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ETD Abstract Container

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Exploring Physical and Chemical Trends in a Chronosequence of Technosols

Smart, Kyle E
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8605-746X
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1626086766577196

Abstract Details

2021, MS, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Earth Sciences.
Prior to the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, mining activities produced vast amounts of untreated mine waste and overburden material. Surface contour mining techniques commonly proceeded uphill leaving behind a series of spoil piles which were emplaced in a semi-linear fashion. This relationship between location and relative time since emplacement is leveraged using a chronosequence approach to understand the pedogenesis of parent materials to technosols. The study site was in the Huff Run Watershed (Mineral City, Ohio) with a series of eleven spoil piles along an elevation transect in subwatershed #25 (HR-25). Bulk density, loss-on ignition as a proxy for organic matter, and particle size analyses were used to determine changes in physical properties along the transect. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to determine elemental and mineralogical composition, respectively, of the spoil piles. Results of this work show that, with an increase in inferred age of spoil there is a loss of bulk soil density, an increase in organic matter content, and a loss of both coarse rock fragments and of fine particles. Results of chemical characterization show that the piles are dominated by overburden mineralogy and that bulk chemistries reflect the mineralogy with notable variation within the minor and trace elements. Findings of this work suggest that the (1) cumulative effects of biological activity, primarily the colonization by plants, is likely responsible for major physical changes that occur on decadal time scales like the accumulation of organic matter and decrease in bulk density; (2) short-term mechanisms like the physical weathering by slaking and illuviation are responsible for the observed changes in particle size distributions across the transect; (3) small variations in the relative contributions of parent material confound any presence of elemental weathering signatures; (4) spoil materials dominated by overburden materials may still represent a future source of toxic metal release through their accumulation in organic matter or secondary oxides. This work supports the continued application of chronosequence frameworks to mine spoil piles and further proposes that end-member mixing methods be applied for its improvement.
David Singer (Advisor)
72 p.
Geology
Pedogenesis; Technosols; Mine Spoil; Chronosequence; Soils

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Smart, K. E. (2021). Exploring Physical and Chemical Trends in a Chronosequence of Technosols [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1626086766577196

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Smart, Kyle. Exploring Physical and Chemical Trends in a Chronosequence of Technosols. 2021. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1626086766577196.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Smart, Kyle. "Exploring Physical and Chemical Trends in a Chronosequence of Technosols." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1626086766577196

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1626086766577196
141
© 2021, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.