Current condition of acid sulfate water of the Karabash geotechnogenesis system

The mining and processing industry makes a substantiation contribution in generation and alteration of chemical composition of the environmental components. One of the least inert systems to the anthropogenic load are the aquatic systems. In the area of the Karabash geotechnogenesis system, the long-term impact exerted on water ecosystems by aerogenic gas and dust flows, and by surface water flows from ash disposal areas and tailings ponds formed the sulfate-type hydrological regime alien to water flows in the area. During this research, water was sampled from the main water bodies in the area of the Karabash geotechnogenesis system in the summer and winter periods. In the samples, the cationic–anionic composition, acidity and electrical conductivity of water were determined. The water bodies with the most changed chemical composition of water as compared with the background water flows in the test area are identified in the course of the analysis. The Piper diagrams and Kurlov’s formulas reveal considerable changes in cationic and anionic compositions per seasons. In the winter period, from the moment of isolation of watertable by an ice layer, amount of sulfate-anions reduces, which confirms the influence exerted by rainfalls and surface flows on the chemical composition of water. The research findings can help improve the current measures adopted to improve ecological situation in the area of Karabash town, and can promote revision and adjustment of the regional hydrochemical background.

Shabanov M. V., Marichev M. S., Burachevskaya M. V., Kirichkov M. V., Tsitsuashvili V. S. Current condition of acid sulfate water of the Karabash geotechnogenesis system. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2025;(3):108-124. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_ 2025_3_0_108.

The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, Project No. 23-24-00646 in Southern Federal University.

M.V. Shabanov¹, Cand. Sci. (Agr.), Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor, e-mail: geohim.spb@gmail.com, Scopus Author ID: 35171489500, ORCID ID: 0000-0003-4725-3673,
M.S. Marichev¹, Cand. Sci. (Biol.), Head of Laboratory, e-mail: m.s.marichev@yandex.ru, Scopus Author ID: 57216298057, ORCID ID: 0000-0003-0429-2234,
M.V. Burachevskaya², Cand. Sci. (Biol.), Leading Researcher, e-mail: marina.0911@mail.ru, Ivanovsky Academy of Biology and Biotechnology, Scopus Author ID: 55656700000, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-0533-0418,
M.V. Kirichkov², Cand. Sci. (Phys. Mathem.), Junior Researcher, Research Institute of Physics, e-mail: ihomeer@gmail.com, Scopus Author ID: 57200126460,
V.S. Tsitsuashvili², Junior Researcher, Research Institute of Physics, e-mail: viktoria447@yandex.ru, Scopus Author ID: 57192911478, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-0113-7549,
¹ Saint-Petersburg State Agrarian University, 196607, Pushkin, Russia,
² Southern Federal University, 344090, Rostov-on-Don, Russia.

M.S. Marichev, e-mail: m.s.marichev@yandex.ru.

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