Communicating Science about the Gold King Mine Spill and Water Quality in the Animas River
Communicating Science about the Gold King Mine Spill and Water Quality in the Animas River
How have geological, biological and human factors created and exacerbated acid mine drainage and water quality issues in the Animas River?
The geological issues surrounding the Gold King Mine spill is that the acid drainage is an issue that has been going on before mining even started. Acid drainage is a natural occurrence that doesn’t nearly have the acidity as acid mine drainage because of the filtering of the ground. Cement creek has been dead for a very long time and it was dead before mining. The biological issues surrounding the mines and acid mine drainage is the scarcity of flora and fauna near and around Cement Creek and the confluence of the Animas River with Cement Creek. Since mining began the fish, macroinvertebrates, and other river dwellers have died and are unable to live at the confluence of the Animas River and Cement Creek. All the fauna is scarce, it was unnerving how little plants there were in the river. Now to the real issue, humans. We have caused the Animas River to change to the color of silver and orange. Acid drainage is a natural occurrence, but due to mining humans have exacerbated the issue to a difficult and dangerous issue. We as people have caused a devastating action that has killed many plants and animals.
What actions can be taken to improve the water quality in Cement Creek and the Animas River watershed?
All river sheds have a delicate ecosystem so putting time and effort into it is necessary for the health and sustainability of the river. I think action needs to be made no matter the cost. Some type of action is very much needed via a superfund or a community effort or possibly both. The river a crucial and important part of the Silverton, Durango, and everyone else down stream. Even though there is a current solution up in the Gold King Mine area, this solution costs around 100,000 dollars a day which is a hefty price for a shorter term resolution. During the spring I believe a more long term and sustainable solution is required.
To what degree do scientists have an obligation to communicate scientific concepts and data to the public in an understandable manner?
I believe that scientist that are experts in their fields are most definitely required to present clear data to the public. Scientist are trusted people and I think this must continue in order to have a trust filled relationship between the scientific community and the community in large. Some of the data that was produced for the Gold King Mine spill were difficult to interpret and comprehend. The graphs that were produced by the EPA were simplified for the public viewing where as some of the graphs were much more complicated. When graphs have multiple lines and two vertical axises it is understandable that it is difficult to interpret exactly what the graph is stating about data.
How has your understanding of scientific knowledge and/or the process of doing science changed throughout the semester as you’ve examined and manipulated data collected by professional scientists and performed analogous experiments to collect and analyze your own data?
This semester I have learned that clarity and specificity are key to understanding and stating the facts about the science behind the Gold King Mine spill. The labs taught me a lot on how to write a successful lab and interpret data that my partner and I collected from said lab. Also, being able to understand data that was collected from the Animas River was really interesting. Being able to understand and then restate data that was complicated is a useful and necessary skill that can definitely be carried on and used in the future on all challenging pieces of data. At the beginning of the semester the lab writing and interpretation was difficult and as the semester progressed it became easier but still challenging at the same time.
The geological issues surrounding the Gold King Mine spill is that the acid drainage is an issue that has been going on before mining even started. Acid drainage is a natural occurrence that doesn’t nearly have the acidity as acid mine drainage because of the filtering of the ground. Cement creek has been dead for a very long time and it was dead before mining. The biological issues surrounding the mines and acid mine drainage is the scarcity of flora and fauna near and around Cement Creek and the confluence of the Animas River with Cement Creek. Since mining began the fish, macroinvertebrates, and other river dwellers have died and are unable to live at the confluence of the Animas River and Cement Creek. All the fauna is scarce, it was unnerving how little plants there were in the river. Now to the real issue, humans. We have caused the Animas River to change to the color of silver and orange. Acid drainage is a natural occurrence, but due to mining humans have exacerbated the issue to a difficult and dangerous issue. We as people have caused a devastating action that has killed many plants and animals.
What actions can be taken to improve the water quality in Cement Creek and the Animas River watershed?
All river sheds have a delicate ecosystem so putting time and effort into it is necessary for the health and sustainability of the river. I think action needs to be made no matter the cost. Some type of action is very much needed via a superfund or a community effort or possibly both. The river a crucial and important part of the Silverton, Durango, and everyone else down stream. Even though there is a current solution up in the Gold King Mine area, this solution costs around 100,000 dollars a day which is a hefty price for a shorter term resolution. During the spring I believe a more long term and sustainable solution is required.
To what degree do scientists have an obligation to communicate scientific concepts and data to the public in an understandable manner?
I believe that scientist that are experts in their fields are most definitely required to present clear data to the public. Scientist are trusted people and I think this must continue in order to have a trust filled relationship between the scientific community and the community in large. Some of the data that was produced for the Gold King Mine spill were difficult to interpret and comprehend. The graphs that were produced by the EPA were simplified for the public viewing where as some of the graphs were much more complicated. When graphs have multiple lines and two vertical axises it is understandable that it is difficult to interpret exactly what the graph is stating about data.
How has your understanding of scientific knowledge and/or the process of doing science changed throughout the semester as you’ve examined and manipulated data collected by professional scientists and performed analogous experiments to collect and analyze your own data?
This semester I have learned that clarity and specificity are key to understanding and stating the facts about the science behind the Gold King Mine spill. The labs taught me a lot on how to write a successful lab and interpret data that my partner and I collected from said lab. Also, being able to understand data that was collected from the Animas River was really interesting. Being able to understand and then restate data that was complicated is a useful and necessary skill that can definitely be carried on and used in the future on all challenging pieces of data. At the beginning of the semester the lab writing and interpretation was difficult and as the semester progressed it became easier but still challenging at the same time.