Anto Raukas

Environmental problems in the Estonian oil shale industry

In Estonia technologies for oil shale mining and consuming have been continuously developed for more than 80 years. By March 2006 one billion tonnes of oil shale had been produced in Estonia. Since the 1960s, Estonia has been the largest oil shale producer and consumer in the world. In the 1980s about two-thirds of the worlds oil shale output came from Estonia. Serious problems in the mining complex are connected with large losses of oil shale at mining and enrichment (more than 30%) and voluminous dewatering (25 m3 per tonne of oil shale). After mining and beneficiation, much limestone remains unused and is deposited in waste dumps. Oil shale waste and waste heaps may be considered a rather innocent production residue; however, from time to time they are subject to self-ignition. Following combustion of enriched oil shale, ash remains which also has to be deposited. The most toxic waste (semicoke) comes from the oil-shale chemical industry. Power stations using oil shale emit large amounts of carbon dioxide and other gases; the groundwater regime, and often also the water quality, are altered in mined-out areas. Environmental effects and the resulting immediate hazards were greatest in the 1980s, now the situation is improving.

Luminescence dating of the Morasko (Poland), Kaali, Ilumetsa and Tsoorikmäe (Estonia) meteorite craters

Luminescence Dating of the Morasko (Poland), Kaali, Ilumetsa and Tsõõrikmäe (Estonia) Meteorite Craters The TL dating of sinter crust of Morasko meteorites proves that the extraterrestrial matter fell about 5000 yr BP. Similar data were obtained for the Kaali impact. The OSL analyses show incomplete bleaching of old rock material especially in the Estonian craters. Almost all data obtained for the immediate impact area indicate ages younger than the Quaternary morphogenesis. The method used seems promising for determining the age of impacts and the origin of small depressions of unknown genesis.

Chronology of the Last Deglaciation in the Southeastern Baltic Region on the Basis of Recent OSL Dates

Chronology of the Last Deglaciation in the Southeastern Baltic Region on the Basis of Recent OSL Dates The study of the deglaciation chronology in the south-eastern Baltic Region belonging to the outer zone of the last Pleistocene glaciation has a long history. The Finnish investigator H. Hausen (1913) who worked in the north-western portion of the East-European Plain at the beginning of the 20th century was the first to attempt a reconstruction of the course of glacial retreat during the last glaciation. At that time investigators had no physical dating methods and the time scale based on varvometric method, introduced by the Swedish geologist G. de Geer (1912) who divided the deglaciation history of Scandinavia into Daniglacial, Gotiglacial and Finiglacial, each of which had different palaeoglaciological conditions. During last decades different dating methods, including 14C, ESR, luminescence methods and 10Be techniques have been used, but they could not help essentially improve the existing stratigraphical charts and many problems of topical interest in the history of deglaciation have not been solved yet. During last years the first two authors have studied the suitability of OSL method for the geochronological purposes, paying the most attention to the waterlaid sediments. In the first step they have found the most promising genetical varieties of glaciofluvial sediments (glaciofluvial deltas and sandurs) and in this paper they widened the study area to all three Baltic states with close cooperation with Latvian and Lithuanian colleagues. The obtained results demonstrated, that not all mineral grains in the uppermost glaciofluvial and glaciolacustrine sediments were fully bleached during the last deglaciation. Probably the older sediments also influenced to the luminescence results. It means, that stratigraphic conclusions based on single dates or their small sets are inadmissible and in each case luminiscence dating requires a verification using other methods.

The Kaali crater field and other geosites of Saaremaa Island (Estonia): the perspectives for a geopark

The Kaali crater field and other geosites of Saaremaa Island (Estonia): the perspectives for a geopark The Island of Saaremaa in Estonia offers highly spectacular geological features that belong to the most interesting in the Baltic Sea area. A unique geological monument on the island is the Kaali meteorite-crater field, formed by nine meteorite impacts. There are also attractive coastal cliffs, huge erratics, alvars (limestone areas covered by a very thin soil) and well-developed glacial and marine landforms. Limestone cliffs and shingle beaches abound with Silurian fossils and offer great opportunities to fossil collectors. The island is a prospective geopark. During the past few years, the geology of the island has become an intensely studied object of Estonian and Polish geologists.

Dating of the Reo site (Island of Saaremaa, Estonia) with silicate and iron microspherules points to an exact age of the fall of the Kaali meteorite

Pollen analyses and radiocarbon dates from the bottom sediments in the Kaali main crater suggested that the crater group is at least 4000–5000 years old. Investigations of silicate impact micro-spherules in surrounding mires (Raukas et al. 1995) put the age about 7500–7600 yr BP. Recently we found both silicate and iron microspherules from organic sediments below well-dated beach ridge in Reo site what supports the conclusions that the most realistic age of the Kaali craters is 7600±50 14C BP (8335–8537 cal BP) and the meteorite fall was from SSE to NNW.

Quaternary deposits and weathered bedrock material as a source of dangerous radon emissions in Estonia

Abstract The risk of dangerous radon emissions in Estonia is high, being among the highest in Europe. In almost 33 per cent of Estonian land area, the content of radon in soil-contained air exceeds the safe limit for unrestricted construction (50 kBq/m3). In such high radon-risk areas the concentration of radon in soil-contained air ranges from 50 to 400 kBq/m3, in a few cases reaching up to 2,100 kBq/m3 exceeding the permitted level for residential areas. The situation is particularly serious in the northernmost part of the country, where uranium-rich graptolite argillite (Dictyonema shale) and the Obolus phosphorite are close to ground surface and their particles are constituent parts of Quaternary deposits. Radon emissions from bedrock have been investigated in detail, but to date Quaternary strata as a source of radon emissions are poorly studied. According to our measurements the highest concentrations of radon are related to tills containing clasts and fines of graptolite argillite and phosphorite. Glacial deposits include also granitoidal material, containing U, Th and K, which have been transported by glaciers from the outcrop areas of crystalline basement rocks in Finland and the Gulf of Finland. Due to weathering, outwash and repeated redeposition other genetic types are poorer in radioactive elements and they are weaker sources of radon.

Hazardous radioactivity levels and heavy mineral concentrations in beach sediments of Lake Peipsi, northeastern Estonia

Abstract The present study discusses results of heavy mineral analyses and radioactivity of beach sediments of Lake Peipsi. Such analyses are commonly done globally, but had not yet been conducted for the fourth largest lake in Europe. The average heavy mineral content in Lake Peipsi beach sediments along the northern and western coast is higher than usual for Estonian coastal and Quaternary sediments. Concomitantly, elevated radioactivity levels have been measured in several places, with the highest concentrations observed at Alajõe (1885.5 Bq/kg), which is over five times more than the recommended limit. The aim of the present study is to find sites with higher radioactivity levels, because the northern coast of Lake Peipsi is a well-known recreational area.