As a result of the open-cast lignite mining in the Lusatian region of north-eastern Germany, large amounts of iron, sulphate, trace metals, and aluminium are fed into the groundwater and small streams that discharge into the River Spree, which ultimately flows through urban Berlin. In this study, we examined whether the input of these mining products leads to longitudinal gradients in element compositions and mineral formations in the riverine sediments. The signatures of fluvial and interconnected lacustrine sediments along a 190-km flow section were evaluated via principal component analysis to define the impact range of the open-cast products. These products clearly showed a sediment impact range of at least ~90 km downstream of the mining area. In particular, nickel and cobalt readily co-precipitate with iron, while sedimentary sulphur initially increases and therefore shows a longer impact range than amorphous iron oxy-hydroxides. These findings further demonstrate that sulphur and iron have different transport mechanisms. Although sulphate concentrations in the river waters of Berlin are still high, sedimentary iron and sulphur contents at the city border are only slightly higher than at the reference point close to the source of River Spree. The strongly diminished but still present mining signature in urban Berlin is replaced by an urban signature characterised by high levels of zinc, chromium, lead, and copper.

由于在德国东北部的卢萨斯（Lusatian）地区进行露天褐煤开采，大量的铁，硫酸盐，微量金属和铝被注入地下水，并有小溪流排入施普雷河，最终流入穿过柏林市区。在这项研究中，我们检查了这些采矿产品的输入是否导致河流沉积物中元素组成和矿物形成的纵向梯度。通过主成分分析评估了沿190 km流动断面的河床和相互连接的湖相沉积物的特征，以定义露天产品的影响范围。这些产品清楚地显示出矿区下游至少90 km左右的泥沙影响范围。特别是镍和钴容易与铁共沉淀，沉积的硫开始增加，因此比无定形的羟基氧化铁具有更长的影响范围。这些发现进一步证明了硫和铁具有不同的传输机理。尽管柏林河水中的硫酸盐浓度仍然很高，但城市边界的沉积铁和硫含量仅略高于靠近施普雷河源的参考点。柏林市区已大大减少但仍存在的采矿标志被锌，铬，铅和铜含量高的市区标志所取代。尽管柏林河水中的硫酸盐浓度仍然很高，但城市边界的沉积铁和硫含量仅略高于靠近施普雷河源的参考点。柏林市区已大大减少但仍存在的采矿标志被锌，铬，铅和铜含量高的市区标志所取代。尽管柏林河水中的硫酸盐浓度仍然很高，但城市边界的沉积铁和硫含量仅略高于靠近施普雷河源的参考点。柏林市区已大大减少但仍存在的采矿标志被锌，铬，铅和铜含量高的市区标志所取代。