Peer-Reviewed Journal Details
Mandatory Fields
Golden, N,Zhang, CS,Potito, AP,Gibson, PJ,Bargary, N,Morrison, L
2017
May
Environmental Research
Impact of grass cover on the magnetic susceptibility measurements for assessing metal contamination in urban topsoil
Published
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Optional Fields
Magnetic susceptibility Soil metal contamination Grass cover in situ MS Environmental magnetism MONITOR SOIL POLLUTION HEAVY-METALS PROXY METHOD ENVIRONMENTAL SETTINGS SPATIAL-PATTERNS INDUSTRIAL-AREA LOLIUM-PERENNE FLY-ASH CITY IRELAND
155
294
306
In recent decades, magnetic susceptibility monitoring has developed as a useful technique in environmental pollution studies, particularly metal contamination of soil. This study provides the first ever examination of the effects of grass cover on magnetic susceptibility (MS) measurements of underlying urban soils. Magnetic measurements were taken in situ to determine the effects on kappa (volume magnetic susceptibility) when the grass layer was present (kappa(grass)) and after the grass layer was trimmed down to the root (kappa(grass)). Height of grass was recorded in situ at each grid point. Soil samples (n=185) were collected and measurements of mass specific magnetic susceptibility (chi) were performed in the laboratory and frequency dependence (chi(fd)%) calculated. Metal concentrations (Pb, Cu, Zn and Fe) in the soil samples were determined and a gradiometry survey carried out in situ on a section of the study area. Significant correlations were found between each of the MS measurements and the metal content of the soil at the p < 0.01 level. Spatial distribution maps were created using Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) and Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) to identify common patterns. kappa(grass) (ranged from 1.67 to 301.00x10(-5) SI) and kappa(no grass) (ranged from 2.08 to 530.67x10(-5) SI) measured in situ are highly correlated [r=0.966, n=194, p < 0.01]. The volume susceptibility datasets in the presence and absence of grass coverage share a similar spatial distribution pattern. This study re-evaluates in situ it monitoring techniques and the results suggest that the removal of grass coverage prior to obtaining in situ kappa measurements of urban soil is unnecessary. This layer does not impede the MS sensor from accurately measuring elevated it in soils, and therefore it measurements recorded with grass coverage present can be reliably used to identify areas of urban soil metal contamination.
10.1016/j.envres.2017.02.032
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