Evaluation of mining decommissioning strategies on catchment hydrology

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Lompi ◽  
Tommaso Pacetti ◽  
Enrica Caporali
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Mining Activity ◽  
Catchment Scale ◽  
Environmental Interventions ◽  
Mining Areas ◽  
Lignite Mine ◽  
Solid Transport

<p>Sediment management can represent a key point for the water resources conservation, as the land use control can limit soil erodibility, ensuring a reduction of the silting volume in the reservoir. This study is focused on the nexus between coal mining activity and the hydrological cycle at the catchment scale, analysing how environmental interventions can be an excellent strategy against the impacts of former mining areas. Lake San Cipriano represents an excellent case study to explore the effects of mining activity on water storage because it is downstream of a river basin in which one of the most important lignite mine in central Italy has worked for years. A hydrological model is implemented on the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to choose which decommissioning strategies brings the best results in terms of water resource conservation. Since no flow data are available, the model is calibrated in the solid transport equations, pointing to the convergence of the silting volume in the lake, which has been estimated thanks to multiple bathymetric campaigns carried out over the years. Two environmental restoration scenarios have been analysed: the first is only focused in the land use change with the afforestation of native plants; the second is a wider landscape restoration project that include also river bodies rehabilitation. The results show the quantitative effects of the proposed decommissioning strategies, showing the strong reduction of solid transport and reservoir silting in the two proposed scenarios.</p>

A catchment-based approach to recharge estimation in the Liverpool Plains, NSW, Australia

2006 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 309 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Sun ◽  
P. S. Cornish
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Point Scale ◽  
Catchment Scale ◽  
Crop Models ◽  
Scale Models ◽  
Catchment Model ◽  
Catchment Runoff

This study investigated drainage and shallow groundwater change in a headwater catchment of the Liverpool Plains in north-western New South Wales. A catchment model, SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool), was used to explore rain-fed drainage to shallow groundwater and its relationship to land use. Drainage was predicted along with the prediction of runoff on a catchment and land-use basis over a simulation period of 44 years. Predicted drainage in the catchment was 8 mm/year for the 44 years, which essentially matched estimates derived from bore data observed in the catchment over a 22-year period. These estimates of drainage are much lower than published estimates based on scaling up to the catchment using estimates of drainage derived from point-scale models for different land uses. Estimates of drainage for the different land uses, derived from the catchment model, were also generally lower than simulated drainages from other studies in the area using point-scale models. The investigation demonstrates a place for catchment-based modelling for estimating drainage at the catchment scale. This is mainly because observed catchment runoff is used as an error controller in catchment recharge modelling, whereas scaled-up point-scale modelling generally does not use observed catchment runoff to derive the catchment drainage. Modelling on the Liverpool Plains catchment also suggests that some of the drainage entering the vadose zone and groundwater is later lost via evapotranspiration, a process not generally simulated in crop models, and requiring further investigation to improve understanding of recharge processes and accuracy of modelling.

Analysis of mine sites restoration strategies for soil and water resources protection

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tommaso Pacetti ◽  
Marco Lompi ◽  
Enrica Caporali
Keyword(s):  
Flood Control ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Sediment Management ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Water Yield ◽  
Strong Reduction ◽  
Mining Site ◽  
Lulc Changes

<p>Mine reclamation represents an important environmental challenge due to the necessity of identifying the appropriate restoration measures to handle landscape change and minimize the associated environmental impacts. Water management plays a key role for determining strategies to reduce these impacts, e.g. necessity of restoring natural drainage patterns, implementing flood control measures and restoring hydrological natural behaviour. Fundamental aspects are certainly represented by the runoff variation and the proper sediment management.</p><p>The objective of this study is to give quantitative evidence on the effectiveness of decommissioning strategies on water and sediment management. The selected case study is a former lignite mining site located in San Cipriano catchment (Tuscany, central Italy) that include a reservoir severely hit by silting problems. The Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to analyse current situation and to implement different LULC changes analysis. Since hydrometric gauge stations were not available in the catchment, the model calibration focused on sediment transport using observed silting volume in the reservoir, which has been estimated thanks to multiple bathymetric campaigns carried out over the years. Two environmental restoration scenarios have been analysed: the first is focused on the land use change with the afforestation of the former mining site with native plants; the second is a wider landscape restoration project that also includes river bodies rehabilitation.</p><p>Results highlight a strong reduction of sediment yield and a decrease in water yield associated to the restoration intervention. This is mainly due to the effects of reforestation that influence the hydrological cycle inducing an increase of water storage in the soil and determine a strong reduction of sediment input to the reservoir. The model results represent a valuable decision support tool that help understanding the hydrological impacts of LULC changes, supporting the identification of the most appropriate mining decommissioning strategies.</p>

scholarly journals Effects of Human Activities on Hydrological Components in the Yiluo River Basin in Middle Yellow River

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiujie Wang ◽  
Pengfei Zhang ◽  
Lüliu Liu ◽  
Dandan Li ◽  
Yanpeng Wang
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Delta Method ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Groundwater Exploitation ◽  
Hydrological Balance

Land use and land cover change (LUCC) and water resource utilization behavior and policy (WRUBAP) affect the hydrological cycle in different ways. Their effects on streamflow and hydrological balance components were analyzed in the Yiluo River Basin using the delta method and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The multivariable (runoff and actual evapotranspiration) calibration and validation method was used to reduce model uncertainty. LUCC impact on hydrological balance components (1976–2015) was evaluated through comparison of simulated paired land use scenarios. WRUBAP impact on runoff was assessed by comparing natural (simulated) and observed runoff. It showed that urban area reduction led to decreased groundwater, but increased surface runoff and increased water area led to increased evaporation. LUCC impact on annual runoff was found limited; for instance, the difference under the paired scenarios was <1 mm. Observed runoff was 34.7–144.1% greater than natural runoff during November–June because of WRUBAP. The effect of WRUBAP on wet season runoff regulation was limited before the completion of the Guxian Reservoir, whereas WRUBAP caused a reduction in natural runoff of 21.6–35.0% during the wet season (July–October) after its completion. The results suggest that WRUBAP has greater influence than LUCC on runoff in the Yiluo River Basin. Based on existing drought mitigation measures, interbasin water transfer measures and deep groundwater exploitation could reduce the potential for drought attributable to predicted future climate extremes. In addition to reservoir regulation, conversion of farmland to forestry in the upstream watershed could also reduce flood risk.

Assessing the impact of climate and land-use change on the hydrological response of the upper Betwa River basin

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Kumar ◽  
Kumar Gaurav
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Central India ◽  
Hydrological Response ◽  
Open Land ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Impact

&lt;p&gt;Climate and land-use change have altered the regional hydrological cycle. As a result, the mean summer monsoon rainfall has decreased by 10 % over central India during 1950-2015. This study evaluates the combined effect of climate and land-use change on the hydrological response of the upper Betwa River basin in Central India. We use Landsat satellite images from 1990 to 2018 to compute the changes in various land-use types; waterbody, built-up, forest, agriculture, and open land. In the past two decades, we found that the water body, built-up, and cropland have increased by 63 %, 65 %, and 3 %, respectively. However, forest and open land have decreased by 16 % and 23 %. Further, we observed a significant increase in annual average temperature and a decrease in the mean rainfall in the study area during 1980-2018.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We then coupled the land-use change with weather parameters (precipitation, temperature, wind speed, solar radiation, and relative humidity) and setup the SWAT (Soil and water assessment tool) model to simulate the hydrological responses in the catchment. We have run this model for two different time steps, 1980-2000 and 1998-2018, using the land-use of 1990 and 2018. Calibration and validation are performed for (1991-1994, 2000-2004) and (1995-1998, 2005-2008) respectively using SUFI-2 method. Our results show that the surface runoff and percolation decreased by -21 and -9 %, whereas evapotranspiration increased by 3 % in the upper Betwa River basin during 2001-2018. A decrease in rainfall, runoff, and percolation will have considerable implications on regional water security.&lt;/p&gt;

Ground motion detection in a salt solution mining area, an application of Multi-Temporal Satellite Interferometry

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Solari ◽  
Roberto Montalti ◽  
Anna Barra ◽  
Oriol Monserrat ◽  
Silvia Bianchini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ground Motion ◽  
Salt Solution ◽  
Underground Mining ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Mining Area ◽  
Mining Activity ◽  
Groundwater Depletion ◽  
Solution Mining ◽  
Mining Areas ◽  
Multi Temporal

&lt;p&gt;Subsurface mining is one of the human activities with the highest impact in terms of induced ground motion. The excavation of the mining layers creates a geotechnically and hydrogeologically unstable context. The generation of chimney collapses and sinkholes is the most evident surface consequence of underground mining which, in general, creates the optimal conditions for the development of subsidence bowls. Considering this, the need for ground motion monitoring tools is evident. Topographic measurements have been the obvious choice for many years. Nowadays, the flourishing of Multi-Temporal Satellite Interferometry (MTInSAR) algorithms and techniques offers a new way to measure ground motion in mining areas. MTInSAR fully covers the accuracy requirements asked by mining companies and authorities, adding new potentialities in term of area coverage and number of measurement points. The technique has some intrinsic limitations in mining areas, e.g. coherence loss, but the algorithms are being pushed to their technical limits in order to provide the best coverage and quality of measures.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This work presents a detailed scale MTInSAR approach designed to characterize ground deformation in the salt solution mining area of Saline di Volterra (Tuscany Region, central Italy). In summary, salt solution mining consists in the injection at the depth of interest of a dissolving fluid and in the extraction of the resultant saturated brine. In Saline di Volterra, this mining activity created ground motion, sinkholes and groundwater depletion. The MTInSAR processing approach used is based on the direct integration of interferograms derived from Sentinel-1 images and on the phase splitting between low and high frequency components. Phase unwrapping is separately performed for the two components that are then recombined to avoid error accumulation. Before generating the final deformation map, a classical atmospheric phase filtering is applied to remove the residual low frequency signal. The results obtained reveal the presence of several subsidence bowls, sometimes corresponding to sinkholes formed in the recent past. These moving areas register velocities up to -250 mm/yr with different spatial and temporal patterns according to the distribution and age of formation of sinkholes. This is the first time an interferometric analysis is performed here. It is hoped that such information could increase the awareness of local entities on the ground effects induced by this mining activity.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Quantifying the impacts of land use/land cover change on the water balance in the afforested River Basin, Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (19) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naeem Saddique ◽  
Talha Mahmood ◽  
Christian Bernhofer
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Water Yield ◽  
Catchment Scale ◽  
Snow Cover Area ◽  
Discharge Data ◽  
Basin Scale

Abstract Land use and land cover (LULC) change is one of the key driving elements responsible for altering the hydrology of a watershed. In this study, we investigated the spatio-temporal LULC changes between 2001 and 2018 and their impacts on the water balance of the Jhelum River Basin. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to analyze the impacts on water yield (WY) and evapotranspiration (ET). The model was calibrated and validated with discharge data between 1995 and 2005 and then simulated with different land use. The increase was observed in forest, settlement and water areas during the study period. At the catchment scale, we found that afforestation has reduced the WY and surface runoff, while enhanced the ET. Moreover, this change was more pronounced at the sub-basin scale. Some sub-basins, especially in the northern part of the study area, exhibited an increase in WY due to an increase in the snow cover area. Similarly, extremes land use scenarios also showed significant impact on water balance components. The basin WY has decreased by 38 mm/year and ET has increased about 36 mm/year. The findings of this study could guide the watershed manager in the development of sustainable LULC planning and water resources management.

scholarly journals An assessment of land use change impacts on the water resources of the Mula and Mutha Rivers catchment upstream of Pune, India

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 2233-2246 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. D. Wagner ◽  
S. Kumar ◽  
K. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Hydrologic Model ◽  
Water Yield ◽  
Catchment Scale ◽  
Basin Scale

Abstract. Land use changes are altering the hydrologic system and have potentially large impacts on water resources. Rapid socio-economic development drives land use change. This is particularly true in the case of the rapidly developing city of Pune, India. The present study aims at analyzing past land use changes between 1989 and 2009 and their impacts on the water balance in the Mula and Mutha Rivers catchment upstream of Pune. Land use changes were identified from three Rivers catchment multitemporal land use classifications for the cropping years 1989/1990, 2000/2001, and 2009/2010. The hydrologic model SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) was used to assess impacts on runoff and evapotranspiration. Two model runs were performed and compared using the land use classifications of 1989/1990 and 2009/2010. The main land use changes were identified as an increase of urban area from 5.1% to 10.1% and cropland from 9.7% to 13.5% of the catchment area during the 20 yr period. Urbanization was mainly observed in the eastern part and conversion to cropland in the mid-northern part of the catchment. At the catchment scale we found that the impacts of these land use changes on the water balance cancel each other out. However, at the sub-basin scale urbanization led to an increase of the water yield by up to 7.6%, and a similar decrease of evapotranspiration, whereas the increase of cropland resulted in an increase of evapotranspiration by up to 5.9%.

scholarly journals An assessment of land use change impacts on the water resources of the Mula and Mutha Rivers catchment upstream of Pune, India

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 1943-1985 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. D. Wagner ◽  
S. Kumar ◽  
K. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Hydrologic Model ◽  
Water Yield ◽  
Catchment Scale ◽  
Basin Scale

Abstract. Land use changes are altering the hydrologic system and have potentially large impacts on water resources. Rapid socio-economic development drives land use change. This is particularly true in the case of the rapidly developing city of Pune, India. The present study aims at analyzing past land use changes between 1989 and 2009 and their impacts on the water balance in the Mula and Mutha Rivers catchment upstream of Pune. Land use changes were identified from three multitemporal land use classifications for the cropping years 1989/1990, 2000/2001, and 2009/2010. The hydrologic model SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) was used to assess impacts on runoff and evapotranspiration. Two model runs were performed and compared using the land use classifications of 1989/1990 and 2009/2010. The main land use changes were identified as an increase of urban area from 5.1% to 10.1% and cropland from 9.7% to 13.5% of the catchment area during the 20 yr period. Urbanization was mainly observed in the eastern part and conversion to cropland in the mid-northern part of the catchment. At the catchment scale we found that the impacts of these land use changes on the water balance cancel each other. However, at the sub-basin scale urbanization led to an increase of the water yield by up to 7.6%, and a similar decrease of evapotranspiration, whereas the increase of cropland resulted in an increase of evapotranspiration by up to 5.9%.

scholarly journals Integrated Assessment of Climate Change and Land Use Change Impacts on Hydrology in the Kathmandu Valley Watershed, Central Nepal

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lamichhane ◽  
Shakya
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Satellite Image ◽  
Base Flow ◽  
Kathmandu Valley ◽  
Lulc Change ◽  
Central Nepal ◽  
Decadal Scale

The population growth and urbanization are rapidly increasing in both central and peripheral areas of the Kathmandu Valley (KV) watershed. Land use/cover (LULC) change and climate variability/change are exacerbating the hydrological cycle in the KV. This study aims to evaluate the extent of changes in hydrology due to changes in climate, LULC and integrated change considering both factors, with KV watershed in central Nepal as a case study. Historical LULC data were extracted from satellite image and future LULC are projected in decadal scale (2020 to 2050) using CLUE-S (the Conversion of Land Use and its Effects at Small regional contest) model. Future climate is projected based on three regional climate models (RCMs) and two representative concentration pathways (RCPs) scenarios, namely, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. A hydrological model in soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) was developed to simulate hydrology and analyze impacts in hydrology under various scenarios. The modeling results show that the river runoff for RCP4.5 scenarios is projected to increase by 37%, 21%, and 12%, respectively, for climate change only, LULC only, and integrated changes of both. LULC change resulted in an increase in average annual flow, however, a decrease in base-flow. Furthermore, the impacts of integrated changes in both LULC and climate is not a simple superposition of individual changes.

scholarly journals Impact of changes in land use in the flow of the Pará River Basin, MG

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evandro L. Rodrigues ◽  
Marcos A. T. Elmiro ◽  
Francisco de A. Braga ◽  
Claudia M. Jacobi ◽  
Rafael D. Rossi
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Semideciduous Forest ◽  
Cerrado Vegetation ◽  
The Impact

Plant cover plays an essential role in the maintenance and balance of the hydrological cycle, performing functions in the control of water availability, which guarantee flow permanence. The use of mathematical models is an alternative to represent the hydrological system and help in the understanding of phenomena involving the variables of the water cycle, in order to anticipate and predict impacts from potential changes in land use. In the present study, the hydrological model SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) was used to analyse the dynamics of flow and water flow in the Pará River Basin, Minas Gerais, Brazil, aiming to evaluate the impact caused by changes in land use in water availability. The adjusted model was assessed by the coefficient of efficiency of Nash-Sutcliffe (between -0.057 to -0.059), indicating high correlation and coefficient of residual mass (0.757 to 0.793) and therefore a satisfactory fit. An increase of about 10% in the basin flow was estimated, as a function of changes in land use, when simulating the removal of the original 'Cerrado' vegetation and of the seasonal semideciduous forest for pasture implementation in 38% of the basin.

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