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The heavy metal contamination of Lake Junín National Reserve, Peru: An unintended consequence of the juxtaposition of hydroelectricity and mining

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dc.contributor.author Rodbell, Donald T.
dc.contributor.author Delman, Erin M.
dc.contributor.author Abbott, Mark B.
dc.contributor.author Besonen, Mark T.
dc.contributor.author Tapia Pedro M.
dc.date.accessioned 2020-06-10T18:11:29Z
dc.date.available 2020-06-10T18:11:29Z
dc.date.issued 2014
dc.identifier.uri https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12866/7955
dc.description.abstract Hydraulic engineering is increasingly relied upon to provide the necessary dry-season discharge for Peru's hydroelectricity generation. Redirecting stream flow can yield unintended consequences, however, and here we document the wholesale contamination of the Lake Junín National Reserve by acid mine drainage from the Cerro de Pasco mining district. Since construction of the Upamayo Dam in 1932, the Río (river) San Juan, which drains the Cerro de Pasco region, has been seasonally redirected into Lake Junín. As a result, the upper several decimeters of sediment in the lake contain peak concentrations of Cu, Zn, and Pb of ̃6000 ppm, ̃50,000 ppm, and ̃2000 ppm, respectively, with the latter two greatly exceeding the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limits for the entire 150 km2 lake basin. That the source of the contamination to Lake Junín is acid mine drainage from Cerro de Pasco is supported by spatial gradients in metal concentrations, authigenic calcite (marl) concentrations, and the isotopic record of Junín water. Today, the upper 50 cm of sediment in Lake Junín contain ̃60,400, 897,600, and 40,900 metric tons of Cu, Zn, and Pb, respectively, which is equivalent to ̃5.1 years' worth of Zn extraction and ̃0.7 years' worth of Pb extraction from mining operations at Cerro de Pasco at current rates. en_US
dc.language.iso eng
dc.publisher Geological Society of America
dc.relation.ispartofseries GSA Today
dc.rights info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.es
dc.subject acid mine drainage en_US
dc.subject Cerro de Pasco en_US
dc.subject heavy metal en_US
dc.subject hydroelectric power en_US
dc.subject Junin National Reserve en_US
dc.subject lacustrine deposit en_US
dc.subject Lake Junin en_US
dc.subject lake pollution en_US
dc.subject mining en_US
dc.subject national park en_US
dc.subject Pasco en_US
dc.subject Peru en_US
dc.subject sediment pollution en_US
dc.title The heavy metal contamination of Lake Junín National Reserve, Peru: An unintended consequence of the juxtaposition of hydroelectricity and mining en_US
dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.identifier.doi https://doi.org/10.1130/GSATG200A.1
dc.subject.ocde https://purl.org/pe-repo/ocde/ford#1.05.06
dc.relation.issn 1943-2690


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