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Journal article
Trace metal assessment in soils in a small city and its rural surroundings, Pensacola, FL, USA
Environmental Earth Science, Vol.65, pp.1781-1793
65
2012
Web of Science ID: WOS:000300771100015
Abstract
This study assesses the origin and pollution of trace metals in surface soils in a region with contrasting land uses (urban vs. rural). Principal component analysis (PCA) reveals that Cr and Ni are predominantly of geogenic origin. These two trace metals are also the only ones
with statistically significant correlations with soil particle size and organic matter content. Copper, Pb and Zn, and possibly Hg, are of anthropogenic origin, but their concentrations rarely reach levels described as strongly polluted by pollution indexes. The concentrations of these anthropogenic trace metals are statistically not different in urban and rural areas, except for Pb that is higher in the urban area. This general lack of a difference between the two land uses indicates that the influence of this small urban area on trace metal concentrations in soils is minor. Lead and Zn have the most, but still a modest number, of strongly polluted sites, mainly in an industrial part of the city. GIS analysis shows that, based on the pollution load index (PLI), overall concentrations of trace metals also reach their highest levels in that industrial area. These observations indicate that the influence of industry on trace metal pollution in soil exceeds that of other urban activities in the region. Local background concentrations were found to be very different from general crustal background concentrations. This demonstrates the importance of the careful selection of a background type in studies like this.
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Details
- Title
- Trace metal assessment in soils in a small city and its rural surroundings, Pensacola, FL, USA
- Publication Details
- Environmental Earth Science, Vol.65, pp.1781-1793
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Springer; Berlin
- Series
- 65
- Copyright
- Springer-Verlag 2011
- Identifiers
- WOS:000300771100015; 99380090348006600
- Academic Unit
- Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Language
- English