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Analysis of institutional authors

Barrio-Parra FAuthorIzquierdo-Díaz MAuthorDel álamo LjfgAuthorBiosca BAuthorDe Miguel ECorresponding Author

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August 2, 2020
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Modelling the transference of trace elements between environmental compartments in abandoned mining areas

Publicated to:International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health. 17 (14): 1-14 - 2020-07-02 17(14), DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17145117

Authors: Barrio-Parra, Fernando; Izquierdo-Diaz, Miguel; Fernandez-Gutierrez del Alamo, Luis Jesus; Biosca, Barbara; De Miguel, Eduardo

Affiliations

Univ Politecn Madrid, Prospecting & Environm Lab PROMEDIAM, Madrid 28003, Spain - Author
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid - Author

Abstract

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. An openly accessible cellular automaton has been developed to predict the preferential migration pathways of contaminants by surface runoff in abandoned mining areas. The site where the validation of the results of the Contaminant Mass Transfer Cellular Automaton (CMTCA) has been carried out is situated on the steep flank of a valley in the Spanish northwestern region of Asturias, at the foot of which there is a village with 400 inhabitants, bordered by a stream that flows into a larger river just outside the village. Soil samples were collected from the steep valley flank where the mine adits and spoil heaps are situated, at the foot of the valley, and in the village, including private orchards. Water and sediment samples were also collected from both surface water courses. The concentration of 12 elements, including those associated with the Cu-Co-Ni ore, were analyzed by ICP-OES (Perkin Elmer Optima 3300DV, Waltham, MA, USA) and ICP-MS (Perkin Elmer NexION 2000, Waltham, MA, USA). The spatial representation of the model’s results revealed that those areas most likely to be crossed by soil material coming from source zones according to the CMTCA exhibited higher pollution indexes than the rest. The model also predicted where the probabilities of soil mass transfer into the stream were highest. The accuracy of this prediction was corroborated by the results of trace element concentrations in stream sediments, which, for elements associated with the mineral paragenesis (i.e., Cu, Co, Ni, and also As), increased between five-and nine-fold downstream from the predicted main transfer point. Lastly, the river into which the stream discharges is also affected by the mobilization of mined materials, as evidenced by an increase of up to 700% (in the case of Cu), between dissolved concentrations of those same elements upstream and downstream of the confluence of the river and the stream.

Keywords

cellular automatapollutionsedimentsoiltrace elementsAcid-mine drainageCellular automataCellular-automata modelContaminated sitesEnvironmental monitoringGeologic sedimentsHeavy-metalsIberian pyrite beltMiningPollutionRisk-assessmentRiversSedimentSoilSoilsSpainSystem ebro deltaTrace elementsWaterWater pollutants, chemical

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2020, it was in position 68/203, thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Public, Environmental & Occupational Health. Notably, the journal is positioned en el Cuartil Q2 para la agencia Scopus (SJR) en la categoría Pollution.

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2025-08-22:

  • Google Scholar: 11
  • WoS: 5
  • Scopus: 8
  • Europe PMC: 3

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-08-22:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 26.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 26 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 7.
  • The number of mentions in news outlets: 1 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: https://oa.upm.es/87160/

As a result of the publication of the work in the institutional repository, statistical usage data has been obtained that reflects its impact. In terms of dissemination, we can state that, as of

  • Views: 35
  • Downloads: 2

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (BARRIO PARRA, FERNANDO) and Last Author (MIGUEL GARCIA, EDUARDO DE).

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been MIGUEL GARCIA, EDUARDO DE.