DOCSLIB.ORG

THB Avterican Mtxeralocist

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

THB AvtERICAN MtxERALocIST JOURNAL OF THE MINERALOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA Vol. 49 JUL\'-AUGUST, 1964 Nos. 7 and 8 BUDDINGTONITE, AN AMMONIUM FELDSPAR WITH ZEOLITIC WATER1 Rrcn,lno C. Ent, DoNaro E. Wnrro, Josorn J. Faunv eNo Dower-o E. Lno, U. S. Geol,ogicolSurttey, Menlo Park, Calif ., and' Wash'ington,D' C. Arsrn,q.ct Buddingtonite, the first ammonium aluminosilicate found in nature, occurs in Quater- nary andesite and older rocks hydrothermally altered by ammonia-bearing hot-spring waters below the water table at the Sulphur Bank quicksilver mine, Lake county, cali- fornia. Typicaliy, it occurs as compact masses pseudomorphous after plagioclase, and as crystals as much as 0.05 mm diameter lining cavities. Buddingtonite is biaxial (*), a:1.530,0:1'531, r:1.534 all *0'002,2V not de- terrnined,X/1a:4',2:b,Y Ac:19'. H 5+, G2.32+0.01- Chemical analysis of purest separate gave: SiOz,63.80;A1:Or, 19.16; FezOe, 1'85; MgO' 0.21; CaO,0.04; BaO, 0.26; NarO, 0.06; KzO, 0.62; (NHr)rO, 7.95;TiO2,0.99; HzO-, 0'88; HzO+,3.28; S, 1.59;total 100.69(-O+S):100.10 per cent. Buddingtonite is monoclinic; P21or P21fm;a:8.571,b:13.032,c:7.187,A:ll2o44' !l'; a:b:c:0.658:1:0.551; cell volume, 7+0.42fu;ceil contents4[NHdISirOs'1/2HzO]; calculated density, 2.38s gcm-3. From 370" to 430. c, buddingtonite is the ammonium analogue of monoclinic K-feld- spar; below about 370' C with normal atmospheric moisture, buddingtonite adsorbs zeo- Iitic water. The new mineral is named for ProfessorEmeritus Arthur F. Buddington' INrnorucrroN During a recent study of the major hot-spring mercury ore deposit at Sulphur Bank, Lake County, California (White and Roberson, 1962), White found an abundant hydrothermal mineral with an r-ray pattern similar to that of the hydrothermal K-feldspar that commonly replaces intermediate plagioclasein many hot-spring systemsthat are closelyasso- ciated with volcanism(White, 1955;Sigvaldason and White, 1961,1962). I{owever, hydrothermal K-feldspar had not been found previously in close association with mercury deposits, and experimental work by Hemley (1959)on the KzO-AlzOrSiOrHzO system had shown that for- mation of K-feldspar is favored by high proportions of potassium to hy- 1 Publication authorized by the Director, U. S. Geological Survey. 831 832 R. C. ERD, D. E. WIIITE, T. J. FAHEY AND D. E. LEE drogenions and by high temperature;the hot-spring system now active at Sulphur Bank is relativeiy low in temperature,and the waters have a relatively low proportion of potassium to hydrogen ions. rf the mineral in question was indeed K-feldspar, major changes in temperature and water compositionwith time wereindicated. selective staining of the altered rocks for K-feldspar and chemical analysis,proved that potassium was indeed a minor component. An r-ray spectrometer analysis of pyroxene andesite almost completely replaced by the unknown mineral revealed a small amount of iron and traces of other elementsbut failed to indicate any major cation. Becausethe pres- ent thermal waters have the maximum known proportions of ammonium and boron to the major cations of normal thermal and mineral waters, Roberson (white and Roberson, 1962,p. a0g) searchedqualitativery for both components and found that ammonium was abundant, but boron was minor. rn spite of the recognizedfeldspar-like properties of the new mineral (White and Roberson, 1962, p. 409), it was tentatively assignedto the zeolite group becauseof its associatedwater, confirmed chemically. rt is now classifiedas a feldspar with zeolitic water, in view of the data pre- sentedin this report. The mineral is named in honor of Professor Emeritus Arthur F. Bud- dington, Department of Geology,Princeton University. The name should be pronouncedbtd.ding.tdn.it. The mineral name has been approved by the commission on new minerals,rnternational Mineralogical Associa- tion. OccunnBNcr' Details of occurrenceare describedby White and Roberson(1962); in summary, buddingtonite occurs near and below the water table of an active, hot-spring system as a hydrothermal replacement of a euaternary andesite lava flow and older rocks. rn one drill hole, the mineral extends below this water table to depths of about 400 feet, where present temper- aturesare about 100oC. (White and Roberson,1962, p. 419). Only small amounts of the mineral were found in cuttings at greater depths in the same drill hole, and these amounts could have been derived by contami- nation from higherlevels. A seconddeep hole drilled late in 1961and com- pleted at a depth of 1,390feet provided cuttings only from depths below 1,100feet. In spite of the fact that the cuttings contain pyrite and some other evidenceof hydrothermal alteration, no trace of buddingtonite was found in whole-rock r-ray diffraction patterns. rn specimenscoliected in the early 1880'sby G. F. Becker from the old Herman Shaft (seereview by White and Roberson, 1962,p. 409), buddingtonite occursin abun- BUDDINGTONITE 833 that elsewhere by buddingtonite. All mercury-bearing ore specimens asso- have been tested contain buddingtonite except where cinnabar is rocks at and immediately above the former water ciated with acid-leached -widely table of the hot-spring system. Buddingtonite, however, is more sys- distributed than cinnabar on the borders at moderate depths of the tem. OnrcrN identical chargesand similar ionic radii. Buddingtonitemayoccurelsewhereinenvironmentsrelativelyhigh Ngawha' in ammonium. The mercury-depositing hot-spring system of 834 R. C. ERD, D. E. WHITE, I. T. FAHEI' AND D. E. LEE waters. rt is also likely to occur where ammonium is abundantly avail- able from organic activity of various kinds. CnvsratrocRApHy data, and proceedsto obtain the set of parametersthat best fits the ob- refined unit-cell parameters with their approximate standard errors is given in Table 2. Table 1 contains the d-spacingscalculated from these refined unit-cell parameters and the observedd-spacings. The agreement is good. posure times of approximately 100 hours. The hk\,\kl, lkl, hhl, and,hkh reciprocal lattice nets were photographed.The condition limitinorrrurLr"- theL'(r possiblereflections is 0k0:k : 2n so that p21 the space group is either or p21f m. Tabre 2lists the unit-cell data obtained by the single-crystai techniques. The agreement with the data obtained by least-squares refinement of the r-ray powder data is satisfactory. BUDDINGTONITE 835 T.mr,n 1. X-Rnv DrlrnectroN Dlta ron BrmptNcroxtrr AND FoR SvNrnnrrc K-Frr-nsPln Calculatedr Observed Buddingtonite Sulphur Bank mine, K-feldspar Lake County2 (High sanidine, synthetic)3 California I hkI d.nxt shkl hkl 100 7.9r 110 6.76 6.75 16 6.65 110 001 6.63 020 6.52 6.52 96 6.51 020 T01 6.45 011 5.91 <()1 5 .869 111 111 5.78 120 5.03 021 4.65 12l 4.59 101 4.32 4.33 4.241 50 201 20r 4.18 111 4.10 111 2rr 3 .98 3.98 JJ 3.947 20 200 3.95 3.87 3B 200 130 3.81 3.81 100 3 .789 80 130 2lo 3.78 031 3 .63 3.63 t2 3.623 15 T31 131\ 3.60 3.60 111| I02 3.59 22r 3.52 3.557 12 221 1r2 3.462 3.462 23 3 .459 50 1r2 2ZO 3.380 3.381 72 3.328 100 220 202 002 3.314 J . Jl4i J+ 3.287 60 040 3 .258 3.258 62 3.258 35 040 (continuedon next Page) 1 All calculated spacings listed for dr,*l)2.500. Indices from least-squares refinement of x-ray powder data by David B. Stewart and Daniel E. Appleman (Table 2) using digital computer program (Evans, et al.,1963)' , Split oi analyzed sample DW-1. X-ray difiractometer data are: Chart X-2501; Cu/Ni radiationtrCuK":1.5418A;aluminumpowderusedasinternalstandard;scannedatlo per minute from 10 90o20. Faint lines due to FeSz, anatase, and ammoniojarosite(?), have been omitted. 3 X-ray Powder Data File card 10-353. 836 R. C. ERD, D. E. WHIT:E, I. J. FAHEY AND D. E. LEE Ttsr-n l-(continued) Calculatedr Observed Buddingtonite Sulphur Bank mine, K-feldspar Lake Countyz (High sanidine, synthetic)a California I lkhI hkl 202 3.227 3.225 o12 3 212 122 3.145 212 J. IJZ 3.129 IJI 3.064 140 3.012\ 3.014 2.995 50 231 3.or1l 022 2.954 2.954 201 2.933 2.932 041\ 2.924 23ol 222 r41 2.908 2.910 20 2.905 041 222 ).asr 2.894 15 2.889 022 2ll 2 861 2.862 9 301 2.857 311 2.790 132 2.768 2.767 2.766 IJ t32 r02 2.707 221 2.675 712 2.650 2.650 300\ 032J 2.635 32r 2.616 302 2.612 r4l 2.602 2.604 2.608 12 3t2 232 2.590 (ctr 310 2.583 2.582 30 241 2.569 \;; 3t2 2.56r 240 2.514 2.5r5 l1 Z.+JL 12 2.38r 7 2.3t9 o z.ltJ 28 2.r71 208 060 2.r51 8 2.058 6 1.989 8 (continud on nert page) BUDDINGTONITE 837 Tmrr l-(continueil) Calculatedl Buddingtonite Sulphur Bank mine, K-feldspar Lake County2 (High sanidine, synthetic)g California hkl | 979 R t.9+7 3 1.859 7 1.802 13 |.797 L9 1.759 o 1.654 6 1.6t4 4 plus additional lines all with Il10 plus additional lines Morphotogy. Most buddingtonite is anhedral and cryptocrystalline, but some tiny euhedral crystals up to 0.05 mm line cavities and cracks.
Recommended publications
  • Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine Superfund Site

    Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine Superfund Site

    Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine Superfund Site January 14, 2020 Presentation Overview • Site Overview & History • Updated Conceptual Site Model • Ongoing Work - Mine • Fish Consumption Advisory – Request for input • Ongoing Work - Clear Lake – Collaboration with USGS • Discussion Site Overview Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine • Operated on and off 1865 to 1957 • Added to the Superfund list in 1990 • Mercury and arsenic in soils; mercury in sediment and fish tissue • Fish consumption advisory for Clear Lake; impacts to Elem Tribe Located on Oaks Arm of Clear Lake, south of Clearlake Oaks, adjacent to the Elem Indian Colony Site Overview Terrestrial Mine Site and Residential Soils Operable Unit 1 Lake Sediments and North Wetlands Operable Unit 2 Mine History • Sulphur Bank Mine operated from 1856 to 1957. • First borax, then sulfur, then shifting to mercury in 1873 • Shallow underground tunnels and open pit operations • Cinnabar ore processed on-site • Bradley Mining Corp identified as the responsible party 1/24/2020 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 5 Photo credit: Lake County Historical Society Major Mine Site Features Source Areas – Waste Rock Piles – Ores Piles – Tailings Pile – Disturbed and Native Rock – Northwest Pit – Mining Facilities/Buildings Herman Impoundment (HI) Waste Rock Dam (WRD) Off-Site Residential Soils – Elem Indian Colony – Sulphur Bank Mine Road neighborhood 6 Superfund Remedial Process 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Preliminary Placement on Remedial Feasibility Proposed Plan Record of Remedial Remedial Long-Term Assessment / the National Investigation Study (PP) Decision Design Action Operations & Site Inspection Priorities List (RI) (FS) (ROD) (RD) (RA) Maintenance (NPL) (O&M) OU-2 OU-1 Community involvement and planning for a site’s future reuse are integral parts of the entire process.
  • A Single-Crystal Epr Study of Radiation-Induced Defects

    A Single-Crystal Epr Study of Radiation-Induced Defects

    A SINGLE-CRYSTAL EPR STUDY OF RADIATION-INDUCED DEFECTS IN SELECTED SILICATES A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In the Department of Geological Sciences University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon By Mao Mao Copyright Mao Mao, October, 2012. All rights reserved. Permission to Use In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my thesis work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department or the Dean of the College in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Requests for permission to copy or to make other use of material in this thesis in whole or part should be addressed to: Head of the Department of Geological Sciences 114 Science Place University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N5E2, Canada i Abstract This thesis presents a series of single-crystal electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies on radiation-induced defects in selected silicate minerals, including apophyllites, prehnite, and hemimorphite, not only providing new insights to mechanisms of radiation-induced damage in minerals but also having direct relevance to remediation of heavy metalloid contamination and nuclear waste disposal.
  • Clear Lake Watershed Sanitary Survey Is a Report Made by the Clear Lake Water Utilities to the California Department of Health Services (DHS) On

    Clear Lake Watershed Sanitary Survey Is a Report Made by the Clear Lake Water Utilities to the California Department of Health Services (DHS) On

    PROJECT TEAM PARTICIPATING WATER UTILITIES Buckingham Park Water District Don Bradley Cache Creek Mobile Home Park Steve Grimshaw California Cities Water Company Paul Harris California Water Service Company Tom Fitzgerald City of Lakeport Mark Brannigan Clearlake Oaks County Water District Ellen Pearson Clearwater Mutual Water Company Don Bradley Michael Reust Crescent Bay Improvement Company Roberta Lyons Highlands Water Company Sam Lambert Konocti County Water District William Kochler Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa Jerry Lykkon Lake County Special Districts Steve Brodnansky Nicholas Ring Peggie King Mt. Konocti Mutual Water Company Alan Farr Nice Mutual Water Company Bradley Granger Richmond Park Resort Sharon Ferriera Rivera West Mutual Water Company Don Bradley Westwind Mobile Home Park John Franco Southern California Water Company* David Lancaster CONSULTANT TEAM Archibald & Wallberg Consultants Jeanne Wallberg MWH Americas, Inc. Bonny Starr Robert Zieman Jenni Haas Design Jenni Haas Engelhardt Word Processing Noreen Engelhardt OTHER PARTICIPANTS Department of Health Services – Mendocino District Bruce Burton Leah Walker *For California Cities Water Company TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................. ii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................ vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................ES-1
  • Scotts Creek Watershed Assessment

    Scotts Creek Watershed Assessment

    Scotts Creek Watershed Assessment A Document of the Scotts Creek Watershed Council Prepared for: West Lake and East Lake Resource Conservation Districts 889 Lakeport Blvd Lakeport, CA 95453 (707) 263-4180 Funded by Proposition 50 through the CALFED Watershed Program Administered by the California Department of Water Resources Prepared by: County of Lake Department of Public Works Water Resources Division 255 North Forbes Street Lakeport, CA 95453 Tel. 707-263-2341 and West Lake and East Lake Resource Conservation Districts 889 Lakeport Blvd. Lakeport, California 95453 Tel. 707-263-4180 February 2010 Acknowledgements Author Erica Lundquist, Lake County Water Resources Division Plates by Greg Dills, West Lake and East Lake Resource Conservation Districts Glossary by Alisa Carlson, Scotts Creek Watershed Council Project Partners Lake County Division of Water Resources Natural Resources Conservation Service Bureau of Land Management Upper Lake Habematolel Pomo Indians Robinson Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians Big Valley Watershed Council Middle Creek Coordinated Resource Management and Planning Group Scotts Creek Watershed Council Technical Advisors and Reviewers Frank Arriaza, Bureau of Land Management Ukiah Office Pardee Bardwell, Bureau of Land Management Ukiah Office Voris Brumfield, Lake County Code Enforcement Division Mark Brannigan, City of Lakeport Richard Burns, Bureau of Land Management Ukiah Office Alisa Carlson, Scotts Creek Watershed Council Caroline Chavez, Lake County Public Services Department Kim Clymire, Lake County Public
  • Nho* in Pegmatitic Feldspars from the Southern Black Hills, South Dakota

    Nho* in Pegmatitic Feldspars from the Southern Black Hills, South Dakota

    American Mineralogist, Volume 73, pages 818-82I , 1988 NHo* in pegmatitic feldspars from the southern Black Hills, South Dakota G. Cr,nvn SolovroNrr Gnoncn R. RossNr.q.N Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences,2California Institute of Technology, Pasadena,California 91125, U.S.A. Ansrru,cr Trace amounts of ammonium ion (0.7 molo/oNHo* substitution) have been identified from the infrared spectra of alkali feldspars from pegmatites occurring in the southern Black Hills district, South Dakota. The spectroscopicdata indicate that the ammonium is structurally bound, most likely in the M site of the microcline. These results indicate that ammonium was likely a component of metamorphic fluids present during anatexis of metasedimentaryrocks in the southern Black Hills district. INrnonucrroN cent materialintimately mixed with sinuouspatches of turbid materialin a typicalperthitic intergrowth. In the clearregions, Buddingtonite, the feldspar in which NHf, substitutes no inclusions-fluid or solid-were observedmicroscopically. for K+ in the M site, was first discovered in a low-tem- The slabs,mounted over brassapertures that rangedfrom 2.0 perature, ammonium-rich environment (Erd et al., 19 6 4). to 0.5 mm, werepositioned so that the beamavoided strongly Both buddingtonite and K-feldspars with variable am- turbid zones.The slabsranged in thicknessfrom 0.20 to 0.80 monium contents have subsequentlybeen found in a va- mm for measurementsin the 4000- to 2500-cm-' regionand riety of localities where rocks have been hydrothermally weregreater than
  • Sulphur Bank Mine, California: an Example of a Magmatic Rather Than Metamorphic Hydrothermal System?

    Sulphur Bank Mine, California: an Example of a Magmatic Rather Than Metamorphic Hydrothermal System?

    Goff et SULPHUR BANK MINE, CALIFORNIA: AN EXAMPLE OF A MAGMATIC RATHER THAN METAMORPHIC HYDROTHERMAL SYSTEM? Fraser Goff’, Cathy J. and James A. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Rd., Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA Keywords: magmatic, metamorphic, geothermal, isotopes, Sulphur Bank ABSTRACT REGIME Sulphur Bank mine hydrothermal system (218°C) is Sulphur Bank mine is surrounded by the youngest basaltic to surrounded by the youngest eruptions in the Clear Lake volcanic rhyolitic eruptions (90 to -10 ka) in the Clear Lake volcanic field. field, and nearby conductive thermal gradients exceed 1 at Although Clear Lake volcanism has occurred within the San Andreas 1-3 km depth. values for He in Sulphur Bank gases are 7.5. transform zone instead of within an arc, the volcanic rocks are Hydrothermal fluids are highly enriched in deuterium as well as distinctly calc-alkaline and most units display classic mixed-magma oxygen-18 relative to local meteoric waters and resemble magmatic features (Stimac and Pearce, 1992). Practically all magmas of this waters discharged from many arc volcanoes. However, we show volcanic field, including basalts, also show evidence of contamination herein that magmatic, connate, and metamorphic fluids are with crustal rocks (Stimac et al., submitt.). Although the volume of indistinguishable based on and plots. Sulphur Bank the youngest extrusive rocks near Sulphur Bank is relatively small waters have and ratios of metamorphic fluids and nearby conductive gradients and heat flow are high, Sulphur Bank gases are strongly influenced by marine, organic-rich exceeding 1 and 170 at depths of 1-3 km (Walters source rocks.
  • Lake County CEDS 2014

    Lake County CEDS 2014

    COUNTY OF LAKE COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY PREPARED BY: COUNTY OF LAKE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE ADOPTED BY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: NOVEMBER 5, 2013 APPROVED BY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION: MARCH 7, 2014 Lake County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy - 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...................................................................................................2 SECTION ONE: ANALYSIS...............................................................................................3 I. BACKGROUND: THE AREA AND ITS ECONOMY...........................................................3 A. General Description of the Area ..................................................................................................... 3 B. Economy........................................................................................................................................... 4 C. Natural Resources............................................................................................................................ 9 D. Environmental Issues .................................................................................................................... 12 E. Political Geography....................................................................................................................... 17 F. Employment in Lake County........................................................................................................
  • Italian Type Minerals / Marco E

    Italian Type Minerals / Marco E

    THE AUTHORS This book describes one by one all the 264 mi- neral species first discovered in Italy, from 1546 Marco E. Ciriotti was born in Calosso (Asti) in 1945. up to the end of 2008. Moreover, 28 minerals He is an amateur mineralogist-crystallographer, a discovered elsewhere and named after Italian “grouper”, and a systematic collector. He gradua- individuals and institutions are included in a pa- ted in Natural Sciences but pursued his career in the rallel section. Both chapters are alphabetically industrial business until 2000 when, being General TALIAN YPE INERALS I T M arranged. The two catalogues are preceded by Manager, he retired. Then time had come to finally devote himself to his a short presentation which includes some bits of main interest and passion: mineral collecting and information about how the volume is organized related studies. He was the promoter and is now the and subdivided, besides providing some other President of the AMI (Italian Micromineralogical As- more general news. For each mineral all basic sociation), Associate Editor of Micro (the AMI maga- data (chemical formula, space group symmetry, zine), and fellow of many organizations and mine- type locality, general appearance of the species, ralogical associations. He is the author of papers on main geologic occurrences, curiosities, referen- topological, structural and general mineralogy, and of a mineral classification. He was awarded the “Mi- ces, etc.) are included in a full page, together cromounters’ Hall of Fame” 2008 prize. Etymology, with one or more high quality colour photogra- geoanthropology, music, and modern ballet are his phs from both private and museum collections, other keen interests.
  • Toxic Contaminants in the San Francisco Bay-Delta and Their Possible Biological Effects

    Toxic Contaminants in the San Francisco Bay-Delta and Their Possible Biological Effects

    TOXIC CONTAMINANTS IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY-DELTA AND THEIR POSSIBLE BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS DAVID J.H. PHILLIPS AQUATIC HABITAT INSTITUTE 180 Richmond Field Station 1301 South 46th Street Richmond, CA 94804 (415) 231-9539 August 26, 1987 CONTENTS Acknowledgments ................ (i) I . INTRODUCTION ................. 1 I1 . TRACE ELEMENTS IN THE BAY-DELTA . 5 A . Silver .................. 7 B . Copper .................. 40 C . Selenium ................. 68 D . Mercury .................111 E . Cadmium .................133 F . Lead ...................148 G . Zinc ................... 163 H . Chromium .................171 I. Nickel ..................183 J . Tin ...................194 K . Other Trace Elements ...........200 111 . ORGANOCHLORINES IN THE BAY-DELTA .......202 A . Polychlorinated Biphenyls ........205 B . DDT and Metabolites ...........232 C . Other Organochlorines ..........257 IV . HYDROCARBONS IN THE BAY-DELTA ........ 274 A . Introduction ..............274 B . Hydrocarbons in the San Francisco Estuary . 281 C . Summary .................304 V . BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF BAY-DELTA CONTAMINANTS . 306 A . The Benthos of the Bay-Delta ...... 307 B . Fisheries of the Bay-Delta ........ 319 C . Bird Populations ............ 351 D . Mammalian Populations. Including Man . 354 E . Bioassay Data ............. 359 VI . CONCLUSIONS ................. 377 Literature Cited .............. 382 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks are due to a large number of people for their contributions to this document. Staff at the Aquatic Habitat Institute have provided their support, encouragement and talent. These include Andy Gunther, Jay Davis, Susan Prather, Don Baumgartner and Doug Segar. Word processing services were provided by Ginny Goodwind, Emilia Martins, Renee Ragucci, Audi Stunkard, Lori Duncan, and Susan Prather. Tat Cheung and Johnson Tang of the County of Alameda Public Works Agency contributed their time and talent to the preparation of figures. Melissa Blanton copy-edited the text, surviving the requirements of the author in respect of Anglicisation of local terminologies.
  • Geological and Anthropogenic Factors Influencing Mercury Speciation in Mine Wastes

    Geological and Anthropogenic Factors Influencing Mercury Speciation in Mine Wastes

    Science Highlight – June 2005 Geological and Anthropogenic Factors Influencing Mercury Speciation in Mine Wastes Christopher S. Kim1, James J. Rytuba2, Gordon E. Brown, Jr.3 1Department of Physical Sciences, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866 2U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA 94025 3Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 Introduction Mercury (Hg) is a naturally occurring element that poses considerable health risks to humans, primarily through the consumption of fish which have accumulated harmful lev- els of mercury in their tissue. This bioaccumulation of mercury in fish is a result of elevated exposure from a number of sources including industrial emissions, atmospheric deposition, and mercury-bearing products such as thermometers, batteries, electrical switches, and fluorescent light bulbs. In California, however, a significant amount of mercury enters the envi- ronment through the dozens of Figure 1. Dr. Christopher Kim collects a mine waste mercury mines located throughout sample from the Oat Hill mercury mine in Northern the California Coastal Range (Figure California. The majority of mercury mine wastes at 2), where thousands of tons of these sites are present as loose, unconsolidated piles, facilitating the transport of mercury-bearing material mercury were recovered for use in downstream into local watersheds. gold recovery further east in the Sierra Nevada. The transport of mercury from these remote poorly-monitored mine sites has resulted in elevated mercury levels in more populated urban regions such as the San Francisco Bay Area. Understanding the movement and geochemistry of mercury from mines in California is therefore necessary in order to predict the potential impacts and hazards associated with this form of mercury contamination.
  • ACTION MEMORANDUM Request for a Removal Action at the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine Superfund Site, Clear Lake, Lake County ^Calif Ornia

    ACTION MEMORANDUM Request for a Removal Action at the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine Superfund Site, Clear Lake, Lake County ^Calif Ornia

    XR0050 SFUm> RECORDS C7R 2142-00128 UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION IX 75 Hawthorne Street San Francisco, Ca. 94105-3901 SDMSDocID 88124216 MEMORANDUM DATE: April 9, 1992 SUBJECT: ACTION MEMORANDUM Request for a Removal Action at the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine Superfund site, Clear Lake, Lake County ^Calif ornia . s FROM: ad shpey^r on Scene Coordinator, Emergency Response Section, H-8-3 TO: Jeffrey Zelikson, Director, Hazardous Waste Management Division, H-l I. PURPOSE This site meets the criteria for a removal action under section 300.415 of the National Oil and Hazardous substances Pollution contingency Plan ("NCP"). The purpose of this Action Memorandum is to request and document approval of the proposed removal action described herein for the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine Superfund site, Sulphur Bank Road, Clear Lake, Lake County, California. Category of Removal: Time Critical CERCLIS ID: CAD980893275 SITE ID: K2 II. SITE CONDITIONS AND BACKGROUND A. Site Description 1. Historical Background The Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine was one of the largest mercury producers of California, producing 4000-7000 tons of mercury over a 100 year operating history. Geothermal activity beneath the mine site created the rich mineral deposits. Mineral saturated hydrothermal fluids, rising up through fissures and faults, precipitated cinnabar (HgS) in rock formations below the water table. As the fluids rose above the water table the mercury content decreased and elemental sulfur was deposited near the ground surface. The Clear Lake area in general and the Sulphur Bank Mine site in particular, contain many geothermally active hot springs and gas vents, giving rise to the debate about whether or Printed on Recycled Paper not mercury continues to be transported in significant quantities in the hydrotherxnal system beneath the site.
  • Predictors of Mercury in San Francisco Bay Forage Fish Ben K. Greenfield

    Predictors of Mercury in San Francisco Bay Forage Fish Ben K. Greenfield

    Running head: Predictors of mercury in San Francisco Bay forage fish Ben K. Greenfield Environmental Health Sciences Division, School of Public Health University of California-Berkeley 50 University Hall #7360 Berkeley, CA 94720-7360 Tel: 1 510 507 2365 E-mail: [email protected] Word Count: 7372 Predictors of mercury spatial patterns in San Francisco Bay forage fish a Ben K. Greenfield †‡ , Darell G. Slotton §, Katherine H. Harrold †║ † San Francisco Estuary Institute, 4911 Central Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804 ‡ Corresponding Author: Environmental Health Sciences Division, School of Public Health, University of California-Berkeley, 50 University Hall #7360, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360 Tel: 1 510 507 2365 § Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California-Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA ║ Current address: Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB #7431, Chapel Hill, NC 27599- 7431, USA a. E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT Pollution reduction efforts should be targeted towards those sources that result in the highest bioaccumulation. For mercury (Hg) in estuaries and other complex water bodies, carefully designed biosentinel monitoring programs can help identify predictors of bioaccumulation and thereby inform management priorities for source reduction. We employed a probabilistic forage fish Hg survey with hypothesis testing in San Francisco Bay. The study goal was to determine what legacy pollution sources, regions, and landscape features were associated with elevated Hg bioaccumulation. Across 99 sites, whole body Hg concentrations in Mississippi silverside (Menidia audens) and topsmelt (Atherinops affinis) followed a broad spatial gradient, declining with distance from the Guadalupe River (Pearson’s r = -0.69 and -0.45), which drains historic mining areas.