Variations in hydrologic soil properties caused by mining activities

Conference · Wed Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1982 · Univ. Ky., Off. Eng. Serv., (Bull.); (United States)

OSTI ID:5447313

Chong, S K; Moore, S M

Five land uses related to surface mining were selected for this study. The lands ranged from undisturbed forested soil to reclaimed spoil. The experiments were conducted at the J.J. Track and Sahara mines in Saline County, Illinois. On each land-use type, three 3 x 3 m/sup 2/ plots were selected and each plot was divided into nine subplots for conducting experiments. On each subplot, several hydrologic soil parameters were measured including bulk density, sorptivity, satiated hydraulic conductivity, and infiltration. The incipient ponding time for a 10-year 24-hour storm was calculated incorportated with the measured soil properties using the Parlange-Smith equation. Hydrologic properties among the land uses were compared by using the Weibull plotting position technique. The results show that the hydrologic soil properties of forested soil can become similar to those of unmined agricultural soil through the removal of vegetation. The infiltration properties of the mined land can be restored to a pre-mining condition (or even better), if the spoil receives proper reclamation. However, loss of water through evaporation from the reclaimed soil is higher than that of the unmined agricultural soil.

• Research Organization: Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale
• OSTI ID: 5447313
• Report Number(s): CONF-821175-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Univ. Ky., Off. Eng. Serv., (Bull.); (United States)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
FEDERAL REGION V
HYDROLOGY
ILLINOIS
LAND RECLAMATION
LAND USE
MECHANICS
MINING
NORTH AMERICA
SOIL MECHANICS
SOILS
SPOIL BANKS
SURFACE MINING
USA