Inorganic soil geochemical baseline data for the urban area of the Belfast Metropolitan Area, Northern Ireland

Nice, S.E.. 2010 Inorganic soil geochemical baseline data for the urban area of the Belfast Metropolitan Area, Northern Ireland. Nottingham, UK, British Geological Survey, 89pp. (OR/08/021) (Unpublished)

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Abstract/Summary

This report presents the results of an urban soil geochemical survey of the Belfast Metropolitan Area (BMAP) carried out by the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland (GSNI) and British Geological Survey (BGS) during the summer of 2006, as part of the Tellus project. The Tellus urban data provide an overview of the urban geochemical signature and, because they are collected alongside a Tellus national rural baseline dataset, can be readily compared with soils in the both rural hinterland and regionally to assess the extent of urban geochemical characteristics. The concentrations and distribution of potentially harmful elements (PHE) are of interest under current environmental legislation and for urban planning purposes. Such elements are influenced by urbanisation and industrial land uses. The urban surveying was based upon the collection of samples on a systematic 500 m grid. Soils were sampled from 960 sites, at a density of four per km2 across the built-up area (as is the protocol for G-BASE/G-SUE urban surveys. Samples were collected from open ground as close as possible to the centre of each 500 m grid cell (Johnson, 2005; Smyth, 2008)). At each site, two five-hole composite samples are collected: a surface ‘A’ soil (0.05 – 0.2 m) and subsurface ‘S’ soil (0.35 – 0.5 m). This report summarises some of the geochemical results and gives interpretations within the geological and urban context. It highlights those sites where stated soil guideline values (SGVs) are exceeded.

Item Type:	Publication - Report
Programmes:	BGS Programmes 2010 > Geological Survey of Northern Ireland
Funders/Sponsors:	DETI, Rural Development Programme
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	This item has been internally reviewed but not externally peer-reviewed
Additional Keywords:	geochemistry
NORA Subject Terms:	Earth Sciences
Date made live:	14 Apr 2010 11:00 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/9599

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