New Mexico Geological Society Annual Spring Meeting — Abstracts

Globally, wildfires have been increasing in occurrences and severity with semi-arid regions, like the southwestern United States, disproportionately affected. Additionally, some of these areas shoulder water quality implications derived from legacy mining (Murphy et al, 2020; Blake et al., 2020; Rust et al., 2022). Previous studies have documented wildfire-related water quality impairments; however, studies examining the chemical reactions occurring in legacy mining sites impacted during wildfires remain limited (Murphy et al., 2020 & Murphy et al., 2024). This proposed study aims to investigate the influence of redox reactions between wood ash and mine waste solids on the mobility of metals and nitrogen. The Gallinas Creek watershed, the study site located in northeastern New Mexico, was impacted by both the 2022 Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Wildfire and historical mining influences. Multiple analytical approaches will be used to characterize water, soil, and wood ash samples taken from a prospect mining site within the watershed. Batch reactor experiments will be conducted with a solution made of deionized water and environmentally relevant concentrations of manganese (Mn) and nitrate (NO3-), to simulate post-fire chemical interactions and evaluate the mobility of copper, cerium, and uranium. Multiple analytical approaches will be used to characterize solutions and solids following batch reactor experiments. The outcomes of this study will be used to address key knowledge gaps in the literature related to interfacial reactions in regions affected by wildfires. Findings will inform and potentially enhance current water quality management strategies.