Introduction

This lab is a look at the environment and how it can change after mining techniques used today and how undisturbed areas look and compare to disturbed areas. Much of the images are from satellites that show dramatic changes to disturbed areas over time whether over a long or short period of time. There are also images that show the changes in an undisturbed areas and there changes whether they are noticable very long period of time or short time.  

 Procedure

I used the internet for most of my research and satellite images for a visuals. I found out about this gravel site by looking for exacted areas in Prescott valley. While I did find another in the area, about half mile from the fairgrounds, I wasn’t able to find the information on it. The Arrowhead materials gavel site too has been around since 1983 so I was able to see the differences over a longer period of time compared to the one by the fairgrounds which was built in 2002.   

Part 1

1. State the differences between the disturbed and natural areas.

The disturbed area has little to non-greenery in the area especially around the rivers or streams. With a survey of the surrounding areas, that didn’t have as much human invasion or pollution the streams and rivers had more greenery not a lot but more than there was around the Powder River Basin. The natural area I found was a good distance away about 72 miles but I felt it showed an area with many of the same characteristics but looked a lot different in the greenery fact. The undisturbed area has a river and it is a valley smaller than the Powder River Basin by the greenery in the natural area has trees whereas the Powder River Basin has very few in the area. The last thing that I noticed was the color or darkness of the rivers or streams, in the natural area the rivers and streams have a lighter color and some look greenish-blue while all of the river and streams in the Powder River Basin look black I didn’t find one that wasn’t black.

2. What specific effects can this brine have on the fish?

There are many things that happen when there are pathogens and other contaminates in water and environment. When bacteria is emptied into a body of water the area is changed instantly as the waste triggers the decomposers and the decomposers oxygen rates increase to level where many of the fish and other animals die. The worms, bacteria, fungi, and other detritus feeders and decomposers will live in this environment they can die at some point if oxygen levels get too low. If the pollutants are released by air or on land, the pollution in the air can be transported for miles and even around the world. When the pollution is released it can cause pollution to those areas whether it’s from metals, chemicals, acids, bases, and other pollutions. The pollutions can cause disease to the animals causing them to be sick and spreading the disease or causing death. Many of the plants in the environment will be effected again either by diseases which they either will spread or die from the pollution.

3. What is the origin of the methane associated with coal beds?

Ancient peat bog is where Coal is derived from. The accumulations of saturated plant debris in swamps and wetlands are what form these areas. This decayed organic matter has been compressed into rock-hard coal. Methane is derived much like coal as it also has decade product of organic matter that decays in the absence of oxygen, thus methane is also a product of ancient swamp deposits.

Mountaintop Removal

1. What specific effects can soil and rock have on wildlife?

Many of these materials in the top of mountains have many materials that are locked away from the environment. When these mountain tops are removed in 20-story-tall shovels and discarded to the surrounding areas many of the hazardous elements from the mountains are introduced to the environment. The number of hazardous elements is vast some can be selenium, arsenic, coal along with many others. Many of the elements can kill an environment or cause disease and if put in a stream many of these affects can be miles downriver.

Part 2

Disturbed Area

The area I chose was the arrowhead materials gravel pit established in 1983 in Prescott Valley.  Gravel pits are an open cast working extraction site that extract rock that is cut down to make gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water level is high, so they may fill naturally with water to form ponds or lakes. As you can see in the satellite image there are six ponds in the gravel site on May 14, 2011, these are all man made. The water is pumped from aquifers and made into large ponds or lakes around the site. The gravel pit is mainly used to get rocks which is then cut down to make gravel, it also has sand which they use also. Much of the soil in the area is sand, clay, and a small stone, which is cut down more to form gravel, this form of gravel is referred to as bank gravel. The area does have larger rocks like granite and limestone which is then crushed. Crushed stone is generally limestone that has been crushed and graded by screens to certain size classes. It is widely used in concrete and as a surfacing for roads and driveways, sometimes with tar applied over it. Crushed stone may also be made from granite and other rocks. While wildlife can be found on occasion there are barbed wire fences that limit the wildlife but if you where to find wildlife that could wander on the site they would be rabbits, roadrunners, assorted birds, field mice, and skunks all of which can be found in Fain Park which borders the fences surrounding the site. There are trees still scattered around the site with small shrubs and cactus on the outer areas of the gravel site and new grow at the old water supply pond where there are small shrubs and wild grasses.

1992 satellite image of the gavel site

2007 satellite image of the gavel site

2010 satellite image of the gavel site

A view from the main entrance

A view of the outer area of the site

The middle of the site with several small hiles of materials

A view looking from the west side of the site

A view of the site the gray large hills are gravel

This is a shot of the area curently being excavated the most

Several large hill of material ranging from sand to gravel

Map of the site and the surronding area

2. Undisturbed Area

The natural area I picked is much like what the area of the disturbed area was like before it was disturbed. The area itself at one point had a river or stream running through it. It has small hills and large and small rocks in the river or streams bed. The area has little shrubs and wild grasses growing there are rabbits, jackrabbits, mice, packrats, skunks, and assorted birds are all know to be in the area. Much of the soil seams the same as the disturbed area sand, clay limestone, and granite. Some of the surrounding area just north was developed 2007. The area just north is now the North central University. There is no water in the area as it is a dry river bed and it has been this way for some time. This area is about 3 and a quarter miles away from my disturbed site and as mentioned earlier this area is very settable to the disturbances as it has rock and sand much like the disturbed area. Satellite images from as far back as 1992 show there has been no disturbances to the area and didn’t notice any either.  

A view of the river bed

The hill looking southeast and the river bed at the bottom of the hill

From atop of the hill looking at the river bed

On the hill looking east the other hill and the river bed at the bottom of both

The map of the undisturbed area

Conclusion

Much of what I learned was about the areas was that much of the environment is being disturbed or completely change or destroyed. Many elements around the area are also affected by the disturbed sites. On the other hand much of the undisturbed area was unchanging for years same much the same not have a lot more greenery or loss of greenery just staying the same. Some changes have occurred due to areas near the undisturbed site but its main elements never change unlike the disturbed site.