Persistent Effects of the Gold King Mine Spill on Biota: Animas and San Juan Rivers, Northern New Mexico - Open-file Report 601

Three years following the Gold King Mine (GKM) spill that released approximately 11 million liters of metal-laden mine drainage into the Animas River, the scientific community is still evaluating the effects of this acute environmental impact in the context of a chronically mineaffected region. People living within the region affected by the spill had two principal concerns in its aftermath: is the water safe and what are the spill effects on the plants and fish consumed by humans? These are related issues, and perhaps not easy to answer. The work reported here aims to answer the second question regarding spill effects on biota, while appreciating that doing so requires a sophisticated understanding of chemical element cycling and the interactions among the physical and biological components of the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems within the influence of the Animas and San Juan Rivers.

Data and Resources

Information

Field Value
Division Hydrogeology
Subdivision Aquifer Mapping Program
Contact Name Talon Newton
Contact Email [email protected]
Contact Phone 575-835-5490
Publication Date 2018-09-01
Data Collection Frequency One-time
Data Publishing Method website, print
Data Publishing Frequency One-time
Version 1.0
Geographic Location San Juan County
Data Source NMBGMR
Source URL https://geoinfo.nmt.edu/publications/openfile/details.cfml?Volume=600
Last Updated 27 November 2023
Published 28 April 2023