Abstract
Assessing the impacts of parent material on distributions of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in soils has significant consequences in the apportionment of their sources. In this study, geochemical distributions and sources of PTEs in the soils developed in quaternary sediments and granite plutons of Pearl River Delta (PRD), South China, were investigated. The results indicate that there are systematic differences between the concentrations of oxides and PTEs in the soils developed in these two parent materials. The parent material predominantly determines the element distributions in the soils. The PTEs of the deep soils developed in quaternary sediments originated mainly from mafic, felsic, and carbonate sources materials as well as polymetallic deposits. For the deep soils developed in granite plutons, the element associations are governed mainly by their geochemical affinities and behaviors and the mineral compositions of granite plutons. Anthropogenic activities impact the features of the PTEs in the surface soils of PRD. However, superimposed regional-scale pollution was found to not hide the effect of the parent material on the distribution of PTEs in the surface soils.
Highlights
Geochemical distributions, sources, and environmental effects of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in soils have gained significant attention over several y ears[1,2,3,4,5]
We compared the geochemical characteristics of PTEs and the geochemical fractions of Cd and Pb in the soils developed in granite plutons and quaternary sediments in Pearl River Delta (PRD)
From a comparison with the composition of the upper continental crust (UCC)[19], it is found that the concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, and Zn in the soils developed in the quaternary sediments are higher than the UCC abundances, and the concentrations of Cr and Ni are slightly lower than the UCC abundances (Fig. 2a)
Summary
Geochemical distributions, sources, and environmental effects of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in soils have gained significant attention over several y ears[1,2,3,4,5]. The sources and environmental impact of PTEs in surface soils, sediments, and groundwater of PRD have been of concern in recent y ears[12,13,14,15,16,17]. The assessment of the impacts of the parent material on the characteristics of PTEs in soils from an urbanization area deserves significant attention. We compared the geochemical characteristics of PTEs and the geochemical fractions of Cd and Pb in the soils developed in granite plutons and quaternary sediments in PRD. Our objectives were to (1) present the geochemical differences in the PTEs in surface soils (0–20 cm), deep soils (180–200 cm), and the soil vertical profiles developed in quaternary sediments and granite plutons in PRD, (2) discuss the factors affecting the distributions of PTEs, and (3) assess the major sources of PTEs in the soils from PRD
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