Geomorphological Mapping and Erosion of Abandoned Tailings in the Hiendelaencina Mining District (Spain) from Aerial Imagery and LiDAR Data
The Hiendelaencina district in Spain was the most important silver producer in Europe during 1844–1925. At the end of the 20th century, with mines having closed, some waste rock dumps were reprocessed, and the sludge from the flotation process was stored in two tailings ponds. When this activity cea...
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/18/4617 |
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| author | Silvia Martín-Velázquez Inmaculada Rodríguez-Santalla Nikoletta Ropero-Szymañska David Gomez-Ortiz Tomás Martín-Crespo Cristina de Ignacio-San José |
| author_facet | Silvia Martín-Velázquez Inmaculada Rodríguez-Santalla Nikoletta Ropero-Szymañska David Gomez-Ortiz Tomás Martín-Crespo Cristina de Ignacio-San José |
| author_sort | Silvia Martín-Velázquez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Hiendelaencina district in Spain was the most important silver producer in Europe during 1844–1925. At the end of the 20th century, with mines having closed, some waste rock dumps were reprocessed, and the sludge from the flotation process was stored in two tailings ponds. When this activity ceased, the residues began to be eroded and disperse. In this study, the state of degradation of both deposits was evaluated using historical mapping and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data, incorporated into a Geographic Information System. In the aerial images (1946–2018), mine tailings and their main erosive and sedimentary forms were mapped. Geoforms linked to hydrological (channels, gullies, alluvial cones), wind (eolian mantles), hydric–gravitational (colluvium) and anthropic (motorbike tracks) processes which move sludge into the surrounding areas were identified. A net loss of 8849 m<sup>3</sup> of sludge, a release of 10.3 t of potentially polluting substances and a high erosion rate of 346 t/ha*year were calculated based on LiDAR data from 2009 and 2014. The ponds show a current high degree of erosion that could increase due to both human activity and the growing frequency of drought and torrential rain periods if stabilization measures are not undertaken. |
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| issn | 2072-4292 |
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| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:38:02Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-ba32f3fefde34cfc9834e4ccea537f892023-11-23T18:45:42ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922022-09-011418461710.3390/rs14184617Geomorphological Mapping and Erosion of Abandoned Tailings in the Hiendelaencina Mining District (Spain) from Aerial Imagery and LiDAR DataSilvia Martín-Velázquez0Inmaculada Rodríguez-Santalla1Nikoletta Ropero-Szymañska2David Gomez-Ortiz3Tomás Martín-Crespo4Cristina de Ignacio-San José5Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Madrid, SpainDepartamento de Biología, Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Madrid, SpainDepartamento de Biología, Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Madrid, SpainDepartamento de Biología, Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Madrid, SpainDepartamento de Biología, Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Madrid, SpainDepartamento de Mineralogía y Petrología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, C/José Antonio Novais, 12, 28040 Madrid, Madrid, SpainThe Hiendelaencina district in Spain was the most important silver producer in Europe during 1844–1925. At the end of the 20th century, with mines having closed, some waste rock dumps were reprocessed, and the sludge from the flotation process was stored in two tailings ponds. When this activity ceased, the residues began to be eroded and disperse. In this study, the state of degradation of both deposits was evaluated using historical mapping and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data, incorporated into a Geographic Information System. In the aerial images (1946–2018), mine tailings and their main erosive and sedimentary forms were mapped. Geoforms linked to hydrological (channels, gullies, alluvial cones), wind (eolian mantles), hydric–gravitational (colluvium) and anthropic (motorbike tracks) processes which move sludge into the surrounding areas were identified. A net loss of 8849 m<sup>3</sup> of sludge, a release of 10.3 t of potentially polluting substances and a high erosion rate of 346 t/ha*year were calculated based on LiDAR data from 2009 and 2014. The ponds show a current high degree of erosion that could increase due to both human activity and the growing frequency of drought and torrential rain periods if stabilization measures are not undertaken.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/18/4617mine tailingsmining geomorphologywater erosioneolian erosionanthropic erosionerosion rate |
| spellingShingle | Silvia Martín-Velázquez Inmaculada Rodríguez-Santalla Nikoletta Ropero-Szymañska David Gomez-Ortiz Tomás Martín-Crespo Cristina de Ignacio-San José Geomorphological Mapping and Erosion of Abandoned Tailings in the Hiendelaencina Mining District (Spain) from Aerial Imagery and LiDAR Data Remote Sensing mine tailings mining geomorphology water erosion eolian erosion anthropic erosion erosion rate |
| title | Geomorphological Mapping and Erosion of Abandoned Tailings in the Hiendelaencina Mining District (Spain) from Aerial Imagery and LiDAR Data |
| title_full | Geomorphological Mapping and Erosion of Abandoned Tailings in the Hiendelaencina Mining District (Spain) from Aerial Imagery and LiDAR Data |
| title_fullStr | Geomorphological Mapping and Erosion of Abandoned Tailings in the Hiendelaencina Mining District (Spain) from Aerial Imagery and LiDAR Data |
| title_full_unstemmed | Geomorphological Mapping and Erosion of Abandoned Tailings in the Hiendelaencina Mining District (Spain) from Aerial Imagery and LiDAR Data |
| title_short | Geomorphological Mapping and Erosion of Abandoned Tailings in the Hiendelaencina Mining District (Spain) from Aerial Imagery and LiDAR Data |
| title_sort | geomorphological mapping and erosion of abandoned tailings in the hiendelaencina mining district spain from aerial imagery and lidar data |
| topic | mine tailings mining geomorphology water erosion eolian erosion anthropic erosion erosion rate |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/18/4617 |
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