. Lead-isotope distribution profile for Animas River: Silverton to Aztec |
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| Figure 30. Distribution profiles for selenium and mercury, Animas River |
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| Figure 31. Downstream variation of the iron, aluminum, and copper to zinc ratios in
colloids and bed sediments in the Animas River: Silverton to Aztec |
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| Figure 32. Predicted sorbtion curves for metals by iron-hydroxides as a function of pH |
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| Figure 33. Lead-isotopic model for dilution of metals derived from Animas River watershed |
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| Figure 34. Normalized labile copper, lead, and zinc concentrations in bed sediments, Animas River |
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Figure A-II. Diagram showing process procedures for water and colloid samples
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List of Tables |
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| Table 1. Water quality standards for metals, Colorado |
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| Table 2. Lead-isotopic data from mineral deposits and mill sites, Silverton area |
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| Table 3. Semi-quantitative emission spectrographic data from heavy-mineral separates,Cunningham Creek and Animas River upstream from Howardsville |
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Table 4. Lead-isotope parameters for calculation of dilution of the metals in the
Animas River from Silverton
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List of Tables in Appendixes |
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| Table A-II. Replicate analytical results from NIST standard reference materials |
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| Table A-III. Site identifications, field data, and major ion chemistry for water from the
Animas River and major tributaries, 1995-1996 |
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| Table A-IV. Metals in water and colloids in the Animas River and tributaries, 1995-1996 |
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| Table A-V.1. Partial digestion (2M HCl-1%H2O2) data from sediments and other samples,
Animas River watershed, Oct., 1995 |
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| Table A-V.2. Partial digestion (2M HCl-1%H2O2) data from sediments and other samples,
Animas River watershed, Aug. and Oct., 1996 watershed, Oct., 1995 |
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| Table A-VI.2. Total digestion data from sediments and other samples, Animas River
watershed, Aug. and Oct., 1996 |
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| Table A-VII. Lead-isotopic data from sediments and other samples, Animas River
watershed, Oct., 1995 |
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