Rio Tinto (VIDEO)

University of Utah

Caption

This video shows the mixing zone on Spain’s Rio Tinto, where green water, rich in the Fe2+  ion of iron, containing very high O₂ content sulfate, is discharging from a mine tailings pile. This water is mixing into the river’s main branch red waters, where most of the iron occurs as Fe3+ and sulfate oxygen is mostly sourced from water. Issaku Kohl narrated the video as he shot it at the historic mining district in Spain that is featured prominently in his research. Scientists consider this contaminated landscape an analog for the surface of Mars.

Credit

Issaku Kohl, University of Utah

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