Abstract
Sandy Run (Vinton County, southeastern Ohio, USA) is a stream receiving acid mine drainage (AMD) from an abandoned coal mine complex. This stream has been dammed to form Lake Hope. The heavy metal composition of waters (benthic and pore), sediments, and macroinvertebrates in the lake reservoir sediments were analyzed. Lake waters contained Mn as the heavy metal present in higher concentrations followed by Fe, Al, and Zn. Depletion of Fe and Al occurred from precipitation of less soluble Fe and Al oxides and hydroxides along Sandy Run before entering the lake, producing a high Mn water input into the reservoir. Concentrations of heavy metals in the sediments increased toward the dam area. Sequential extraction of metals in the sediments showed that the highest fractions of metals corresponded to the detrital fraction or eroded material from the watershed and metals associated with iron and manganese hydroxides. Heavy metals in the organic sediment fraction were low. Heavy metals from the AMD source, as well as sediments rich in heavy metals eroded from the watershed, were transported to the downstream dam area and stored at the bottom, producing the observed chemistry. Heavy metals in benthic waters also were sourced from the diffusion of ions from sediments and lake waters as variation in pH and redox conditions determined the flux at the sediment–water interface. Metal concentrations were measured within two deposit feeders, oligochaetes and chironomids, and compared to trends in physical metal concentration across the lake. For the four heavy metals with higher concentration in both benthic animals, the concentrations followed the trend: Fe > Al > Mn > Zn, which were similar to the bioavailable metals in the sediments rather than the pore or the benthic water where Mn was the most abundant heavy metal. Ingestion of sediment, not exposure to pore or benthic waters, appeared to be the main transfer mechanism for metals into the biota. Trends and patterns in animal metal concentrations across the lake were probably a complex process controlled by metabolic needs and metallic regulation and tolerance. Even when Mn was the highest concentration heavy metal in the pore waters, it was the lowest to bioconcentrate in the organisms. In comparison, Cd, the lowest concentration metal in the sediments, presented one of the highest bioaccumulation factors.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adriano, D. C. (2001). Trace elements in terrestrial environments: Biogeochemistry, bioavailability, and risks of metals (p. 866). New York: Springer-Verlag.
Bendell-Young, L., & Harvey, H. H. (1992). The relative importance of manganese and iron oxides and organic matter in the sorption of trace metals by surficial lake sediments. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 56, 1175–1186.
Benson, W. H., Alberts, J. J., Allen, H. E., Hunt, C. D., & Newman, M. C. (1994). Synopsis of discussion session on the bioavailability of inorganic contaminants. In J. L. Hamelink, P. F. Landrum, & H. L. Bergman (Eds.), Bioavailability: Physical, chemical, and biological interactions (pp. 63–71). Boca Raton: Lewis Publishers.
Berg, M. B. (1995). Larval food and feeding behavior. In P. D. Armitage, P. S. Cranston, & L. C. V. Pinder (Eds.), The chironomidae: Biology and ecology of non-biting midges (pp. 136–168). London: Chapman & Hall.
Bervoets, L., Blust, R., de Wit, M., & Verheyen, R. (1997). Relationships between river sediment characteristics and trace metal concentrations in tubificid worms and chironomid larvae. Environmental Pollution, 95, 345–356.
Bervoets, L., Solis, D., Romero, A. M., Van Damme, P. A., & Ollevier, F. (1998). Trace metal levels in chironomid larvae and sediments from a Bolivian river: Impact of mining activities. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 41, 275–283.
Brinkhurst, R. O., & Cook, D. G. (1974). Aquatic earthworms (Annelida: Oligochaeta). In C. W. Hart Jr. & S. L. H. Fuller (Eds.), Pollution ecology of freshwater invertebrates (pp. 143–156). New York: Academic.
Butler, T. W., II. (2006). Geochemical and biological controls in trace metal transport in an acid mine impacted watershed. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 28, 231–241.
Chapman, P. M., Churchland, L. M., Thomson, P. A., & Michnowsky, E. (1980). Heavy metal studies with oligochaetes. In R. O. Brinkhurst & D. G. Cook (Eds.), Aquatic oligochaete biology (pp. 477–502). New York: Plenum Press.
Cole, G. A. (1994). Textbook of limnology (4th ed., p. 412). Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, Inc.
Davis, R. B. (1974). Stratigraphic effects of tubificids in profundal lake sediments. Limnology and Oceanography, 19, 466–488.
Dills, G., & Rogers, D. T., Jr. (1974). Macroinvertebrate community structure as an indicator of acid mine pollution. Environmental Pollution, 6, 239–262.
Donoghue, J. F., Ragland, P. C., Chen, Z. Q., & Trimble, C. A. (1998). Standardization of metal concentrations in sediments using regression residuals: An example from a large lake in Florida, USA. Environmental Geology, 36, 65–76.
Drever, J. I. (1997). The geochemistry of natural waters (3rd ed., p. 436). New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River.
Fisher, J. B., Lick, W. J., McCall, P. L., & Robbins, J. A. (1980). Vertical mixing of lake sediments by Tubificid Oligochaetes. J Geophys Res, 85C, 3997–4006.
Flores-Tena, F. J., & Martínez-Tabche, L. (2001). The effect of chromium on the hemoglobin concentration of Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri (Oligochaeta: Tubificidae). Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 50, 196–202.
Freeze, R. A., & Cherry, J. A. (1979). Groundwater (p. 604). New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River.
Gleyzes, C., Tellier, S., & Astruc, M. (2002). Fractionation studies of trace elements in contaminated soils and sediments: A review of sequential extraction procedures. Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 21, 451–467.
Gunn, A. M., Winnard, D. A., & Hunt, D. T. E. (1988). Trace metal speciation in sediments and soils. In J. R. Kramer & H. E. Allen (Eds.), Metal speciation: Theory, analysis, and application (pp. 261–294). Chelsea, MI: Lewis Publishers.
Han, F. X., Hargreaves, J. A., Kingery, W. L., Hugget, D. B., & Schlenk, D. K. (2001). Accumulation, distribution, and toxicity of copper in sediments of catfish ponds receiving periodic copper sulfate applications. Journal of Environmental Quality, 30, 912–919.
Harris, E. F. (1973). Feasibility study, Lake Hope Mine Drainage Demonstration Project 14010 HJQ. US Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Protection Technology Series, EPA-R2-73-151. 97 pp.
Hem, J. D., & Skougstad, M. W. (1960). Coprecipitation effects in solutions containing ferrous, ferric, and cupric ions. Chemistry of iron in natural water. Geological survey water-supply paper 1459-E. Washington: United States Government Printing Office.
Horowitz, A. J. (1991). A primer on sediment-trace element chemistry (2nd ed., p. 136). Chelsea, MI: Lewis Publishers, Inc.
Hughes, M. L. (1999). The impact of acid mine drainage on the hydrogeochemistry of the Lake Hope Watershed, Vinton Co., Ohio. M.S. Thesis, Ohio University. 111 pp.
Kersten, M., & Förstner, U. (1995). Speciation of trace metals in sediments and combustion waste. In A. M. Ure & C. M. Davidson (Eds.), Chemical speciation in the environment (pp. 234–275). New York: Blackie Academic & Professional.
Kimball, B. A., Callender, E., & Axtmann, E. V. (1995). Effects of colloids on metal transport in a river receiving acid mine drainage, upper Arkansas River, Colorado, U.S.A. Applied Geochemistry, 10, 285–306.
Kleinmann, R. L. P., Allwes, R. A., Jeran, P. W., Jones, P. M., Matetic, R. J., & Statnick, R. (1995). Environmental issues of the Appalachian coal region. Mining Engineering, 4, 1120–1123.
Klerks, P. L., & Bartholomew, P. R. (1991). Cadmium accumulation and detoxification in a Cd-resistant population of the oligochaete Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri. Aquatic Toxicology, 19, 97–112.
Klerks, P. L., & Levinton, J. S. (1989). Rapid evolution of metal resistance in a benthic oligochaete inhabiting a metal-polluted site. Biological Bulletin, 176, 135–141.
Knox, A. S., Paller, M. H., Nelson, F. A., Specht, W. L., Halverton, N. V., & Gladden, J. B. (2006). Metal distribution and stability in constructed wetland sediment. Journal of Environmental Quality, 35, 1948–1959.
Krauskopf, K. B., & Bird, D. K. (1995). Introduction to geochemistry (3rd ed., p. 640). New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
Langston, W. J., & Spence, S. K. (1995). Biological factors involved in metal concentrations observed in aquatic organisms. In A. Tessier & D. R. Turner (Eds.), Metal speciation and bioavailability in aquatic systems (pp. 407–477). New York: Wiley.
Lerman, A. (1988). Geochemical processes—water and sediment environments. Wiley Interscience, New York. 480 pp. Reprint edition, Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, Fla., 481 pp.
Li, Y. H., & Gregory, S. (1974). Diffusion of ions in seawater and in deep-sea sediments. Geochemica et Cosmochimica Acta, 38, 703–714.
Lind, C. J., & Hem, J. D. (1996). Manganese and iron oxide deposits and trace metal associations in stream sediments, Pinal Creek Basin, Arizona. In J. G. Brown, B. Favor (Eds.), Hydrology and geochemistry of aquifer and stream contamination related to acidic water in pinal creek near globe Arizona (pp. 81–103). US Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2466
MacDonald, D. D., Ingersoll, C. G., & Berger, T. A. (2000). Development and evaluation of consensus-based sediment quality guidelines for freshwater ecosystems. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 39, 20–31.
Marple, M. F. (1954). The geology of Lake Hope State Park (p. 30). Columbus, OH: Division of geological survey information circular No. 13, Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Martínez, D. E., & Levinton, J. (1996). Adaptation to heavy metals in the aquatic oligochaete Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri: evidence for control by one gene. Evolution, 50, 1339–1343.
Matisoff, G. (1995). Effects of bioturbation on solute and particle transport in sediments. In H. E. Allen (Ed.), Metal contaminated aquatic sediments (pp. 201–272). Chelsea MI: Ann Arbor Press.
Mattuck, R., & Nikolaidis, N. P. (1996). Chromium mobility in freshwater wetlands. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 23, 213–232.
Maynard, J. B. (2003). Manganiferous sediments, rocks, and ores. Treatise in Geochemistry, 7, 289–308.
McBride, M. B. (1994). Environmental chemistry of soils (p. 406). New York: Oxford University Press.
McCall, P. L., & Fisher, J. B. (1980). Affects of tubificid oligochaetes on physical and chemical properties of the Lake Erie sediments. In R. O. Brinkhurst & D. G. Cook (Eds.), Aquatic oligochaete biology (pp. 253–318). New York: Plenum Press.
McCall, P. L., & Tevesz, M. J. S. (1982). The effects of benthos on physical properties of freshwater sediments. In P. L. McCall & M. J. S. Tevesz (Eds.), Animal-sediment relations: The biogenic alteration of sediments (pp. 105–176). New York: Plenum Press.
Morris, G. L., & Fan, J. (1998). Reservoir sedimentation handbook. Design and management of dams, reservoirs, and watersheds for sustainable use. In Chapter 10: Sediment deposits in reservoirs (pp. 10.1–10.42). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Newman, M. C. (1996). Measuring metals and metalloids in water, sediments, and biological tissues. In G. K. Ostrander (Ed.), Techniques in aquatic toxicology (pp. 493–516). Boca Raton, FL: Lewis Publishers.
Ng, T. Y.-T., & Wood, C. M. (2008). Trophic transfer and dietary toxicity of Cd from the oligochaete to the rainbow trout. Aquatic Toxicology, 87, 47–59.
NYSDEC. (1999). Technical guidance for screening contaminated sediments. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Fish, Wildlife, and Marine Resources. 39 pp.
OEPA. (1992). Ohio water resource inventory, volume 3: Ohio's public lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. Columbus, OH: Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. 24 pp.
Orciari, R. D., & Hummon, W. D. (1975). A comparison of benthic oligochaete populations in acid and neutral lentic environments in southeastern Ohio. Ohio Journal of Science, 75, 44–49.
Pigati, E., & López, D. L. (1999). Effect of subsidence on recharge at abandoned coal mines generating acidic drainage: The Majestic Mine, Athens County, Ohio. Mine Waters and the Environment, 18, 45–66.
Potter, P. E., Maynard, J. B., & Depetris, P. J. (2005). Mud and mudstones (p. 297). Berlin: Springer.
Power, E. A., & Chapman, P. M. (1992). Assessing sediment quality. In G. A. Burton Jr. (Ed.), Sediment toxicity assessment (pp. 1–18). Ann Arbor, MI: Lewis Publishers, Inc.
Prim, D. L. (1999). The effect of acid mine drainage on sedimentation processes and water quality at Lake Hope, Lake Hope State Park, Vinton County, Ohio. M.S. Thesis, Athens: Ohio University. 158 pp.
Radwan, S., Kowalik, W., & Kornijow, R. (1990). Accumulation of heavy metals in a lake ecosystem. Science of the Total Environment, 96, 121–129.
Reinhold, J. O., Hendricks, A. J., Slager, L. K., & Ohm, M. (1999). Transfer of microcontaminants from sediment to chironomids, and the risk for the Pond bat Myotis dasycneme (Chiroptera) preying on them. Aquatic Ecology, 33, 363–376.
Reuther, R. (1999). Trace metal speciation in aquatic sediments: methods, benefits, and limitations. In A. Mudroch, J. M. Azcue, & P. Mudroch (Eds.), Manual of bioassessment of aquatic sediment quality (pp. 1–54). New York: CRC Press.
Reynolds, S. A. (1999). Sedimentation and contaminants in O'Shaughnessy and Griggs Reservoirs, Scioto River, Delaware and Franklin Counties, Ohio. M.S. Thesis, Athens: Ohio State University. 175 pp.
Roback, S. S. (1974). Insects (Arthropoda: Insecta). In C. W. Hart Jr. & S. L. H. Fuller (Eds.), Pollution ecology of freshwater invertebrates (pp. 313–376). New York: Academic.
Roesijadi, G., & Robinson, W. E. (1994). Metal regulation in aquatic animals: Mechanisms of uptake, accumulation, and release. In D. C. Malins & G. K. Ostrander (Eds.), Aquatic toxicology. Molecular, biochemical, and cellular perspectives (pp. 387–420). Boca Raton: Lewis Publishers.
Sager, M., & Pucsko, R. (1991). Trace element concentrations of oligochaetes and relations to sediment characteristics in the reservoir at Altenwörth/Austria. Hydrobiologia, 226, 39–49.
Stout, W. (1927). Geology of Vinton County. Bulletin 31 (p. 402). Columbus, OH: Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey.
Stumm, W., & Morgan, J. J. (1996). Aquatic chemistry (3rd ed., p. 1040). New York: Wiley Interscience.
Swan, A. R. H., & Sandilands, M. (1995). Introduction to geological data analysis (p. 446). Oxford: Blackwell Science.
Tessier, A., & Campbell, P. G. C. (1988). Partitioning of trace metals in sediments. In J. Kramer & H. E. Allen (Eds.), Metal speciation: Theory, analysis, and application (pp. 183–199). Chelsea, Michigan: Lewis Publishers, Inc.
Tessier, A., Campbell, P. G. C., & Bisson, M. (1979). Sequential extraction procedure for the speciation of particulate trace metals. Analytical Chemistry, 51, 844–851.
Timmermans, K. R., Peeters, W., & Tonkes, M. (1992). Cadmium, zinc, lead, and copper in Chironomus riparius (Meigen) larvae (Diptera, Chironomidae): Uptake and effects. Hydrobiologia, 241, 119–134.
Timmermans, K. R., Van Hattum, B., Kraak, M. H. S., & Davids, C. (1989). Trace metals in a littoral food web: Concentrations in organisms, sediment, and water. Science of the Total Environment, 87(88), 477–494.
Timmermans, K. R., Van Hattum, B., Peeters, W., & Davids, K. (1991). Trace metals in the benthic habitat of the Maarsseveen Lakes System, the Netherlands. Hydrobiology Bulletin, 24, 153–164.
Tobin, R., & Youger, J. D. (1977). Limnology of selected Lakes in Ohio-1975. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 77–105. 205 pp.
USEPA. (1995). EPA Method 3050B: Acid digestion of sediments, sludges, and soils. In SW-846: Test methods for evaluating solid waste, physical/chemical methods.
Van Damme, P. A., Hamel, C., Ayala, A., & Bervoets, L. (2008). Macroinvertebrate community response to acid mine drainage in rivers of the High Andes (Bolivia). Environmental Pollution, 156, 1061–1068.
Van Ryssen, R., Leermakers, M., & Baeyens, W. (1999). The mobilization potential of trace metals in aquatic sediments as a tool for sediment quality classification. Environmental Science and Policy, 2, 75–86.
Verplanck, P. L., Nordstrom, D. K., & Kimball, B. A. (2000). Behavior of iron and aluminum colloids and the attenuation of metals in a stream receiving acid mine drainage, Boulder, Montana. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 32(7), A-78.
Webster, J. G., Swedlund, P. J., & Webster, K. S. (1998). Trace metal absorption onto an acid mine drainage iron (III) oxy hydroxy sulfate. Environmental Science and Technology, 32, 1361–1368.
Wetzel, R. G. (2001). Limnology: Lakes and river ecosystems (p. 1006). New York: Academic.
Young, T. C., Waltman, M. R., Theis, T. L., & DePinto, J. V. (1992). Studies of heavy metal sorption by trenton channel (Detroit River) sediments. Hydrobiologia, 235(236), 649–660.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by a Baker grant from Ohio University.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
López, D.L., Gierlowski-Kordesch, E. & Hollenkamp, C. Geochemical Mobility and Bioavailability of Heavy Metals in a Lake Affected by Acid Mine Drainage: Lake Hope, Vinton County, Ohio. Water Air Soil Pollut 213, 27–45 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0364-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0364-6