User:Jordanheer/sandbox

Partner: Mark Hatherall MHatherall - 100990172 MHatherall/sandbox

User:MHatherall/sandbox

Rio Tinto River Article Assignment

Plans to Change/ Add:

Sedimentary geology and Seasonal variability
 * There is currently no section of the article pertaining to the sediments in the river, how they are being deposited and how sedimentary characteristics have been affected by the history of mining in the region.
 * There is also a connection between the sedimentary characteristics and and the seasonal variability of water flow down the river. There is large variability between the summer months when the flow is reduced to very little, and other times of the year when the river has a high flow rate withlarge volumes of water moving very fast.

Bibliography:
https://doi-org.proxy.library.carleton.ca/10.1180/000985599546118

doi:10.1128/AEM.00654-11

https://doi.org/10.2307/1543560

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2006.02.006

Citations:
 * Aguilera, A., Zettler, E., Gómez, F., Amaral-Zettler, L., Rodríguez, N., & Amils, R. (2007). Distribution and seasonal variability in the benthic eukaryotic community of río tinto (SW, spain), an acidic, high metal extreme environment. Systematic and Applied Microbiology, 30(7), 531-546. 10.1016/j.syapm.2007.05.003
 * Fernández-Remolar, D. C., Morris, R. V., Gruener, J. E., Amils, R., & Knoll, A. H. (2005). The río tinto basin, spain: Mineralogy, sedimentary geobiology, and implications for interpretation of outcrop rocks at meridiani planum, mars. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 240(1), 149-167. 10.1016/j.epsl.2005.09.04
 * Fernández-Remolar, D. C., & Knoll, A. H. (2008). Fossilization potential of iron-bearing minerals in acidic environments of rio tinto, spain: Implications for mars exploration. Icarus, 194(1), 72-85. 10.1016/j.icarus.2007.10.009

Draft Your Article: March 3, 2018

Anaerobic Sediments:

Due to the extreme conditions of the river, there is very little in the way of life, with the exception of small amounts of Microorganism, and the occurrence of algae. The presence of Anaerobic bacteria in the form of sediments is thought to contribute to the rivers famously low pH. The waters from the Rio Tinto which are high in metal sulfides provide an ideal environment for chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms, with the sulfides acting as a food source. The product of metal sulfide metabolism through oxidization is ferric iron and secretion of acidic liquid. The continuation of this process for an extended period of time is thought to be responsible for keeping the rivers pH between 2 and 2.5 in most areas. Even in the extremely acidic water both red and green algae have been observed to grow and survive in relatively high concentrations. Despite algae levels in the Rio Tinto accounting for over half of the total biomass in the river, algae is understood to have minimal effects on the characteristics of the complex ecosystem. A common belief of the Rio Tinto is that it became acidic and developed it unique water chemistry as a result of thousands of years of mining, including intensive mining during the twentieth century. This has in fact proven to be false, through the discovery of multiple oxide terraces at up to 60 meters above the current water level, and as far away as 20 kilometers from the current rivers path. Oxide terraces prove that the unusual ecosystem is a natural phenomena and has been present since before human involvement in the region, by showing historical proof of the similar water chemistry.

Physical characteristics:

The Rio Tinto River has a unique red and orange colour. The colour is derived from the chemical makeup of the river. The river is extremely acidic and contains very high levels of iron. The combination of the acid water, heavy metals and high levels of iron give the river its unique colour. The River maintains its colour for an approximate length of 50 kilometres. After the 50 kilometre mark, the chemistry that makes the Rio Tinto river so unique appears to slowly decline, as with the odd colouring. The location where the chemistry of the river is altered is near a town called Niebla. The rivers chemistry begins to significantly change following the town of Niebla owing to the fact that the Rio Tinto blends itself with other streams that are connected to the Atlantic Ocean. The length of the river is around 100 kilometres long and is located within the Iberian Pyrite Belt. This area has large amounts of ore and sulfide deposits. This specific region in Spain has seen many years of mining. The mining projects focus primarily on the river but ore deposits have also been found 20 kilometres from the shoreline. Rio Tinto has been the root of approximately 5000 years of ore extraction. Due to all of the mining activity in the area, the topography has been vastly modified.

The Rio Tinto River is extremely acidic which is due to the acid drainage from previous mining history as well as natural acid rock drainage in the area. It is not clear how much acid drainage has come from natural processes and how much has come from mining. This fact has yet to be discovered. There are severe environmental concerns over the pollution in the river. The pollution plays a key role in the rivers unique colour. Its environmental concerns are partially due to the rivers' very high levels of metal and its low levels of hydrogen ion. Although certain forms of life do thrive in these extreme envrionemntal conditions. The Rio Tinto River is habitat to certain forms of bacteria, algae and heterotrophs. More specifically eukaryotes and chemolithotrophic bacteria, as well as other microorganisms.