Geology topics

Research about Shoshone, Idaho

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Shoshone, Idaho.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2012

Acute toxicity of cadmium, lead, zinc, and their mixtures to stream-resident fish and invertebrates

The authors conducted 150 tests of the acute toxicity of resident fish and invertebrates to Cd, Pb, and Zn, separately and in mixtures, in waters from the South Fork Coeur d'Alene River watershed, Idaho, USA. Field-collected shorthead sculpin ( Cottus confusus ), westslope cutthroat trout ( Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi ), two mayflies ( Baetis tricaudatus and Rhithrogena sp.), a stonefly ( Sweltsa sp.), a caddisfly ( Arctopsyche sp.), a snail ( Gyraulus sp.), and hatchery rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ), were tested with all three metals. With Pb, the mayflies ( Drunella sp., Epeorus sp., and Leptophlebiidae), a Simuliidae black fly, a Chironomidae midge, a Tipula sp. crane fly, a Dytiscidae beetle, and another snail ( Physa sp.), were also tested. Adult westslope cutthroat trout were captured to establish a broodstock to provide fry of known ages for testing. With Cd, the range of 96-h median effect concentrations (EC50s) was 0.4 to >5,329μg/L, and the relative resistances of taxa were westslope cutthroat trout ≈ rainbow trout ≈ sculpin << other taxa; with Pb, EC50s ranged from 47 to 3,323μg/L, with westslope cutthroat trout < rainbow trout < other taxa; and with Zn, EC50s ranged from 21 to 3,704μg/L, with rainbow trout < westslope cutthroat trout ≈ sculpin << other taxa. With swim-up trout fry, a pattern of decreasing resistance with increasing fish size was observed. In metal mixtures, the toxicities of the three metals were less than additive on a concentration-addition basis.

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USGS2003

Quantification of metal loads and assessment of metal sources in upper Beaver Creek watershed, Shoshone County, Idaho, May and June 2002

Abandoned mine lands contribute to significant water-quality degradation in the Beaver Creek watershed in northern Idaho. Streams in this watershed drain the northern flank of the Coeur d’Alene mining district, one of the world’s largest producers of silver and one of the country’s major historical producers of lead and zinc for more than 100 years. Effective cleanup of these streams will depend on accurate characterization of metal concentrations in streams and various sources of these metals. Cadmium, lead, and zinc loads entering Beaver Creek and its major tributary, Carbon Creek, were quantified, and source areas for these metals were assessed during May and June 2002. Metal loads were calculated for main-stem and surface-inflow sites by combining measured streamflow with dissolved cadmium, lead, and zinc concentrations analyzed in waterquality samples collected during three synoptic sampling events. To assess the effects of surface and shallow subsurface inflows on the gain or loss of streamflow and metal loads, Beaver and Carbon Creeks were divided into subreaches. Four subreaches were defined on Beaver Creek using five main-stem sampling sites (UBC3, UBC5, UBC8, BC10, and BC14); two subreaches were defined on Carbon Creek using three main-stem sampling sites (CC2, CC6, and CC9). During each of the synoptic sampling events, concentrations of cadmium and zinc were highest in samples collected at the Carlisle Mine adit between sites CC2 and CC6. During two of the three synoptic sampling events, the concentration of lead was highest in samples collected from a left-bank seep downgradient from the Idora Mill between sites UBC3 and UBC5. The largest identified cadmium and zinc source to Beaver Creek is the surface inflow from Carbon Creek (between sites UBC8 and BC10), which accounted for 45 to 72 percent of the main-stem cadmium load and 49 to 89 percent of the main-stem zinc load in Beaver Creek. Another large source of cadmium and zinc to Beaver Creek is subsurface flow through the tiered flotation tailings pile near Carbon Center (between sites BC10 and BC14) into Beaver Creek. Amounts of lead contributed by source areas to Beaver Creek vary with streamflow conditions. During high streamflow, the largest source of lead to Beaver Creek is the remobilization of fine-grained (less than 0.45-micrometer), lead-enriched particulates from the streambed throughout the study area. During low streamflow, bank seepage of subsurface water into Beaver Creek in the subreach downgradient from the Idora Mill (between sites UBC3 and UBC5) is the major source of lead to Beaver Creek. During each synoptic sampling event, Carbon Creek is a major source of lead to Beaver Creek. The Carlisle Mine adit (between CC2 and CC6) is the largest source of cadmium and zinc to Carbon Creek and, ultimately, to Beaver Creek, and accounted for 57 to 88 percent of the total main-stem cadmium load and 56 to 88 percent of the total main-stem zinc load in Carbon Creek during each of the synoptic sampling events. Another source of cadmium and zinc to Carbon Creek is resurfacing cadmium- and zincenriched hyporheic flow (possibly originating from the Carlisle adit or the Carlisle Mill) between sites CC6 and CC9. As in Beaver Creek, amounts of lead contributed to Carbon Creek by source areas vary with streamflow conditions. During high streamflows, increased discharge from the Carlisle Mine adit appears to be the largest source of lead to Carbon Creek; during low streamflows, resurfacing lead-enriched hyporheic flow appears to be the major source of lead to Carbon Creek.

Idaho↗

USGS2002

Dissolved cadmium, zinc, and lead loads from ground-water seepage into the South Fork Coeur d'Alene River system, northern Idaho, 1999

The valley of the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River and some of its tributaries have been heavily impacted by the dispersion of metal-enriched materials from the Coeur d’Alene mining district since 1884. The valley floor, including the unconsolidated valley-fill/flood-plain aquifers, is a major holding area for mine tailings. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, characterized groundwater and surface-water relations for parts of the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River Basin and quantified the loading of dissolved metals into the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River system from groundwater seepage. This information can be used to determine the effects of dissolved metal from ground-water seepage on the river system and to evaluate the necessity and feasibility of remediation along gaining reaches. This study defines a field approach that can be repeated during and after the implementation of remediation solutions to measure the effectiveness of these efforts in reducing loading to streams. The study area includes three reaches along the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River valley in the Coeur d’Alene mining district in central Shoshone County, northern Idaho: a 3.3-mile reach of Canyon Creek at Woodland Park, a 4.8-mile reach of the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River near Osburn, and a 6.5-mile reach of the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River near Kellogg and Smelterville. Seepage studies were conducted during July 27–29; September 17–19; and October 15–17, 1999. Each seepage study was conducted over a 3-day period, during which each station was measured on a daily basis for streamflow, and waterquality samples were collected. The consecutiveday approach allowed for an evaluation of variability in streamflow gains and losses and metal loading that resulted from changing hydrologic conditions. During the July, September, and October seepage studies, ground-water seepage was the predominant source for gains in dissolved cadmium and zinc loads in the three study reaches, whereas tributary inflow loads were a minor source. The overall average net gain in dissolved zinc load from ground-water seepage into the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River near Kellogg and Smelterville was about 730 pounds per day, compared with the net gains in Canyon Creek at Woodland Park and the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River near Osburn, which were roughly similar at 150 and 218 pounds per day, respectively. The net gain in dissolved cadmium load from ground-water seepage into the three river reaches was about two orders of magnitude less than the gain in dissolved zinc. On the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River study reaches near Osburn and near Kellogg and Smelterville, no pattern associated with an increase or decrease in dissolved lead load along gaining or losing subreaches was recognizable. Canyon Creek at Woodland Park was the only study reach where ground-water seepage contributed appreciably to the dissolved lead load; the average net gain was 1.5 pounds per day. The average dissolved lead loads leaving South Fork Coeur d’Alene River study reaches (corrected for tributary inflow along the study reaches) near Osburn and near Kellogg and Smelterville were 1.4 and 0.8 pounds per day less, respectively, than the loads entering the study reaches. The decrease in dissolved lead could be the result of lead adsorbing onto organic and inorganic sediment surfaces and (or) coprecipitating with iron and manganese oxides. These forms of lead likely will be resuspended into the water column at high flows.

Idaho↗