Description
Rational use and management of soil and water resources requires application of efficient monitoring system for identification of areas at risk and for undertaking timely preventive/ interception actions. Within the project, the optimized monitoring techniques based on integrated geophysical-geochemical methods for assessment of soil quality and risk to sustainability of soil and ground water will be developed. The major aim of a part of the study is to prove feasibility and cost-efficiency of preventive/interception measures undertaken at an identified early stage of pollution. The overall purpose of the project is to provide local and regional stakeholders and decision makers involved in land use planning and management of soil and water resources with a viable standardized easy-to-use methodology for soil and groundwater pollution status evaluation and assessment of a risk to sustainability, as early warning monitoring system for timely risk prevention with use of feasible measures.
Summary of project results
The main result of the project was guidance for optimized two-stage integrated geophysical/geochemical methodology of soil and groundwater pollution assessment that was the background for developing the standard screening method entitled:" Screening of soil pollution for toxic elements using soil magnetometry" and initiate the procedure of standardization of the method by CEN and ISO. In the frame of the project such evaluation procedure was developed. The method was validated in different areas (forest, post-industrial, agricultural, urban) for different scenarios related to the different pollution sources, climatic conditions, soil type and geological background. The obtained results were validated by advanced geostatistical methods. As was found, the correlation between magnetic susceptibility and elements content is strongly source dependent, therefore to assess pollution level the calculation of Pollution Load Index (PLI) was proposed and different sets of elements have to be chosen for PLI index calculation in different scenarios dependently on the pollution sources. The set of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) transported by technogenic magnetic particles (TMPs) was identified and described for different pollution source. For better characteristic of TMPs responsible for magnetic signal of studied soils some additional more advanced magnetic techniques was applied. Results of the study revealed that TMPs produced by different sources have different magnetic characteristic and some magnetic parameters could be used as the indicators of their origin. This aspect needs further investigations and the future collaboration in this field is planned. Results of the project confirmed the usefulness of soil magnetometry. The main project output is an efficient tool for fast, non expensive and precise delineation of soil pollution "hot spots" in areas of current and historical deposition. In a new legislation related to the soil quality, identification and assessment of historical contamination plays a very important role. After approval by ISO and CEN the method is intended to serve as a standard methodology to be applied at any scale (local, regional) and different scenarios for delineation of polluted soil areas to be adequately managed. The method provides data on the base of 'in situ" geophysical pre-screening which reflects cumulative anthropogenic pollution of soil with Potentially Toxic Elements expressed in total as Pollution Load Index (PLI).
Summary of bilateral results
The joint scientific results will be published in co-authors publication in high rang international peer-reviewed journals. Most of the joint publications is still in preparation. The collaboration between Polish and Norwegian partners enabled the possibility of test the soil magnetometry in pilot sites located in different climatic conditions and on different geological background and soil types. The method was tested in completely new scenarios not available in Poland or Central Europe. The collaboration with experts from Geological Survey of Norway and Trondheim University gave the access to the laboratories and helped in better understanding the role of technogenic magnetic particles in transport of pollution, mostly potentially toxic elements, revealed their different magnetic properties related to the pollution sources, assess the effect of long range transport of pollution and the role of peat-bogs in accumulation of PTEs coming from different historical and current pollution sources. The collaboration result in development and validation of soil magnetometry as the efficient screening method for assessment of soil pollution by PTEs emitted from different pollution sources. The further studies of magnetic properties of TMPs and their role in the environment and pollution transport is planned for the future.