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Laser scanner technology in the assessment of mining tailings surface changes and rehabilitation interventions after the Fundão dam rupture, Brazil

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Abstract

In this work, we evaluated the changes that occurred by the deposition of the tailings, and the consequences after the implementation of rehabilitation procedures, in a stretch of the Gualaxo do Norte River, Brazil. The deposition occurred after the largest environmental disaster in the history of Brazil, the rupture of the Fundão dam, which dumped tons of ore tailings into the environment, producing several losses in the Doce River Basin. We carried out three surveys with laser scanner in the area: the first with airborne laser scanner in 2011, before the dam collapse; and two with terrestrial laser scanner after the disaster, in 2016 and 2018. The cloud points were aligned and evaluated regarding their positional accuracy using Global Navigation Satellite System control points. The changes in sediment volume as well as the material gains or losses among the periods were assessed according to differences in the coordinate Z. The siltation affected both the Gualaxo do Norte channel and the river terraces, with the study area suffering a deposition of almost 40 thousand m3 of sediments. It was also possible to identify zones where the deposition of sediments predominated over removal/erosion, with 68% of the study area in 2016 recording accumulation of tailing layers in relation to the pre-rupture situation. In 2018, the deposition zones corresponded to almost 80% of the study area (in relation to the situation in 2016), and the most material accumulated was associated with topsoil deposition through rehabilitation interventions. Laser scanner technology proved to be promising to estimate the volume of tailings and identify areas with accretion or removal of sediments, being a great tool to direct environmental recovery initiatives in the Fundão dam most affected areas.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the financial support of the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior Brasil (CAPES) Finance Code 001 and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG). We also thank the company Vale S.A. for providing data from the airborne laser scanner.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Solos, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Av. PH Rolfs, s/n., Viçosa, MG, Brazil

    Eliana Elizabet dos Santos, Márcio Rocha Francelino, Rafael Gomes Siqueiraa, Carlos Ernesto Gonçalves Reynaud Schaefer, Felipe Carvalho Santana & Elpídio Inácio Fernandes Filho

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  1. Eliana Elizabet dos Santos
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  2. Márcio Rocha Francelino
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  3. Rafael Gomes Siqueiraa
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  5. Felipe Carvalho Santana
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  6. Elpídio Inácio Fernandes Filho
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Contributions

E.E.S. carried out the fieldworks, data collection and writting of the first version. M.R.F., E.I.F.F. and C.E.G.R.S. were responsible by coordinating the project, contextualizing the idea and reviewing the manuscript. F.C.S. participated in the fieldwork and data processing. R.G.S. wrote the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Rafael Gomes Siqueiraa.

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dos Santos, E.E., Francelino, M.R., Siqueiraa, R.G. et al. Laser scanner technology in the assessment of mining tailings surface changes and rehabilitation interventions after the Fundão dam rupture, Brazil. Environ Earth Sci 83, 308 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-024-11588-0

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