StormFlux: Effect of Storm Babet on Pollution Fluxes from Remobilised Mine Wastes

StormFlux：巴贝风暴对回收矿山废物污染通量的影响

• 批准号: NE/Y006518/1
• 负责人: Ian Burke
• 金额: $ 9.88万
• 依托单位: University of Leeds
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FY006518%2F1
• 关键词: StormFlux; Effect; Storm; Babet; Pollution

Historical wastes disposed in coastal zones are increasingly vulnerable to remobilisation via erosion and seawater inundation including ~2000 Ha of unprotected mining wastes dumped along the Northumbrian River Basin District Coast. Storm Babet, 18-21 Oct 2023, was highly unusual in that prolonged easterly winds caused extraordinarily high waves averaging >4m for six consecutive high tides. This led to mine wastes on the NE coastline being affected by extensive seawater flooding and erosion. This project aims to use Seaham Beach, a coastal waste site on the Co. Durham coast, as a case study location to explore the impact of damaging storms on coastal waste sites in terms of geomorphological behaviour, and potential pollution fluxes into adjacent ecosystems from the remobilised material. There is now an urgent need to sample and analyse this freshly exposed waste, alongside further measurements of geomorphic change, to determine (1) the pollution potential and geochemistry of the newly exposed waste, (2) the absolute flux of contaminant metals to the North Sea that occurred during Storm Babet, and (3) the short- to medium- term impacts of the storm event on adjacent beach environments. Given the rapidly changing geomorphic and geochemical nature of these beach-deposited wastes (e.g. as newly exposed wastes oxidise), there is a pressing need to undertake this research now, while the most significant changes to the waste, and impacts from its mobilisation, are most evident. This information will help inform local and national stakeholders on the potential behaviour of similar unprotected coastal wastes and their possible impacts on nearshore marine communities. More generally the data will assess how sediment erosion, in response to more intense storm events due to climate change, may lead to increasing waste mobilisation; this information is vital for re-evaluation of shoreline management plans, including consideration of improved sea defences.

沿海地区处置的历史浪费越来越容易通过侵蚀和海水淹没，包括沿诺森布里亚河流域区海岸倾倒的未受保护的采矿废物，包括〜2000公顷的未受保护的采矿废物。暴风雨巴贝（Storm Babet），2023年10月18日至21日，非常不寻常，因为长时间的东风导致连续六个高潮的高海浪平均> 4m。这导致矿山海岸线上的废物受到广泛的海水洪水和侵蚀的影响。该项目旨在使用Durham Coast Co. Durham Coast的沿海废物遗址Seaham Beach作为案例研究地点，以探索破坏风暴对沿海废物地点的影响，从地貌行为以及潜在的污染通量从重新启动的材料中引入相邻的生态系统。现在迫切需要采样并分析这种新鲜暴露的废物，以及对地质形态变化的进一步测量，以确定（1）新暴露的废物的污染潜力和地球化学，（2）污染金属的绝对通量在暴风雨期间发生在暴风雨期间发生的北海，以及（3）中等程度的暴风雨事件。鉴于这些海滩沉积废物的地貌和地球化学性质迅速变化（例如，作为新暴露的废物氧化），现在有迫切需要进行这项研究，而对废物的最重大变化和动员产生的影响最为明显。这些信息将有助于向当地和国家利益相关者告知类似未受保护的沿海废物的潜在行为及其对近岸海洋社区的可能影响。更一般而言，数据将评估沉积物侵蚀如何应对由于气候变化而导致的暴风雨事件，可能导致废物动员的增加；此信息对于重新评估海岸线管理计划至关重要，包括考虑改善海洋防御能力。