How do surface mines ecologically impact an environment quizlet?

Mining has a large impact on the environment because minerals are contained within the Earth. Earth must be removed in order to extract the minerals. When the minerals are close to the surface, the earth is removed, causing destruction to the shape of the land and the flora and fauna living in that area.

How does mining affect the environment quizlet?

Water-pollution problems caused by mining include acid mine drainage, metal contamination, and increased sediment levels in streams. Sources can include active or abandoned surface and underground mines, processing plants, waste-disposal areas, haulage roads, or tailings ponds.

How is mining impacting the Earth and the environment?

Mining is the extraction of minerals and other geological materials of economic value from deposits on the Earth. Mining adversely affects the environment by inducing loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, and contamination of surface water, groundwater, and soil. Mining can also trigger the formation of sinkholes.

What is one consequence of Surface Mining?

However, even with current regulations, surface mining can affect fish and aquatic resources through erosion and sedimentation, dewatering of wetlands, diverting and channelizing streams, and contaminating surface water and aquifers with toxic chemicals.

Why does surface mining have a larger impact on land ecosystems?

When compared to underground mining, why does surface mining have a larger impact on land ecosystems? In surface mining, large areas of land are completely cleared of vegetation and topsoil.

Environmental impact assessments: identifying relevant issues and concerns from the beginning

What environmental impacts are caused by both surface mining in underground mining?

Both surface mining and underground mining risk causing severe water pollution. Surface mining causes more destruction of land ecosystems than underground mining. Metals can be extracted from their ores in several different ways, two of which are carbon reduction and electrolysis.

What are the positive and negative aspects of surface mining?

The pros of surface mining are that it has a lower financial cost and is a lot safer than underground mining because all mining operations take place above the surface. The cons are the hazards it presents to human health and the environment.

How does surface mining affect plant life?

Surface mining destroys all plant life in the area the mine occupies. Plants living in the area where the surface mine is to be located are removed.

Does surface mining cause air pollution?

Mining can pollute air and drinking water, harm wildlife and habitat, and permanently scar natural landscapes. Modern mines as well as abandoned mines are responsible for significant environmental damage throughout the West.

Why does surface mining of coal typically cause more environmental harm than does subsurface mining?

The groundwater from the mines is more acidic than surface waters and disrupts ecosystems by changing the pH conditions of soil and water sources.

What are three harmful environmental effects of mining and processing minerals?

Why has mining become a major environmental concern?

The extraction of minerals from nature often creates imbalances, which adversely affect the environment. The key environmental impacts of mining are on wildlife and fishery habitats, the water balance, local climates & the pattern of rainfall,sedimentation, the depletion of forests and the disruption of the ecology.

What are the negative effects of mining?

Across the world, mining contributes to erosion, sinkholes, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, significant use of water resources, dammed rivers and ponded waters, wastewater disposal issues, acid mine drainage and contamination of soil, ground and surface water, all of which can lead to health issues in local ...

How does mining affect local populations quizlet?

Mining introduces pollution into local water supplies. c. Mining disrupts local populations of flora and fauna.

How does strip mining of coal adversely affect the environment quizlet?

According to strip-mining opponents, it is impossible to put back a mountain once it is torn down. Runoff and erosion are also grave problems associated with strip-mining. People are often negatively affected as well.

How might environmental manipulation of crop have unexpected consequences?

How might environmental manipulation of a crop have unexpected consequences? a. The new crop may require more water than the original.

How does mining impact the soil?

Mining subsidence increases the soil infiltration depth and evaporation, while reducing the water-holding capacity of the upper soil layers. The loss of soil water inevitably leads to severe ecological deterioration.

Why does surface mining cause animals to leave an area?

Why does surface mining cause animals to leave an area? Removing soil with this type of mining strips away all plant life, so the animals leave the area when their natural habitat is removed. Dissolved salts that are left behind when the water in seas/lakes evaporates.

How does mining affect the atmosphere?

Mining Adds Harmful Pollution to Our Air:

There are two main sources of air pollution during the coal production process: methane emissions from the mines, which contribute to global warming pollution, and particulate matter (PM) emissions, which can cause significant respiratory damage as well as premature death.

How does surface mining affect the availability and quality of water?

Mining affects fresh water through heavy use of water in processing ore, and through water pollution from discharged mine effluent and seepage from tailings and waste rock impoundments. Increasingly, human activities such as mining threaten the water sources on which we all depend.

How does surface mining affect human health?

Living in heavily mined areas increases the risk of lung cancer and respiratory disease. Levels of exposure to pollution are highest in areas with the most mountaintop removal. Scientists found a direct link between dust from mountaintop removal and lung cancer.

What effects does mining have on biodiversity?

Mining directly emits carbon, as does associated mineral processing activities, negatively affecting biodiversity via anthropogenic climate change [34,35]. Mineral supply chains can have extensive, yet often hidden impacts on biodiversity [36].

What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of surface and subsurface mining?

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages : Safer than surface mining, faster than 60% of other mining in the U.S, less disruptive to the environment, leads to more minerals. Disadvantages : Costs more, harder to do than surface mining, takes a lot of time.

What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of surface and subsurface mining techniques?

Advantages : Safer than surface mining faster than 60% of other mining in the U.S less disruptive to the environment leads to more minerals. Disadvantages : Costs more harder to do than surface mining takes a lot of time.

Why is surface mining important?

Why Choose Surface Mining? Surface mining is often the preference for mining companies. This is because removing the terrain surface, or overburden, to access the mineral beneath is often more cost-effective than gouging tunnels and subterranean shafts to access minerals underground.