Identification of the geochemical signatures of diffuse pollution in the Tellus Border soil data set, using source apportionment

The statistical process of ‘self-modelling mixture resolution’ has been used to identify chemical signatures of diffuse pollution in the topsoil samples of the Tellus Border geochemical survey, Ireland. Seventeen geochemical components were identified, of which nine were derived from underlying geology (high concentrations of trace metals suggest two of these are from mineralised sources), four were from secondary processes (iron oxides and carbonates) and four were associated with peat. One of the peat bog components has high concentrations of certain anthropogenic elements, probably from aerial deposition of anthropogenic particulates derived from modern industrialisation. The spatial extent of the diffuse pollution from aerial deposition in peat bogs has been mapped over the whole region.