Tadeusz Magiera

Magnetic record of industrial pollution in forest soils of Upper Silesia, Poland

The organic top horizons of forest soils in the vicinity of industrial centers in Upper Silesia, Poland, are characterized by remarkably high magnetic susceptibility. The unusually strong soil susceptibility does not result from weathering or pedogenesis or from deposition of natural detrital ferrimagnetic minerals but is due rather to the influx of anthropogenic magnetic particles contained in industrial dusts and fly ashes. The magnetic particles are iron oxide spherules which originate during the combustion of fossil fuels (brown and hard coals) and during iron or steel production. Heavy metals, such as zinc, lead, or cadmium which stem from the same pollution sources, are often associated with the magnetic and other dust particles and cause soil contamination, which is potentially hazardous for plants, animals, and humans. Because the regional magnetic susceptibility distribution pattern is closely correlated to measured dust fall and largely parallels the distribution of heavy metals, measurements of magnetic susceptibility, which can be conducted easily both in the laboratory and in the field, can be used as a fast and sensitive tool to trace and monitor soil contamination in industrialized regions.

The influence of industrial immissions on the magnetic susceptibility of soils in upper Silesia

SummarySamples of metallurgical dusts and fly ashes from coal power plants and iron works in Upper Silesia as well as soil profiles in the close vicinity of these plants and in Ojcow National Park (ca. 25 km east of the industrial area) have been studied magnetically and mineralogically. The metallurgical dusts and fly ashes are highly enriched in ferromagnetic minerals. The topsoils from profiles collected near the plants have very high values of magnetic susceptibility while susceptibility in the fermentation and humic subhorizons in soil profiles from Ojcow National Park is considerably increased. The magnetic properties of the metallurgical dusts and fly ashes such as frequency dependence of susceptibility, saturation remanence or coercivity are similar to those observed in the top horizons of the soils. They are mostly related to the occurrence of large (multidomain) grains of non-stoichiometric magnetite ranging from 1 to 20 µm. The similarity of the magnetic particles in the soils is taken as evidence of an anthropogenic origin. They are responsible for the high soil susceptibilities in Upper Silesia and in adjacent areas. Some of the magnetic particles carry substantial quantitities of trace elements such as Pb, Ni, Zn and Cu. Field and laboratory susceptibility measurements can therefore be used as a simple and costeffective method of detecting the presence of heavy metals in the soils of this area.

Identification of magnetic particulates in road dust accumulated on roadside snow using magnetic, geochemical and micro-morphological analyses.

The aim of this study is to test the applicability of snow surveying in the collection and detailed characterization of vehicle-derived magnetic particles. Road dust extracted from snow, collected near a busy urban highway and a low traffic road in a rural environment (southern Finland), was studied using magnetic, geochemical and micro-morphological analyses. Significant differences in horizontal distribution of mass specific magnetic susceptibility (χ) were noticed for both roads. Multi-domain (MD) magnetite was identified as the primary magnetic mineral. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses of road dust from both roads revealed: (1) angular-shaped particles (diameter∼-300 μm) mostly composed of Fe, Cr and Ni, derived from circulation of motor vehicles and (2) iron-rich spherules (d∼2-70 μm). Tungsten-rich particles (d<2 μm), derived from tyre stud abrasion were also identified. Additionally, a decreasing trend in χ and selected trace elements was observed with increasing distance from the road edge.

Ferrimagnetic Minerals of Anthropogenic Origin in Soils of Some Polish National Parks

Ferrimagnetic minerals of anthropogenic origin derived from fossil-fuel combustion, appear not only in industrial areas but also in topsoils of areas remote from the main sources of pollution. Mineral magnetic studies of fly ashes emitted by power plants burning hard and brown coal and of soil profiles from some Polish national parks in different regions were carried out. Magnetic parameters of topsoils from national parks are quite similar to those in flyashes. Structure, shape, and magnetic granulometry of the magnetic particles in the fly ashes and in the magnetically enhanced uppermost organic soil horizons point to a common origin. This fact as well as the ability of ferrimagnetic minerals to be transported within dusts or aerosols suggest that ferrimagnetic particles of anthropogenic origin can be responsible also for magnetic enhancement in soils of areas remote from the main sources of their emission. Industrialdust deposition can be easily traced in these areas using magnetic methods, which are very sensitive, fast, and cheap. They can, and should, be used in the future as one of the routine methods of soil monitoring.

Magnetic anomalies of forest soils in the Upper Silesia–Northern Moravia region

Previous investigations revealed a strong magnetic anomaly due to soil magnetic enhancement in the industrialized cross-border area of Upper Silesia (Poland) and Northern Moravia (Czech Republic). Since industrial and urban dusts contain magnetic particles, this soil magnetic enhancement is assumed to be of anthropogenic origin, caused by a high concentration of atmospherically deposited magnetic particles, accumulated in topsoil layers. This assumption is proved by investigations of vertical profiles of magnetic susceptibility along a transect crossing the border area of the two countries. The results show that the population of magnetic minerals in the organic horizon is different from that in the mineral horizons. The vertical distribution of magnetic susceptibility and thermomagnetic analysis suggests negligible lithogenic contribution. The observed relationship between magnetic susceptibility and some heavy metals, confirmed by micromorphological observations and microchemical analysis of magnetic particles separated from the organic horizons of forest topsoil, has proved the usefulness of soil magnetometry for pollution study.

Record of industrial pollution in polish ombrotrophic peat bogs

Abstract Peat contains mostly diamagnetic organic matter, which is a good collector of all kinds of atmospheric dusts and industrial pollution. Ombrotrophic peat bogs are built up above the ground water table, so deposition and accumulation of magnetic particles are not influenced by ground water and the deposited particles remain largely “in situ”. During this study, 6 Polish ombrotrophic peat bogs from different locations have been investigated. Peat cores of about 30–50 cm in depth were taken from every bog. The specific low-frequency magnetic susceptibility was measured along the peat profile in fresh, not dried sample. In most profiles the susceptibility below 10 cm was slightly negative, which is characteristic for clean organic material. Above a depth 8–10 cm the susceptibility starts to increase. Independently of the profile location, the increase is observed in all bogs and according to isotopic (C-14) dating it is connected with the post war industrialisation (1945–1955). The maximum of the magnetic deposition noticed as maximum susceptibility enhancement is observed in a depth of about 5 cm below the surface. In the south-western part of Poland the peat profiles show the maximum susceptibility above 350 ×10−8m3kg−1. The susceptibility decreases in profiles from the central part of Poland to 30–60. In the northern and southeastern part of the country the maximum observed susceptibility is about 10 ×10−8m3kg−1. Hysteresis parameters pointed at anthropogenic ferromagnetic minerals as a carrier of magnetic signal.

Coke industry and steel metallurgy as the source of soil contamination by technogenic magnetic particles, heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Application of integrated magnetic, geochemical and mineralogical methods for qualitative and quantitative assessment of forest topsoils exposed to the industrial emissions was the objective of this manuscript. Volume magnetic susceptibility (κ) in three areas of southern Poland close to the coke and metallurgical plants was measured directly in the field. Representative topsoil samples were collected for further chemical and mineralogical analyses. Topsoil magnetic susceptibility in the studied areas depended mainly on the content of technogenic magnetic particles (TMPs) and decreased downwind at increasing distance from the emitters. In the vicinity of coking plants a high amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was observed, especially the most carcinogenic ones with four- and five-member rings. No significant concentration of TMPs (estimated on the base of κ values) and heavy metals (HM) was observed in area where the coke plant was the only pollution source. In areas with both coke and metallurgical industry, higher amounts of TMPs, PAHs and HM were detected. Morphological and mineralogical analyses of TMPs separated from contaminated soil samples revealed their high heterogeneity in respect of morphology, grain size, mineral and chemical constitution. Pollution load index and toxicity equivalent concentration of PAHs used for soil quality assessment indicated its high level of pollution.

Traffic-Related Pollutants in Roadside Soils of Different Countries in Europe and Asia

We investigated the magnetic and chemical properties of the roadside soil samples collected from five European and Asian countries. Spots in which cars slowed down and/or accelerated due to the traffic organization (speed limits, junctions, and traffic lights) were selected for sampling. Apart from the Zabrze site (Poland), the magnetic susceptibility and heavy metal contents decreased with increasing distance from the road edge. The highest mass-specific magnetic susceptibility values (χ) were observed in the samples collected from Mumbai (India) and Zabrze (Poland). Moreover, the high contents of Fe, Ni, Mn, and Co were observed in Mumbai, whereas in Zabrze, all the examined elements demonstrated high contents, except for Co. Analyses revealed that magnetite was the main magnetic mineral in the roadside soil samples. The high correlation coefficients (r = 0.87) between the magnetic susceptibility values and the total Fe content demonstrated that Fe occurred mainly as ferrimagnetic particles of technogenic origin resulting from traffic emissions. The traffic origin of the pollutants was also confirmed by the increased contents of the typically anthropogenic metals (Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cu) and a good correlation (r = 0.83) between the Ti and Mo contents, which do not occur in natural associations. The ratio between particular polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and high content of PAHs typical for car exhaust also implied traffic as their main source.

Combination of geo- pedo- and technogenic magnetic and geochemical signals in soil profiles – Diversification and its interpretation: A new approach

Magnetic and geochemical parameters of soils are determined with respect to geology, pedogenesis and anthropopression. Depending on local conditions these factors affect magnetic and geochemical signals simultaneously or in various configurations. We examined four type of soils (Entic Podzol, Eutric Cambisol, Humic Cambisol and Dystric Cambisol) developed on various bedrock (the Tumlin Sandstone, basaltoid, amphibolite and serpentinite, respectively). Our primary aim was to characterize the origin and diversification of the magnetic and geochemical signal in soils in order to distinguish the most reliable methods for correct interpretation of measured parameters. Presented data include selected parameters, both magnetic (mass magnetic susceptibility - χ, frequency-dependent magnetic susceptibility - χfd and thermomagnetic susceptibility measurement - TSM), and geochemical (selected heavy metal contents: Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn). Additionally, the enrichment factor (EF) and index of geoaccumulation (Igeo) were calculated. Our results suggest the following: (1) the χ/Fe ratio may be a reliable indicator for determining changes of magnetic signal origin in soil profiles; (2) magnetic and geochemical signals are simultaneously higher (the increment of χ and lead and zinc was noted) in topsoil horizons because of the deposition of technogenic magnetic particles (TMPs); (3) EF and Igeo evaluated for lead and zinc unambiguously showed anthropogenic influence in terms of increasing heavy metal contents in topsoil regardless of bedrock or soil type; (4) magnetic susceptibility measurements supported by TSM curves for soil samples of different genetic horizons are a helpful tool for interpreting the origin and nature of the mineral phases responsible for the changes of magnetic susceptibility values.

Impact of artifacts on topsoil magnetic susceptibility enhancement in urban parks of the Upper Silesian conurbation datasets

PurposeUrban and industrial dusts of various origins contain technogenic magnetic particles (TMPs) that exhibit ferro- or ferrimagnetic properties. Their deposition leads to topsoil magnetic susceptibility enhancement. TMPs are commonly known as carriers of many trace elements, including heavy metals, which have accumulated in the uppermost horizons of the soil profile. Soils of urban parks display a different stage of anthropogenic transformation of the soil profile as well as physical and chemical degradation. Besides TMPs deposited on the uppermost soil horizon, artifacts play a significant role in the magnetic properties of soil.Materials and methodsAnalysis of the vertical distribution of volume magnetic susceptibility (κ) values were conducted in 106 topsoil cores taken in areas of four urban parks of the Upper Silesian Conurbation. In order to examine the relationship between heavy metal concentrations and mass-specific magnetic susceptibility (χ) values, 57 soil samples from A horizons were taken for detailed analysis. Additionally, the κ and χ values of artifacts, sampled from the topsoil of the studied urban parks, were measured.Results and discussionResults pointed out that magnetic susceptibility enhancement in topsoil cores was significantly influenced by artifacts and translocations of topsoil horizons. In order to assess the level of anthropogenic transformation on topsoil horizons, we introduced the Topsoil Transformation Factor (TTF) on the basis of soil core magnetic susceptibility measurements. Low TTF corresponds to high positive Pearson correlation coefficients (r) between magnetic susceptibility and heavy metal contents in analyzed soil samples. TTF seems to be a promising indicator to improve soil magnetic susceptibility screening in urban and industrial areas where topsoil transformations and the presence of artifacts are common. In areas where natural sequences of the uppermost soil horizons were observed, the vertical distribution of κ value exhibits a one-peak curve, which is characteristic of TMP accumulation.ConclusionsIn human modified soils, containing artifacts, a multipeak curve of the vertical distribution of κ value is commonly observed. Magnetic susceptibility measurements of individual artifacts display a wide range of κ and χ values.