Correlation Between Magnetic Susceptibility and Heavy Metal Concentrations in Forest Soils of the Eastern Czech Republic

Abstract

Magnetic susceptibility measurements were performed on 2,000 samples of forest soils from the Ostrava-Karvina industrial region (Czech part of Upper Silesian Coal Basin) and the Moravian-Silesian Beskydy Mountains and their piedmont area, Podbeskydi. Concentrations of selected elements were determined in 1,200 samples from the same set. Industrial facilities (metallurgical industry and power plants) located in this region represent major sources of both magnetic particles and risk elements contaminating soils within the industrial region and neighboring mountainous areas. The magnetic susceptibility has a closely correlated relationship with Zn, Fe, As, Pb and Cu concentrations in soils. The magnetic susceptibilities vary inversely with distance from the sources. The behavior of individual chemical elements during transport and deposition was studied by means of ratios of concentrations of elements and values of magnetic susceptibility. Metals correlating very closely with magnetic susceptibility (Fe and Zn) were deposited together with dust particles, whereas Pb, As, and trace amounts of Zn can create independent particles which are components of long distance transport and deposition. The concentrations of Pb, As and, in part, Zn in soils are strongly dependent on the elevation of the sampling site; in the uppermost parts of mountains they are enriched. Other studied elements show neither relationship with sources of air pollution, nor with the geomorphology of the area. Concentrations of chemical elements V, Cr, Rb, Sr, U, Zr, Ca, Bi, Mn and Ti are related mostly to underlying sedimentary rocks.

Magnetic properties of agricultural soil in the Pearl River Delta, South China — Spatial distribution and influencing factor analysis

“…Many previous studies have suggested that pollutant inputs, especially heavy metal pollution, usually accompany enhanced magnetism in the topsoil in urban and industrial areas (Gautam et al, 2004;Wang and Qin, 2005;Blaha et al, 2008;Matysek et al, 2008). In order to study the relation between soil magnetic properties and anthropogenic emission, the industrial density for each administrative district, which was calculated as gross industrial output value (in unit of million RMB Yuan, from 2001 to 2010) normalized by corresponding area (Statistics Bureau of Guangdong Province, Guangdong Survey Office of National Bureau of Statistics, 2002Statistics, -2011, is illustrated in Fig.…”

Urban soil contamination by potentially risk elements

“…The second mentioned park, Sad J. Jabůrkové, is situated in urban neighbourhood of old steelworks agglomeration. Significant quantities of Pb, As, Cd, Zn, and Fe were detected in industrial emissions in the area (Matýsek et al 2008). In the case of Sad J. Jabůrkové, the highest concentrations were found in the 10-20 cm depth, with a decrease to the top layer.…”

Magnetic, geochemical and pedological characterisation of soil profiles from different environments and geological backgrounds near Coimbra, Portugal

“…the measure of magnetic susceptibility) are valuable aids in the detection and delimitation of areas affected by pollution (e.g. Lu et al, 2008;Matýsek et al, 2008;Sant' Ovaia et al, 2012;Strzyszcz and Ferdyn, 2005;Xia et al, 2011;Zhang et al, 2012). Therefore, they can be very useful when targeting and selecting sampling sites for subsequent geochemical analyses.…”