Anthropogenic lead distribution in soils under arable land and permanent grassland estimated by Pb isotopic compositions.

The role of land use on fate of metals in soils is poorly understood. In this work, we studied the incorporation of lead in two neighboring soils with comparable pedogenesis but under long-term different agricultural management. Distributions of anthropogenic Pb were assessed from concentrations and isotopic compositions determined on bulk horizon samples, systematical 5-10 cm increment samples, and on 24-h EDTA extracts. Minor amounts of anthropogenic lead were detected until 1-m depth under permanent grassland, linked to high earthworm activity. In arable land, exogenous Pb predominantly accumulated at depths < 60 cm. Although the proximity between the two sites ensured comparable exposition regarding atmospheric Pb deposition, the isotopic compositions clearly showed the influence of an unidentified component for the cultivated soil. This work highlights the need for exhaustive information on historical human activities in such anthropized agrosystems when fate of metal pollution is considered.

Modeling lead input and output in soils using lead isotopic geochemistry.

The aim of this study is to model downward migration of lead from the plow layer of an experimental site located in Versailles (about 15 km southwest of Paris, France). Since 1928, samples have been collected annually from the topsoil of three control plots maintained in bare fallow. Thirty samples from 10 different years were analyzed for their lead and scandium contents and lead isotopic compositions. The fluxes are simple because of the well-controlled experimental conditions in Versailles: only one output flux, described as a first-order differential function of the anthropogenic lead pool, was taken into account; the inputs were exclusively ascribed to atmospheric deposition. The combination of concentration and isotopic data allows the rate of migration from the plowed topsoil to the underlying horizon and, to a lesser extent, the atmospheric fluxes to be assessed. Both results are in good agreement with the sparse data available. Indeed, the post-depositional migration of lead appears negligible at the human time scale: less than 0.1% of the potentially mobile lead pool migrates downward, out of the first 25 cm of the soil, each year. Assuming future lead inputs equal to 0, at least 700 yr would be required to halve the amount of accumulated lead pollution. Such a low migration rate is compatible with the persistence of a major anthropogenic lead pool deposited before 1928. Knowledge of pollution history seems therefore to be of primary importance.

Estimating distributions of endogenous and exogenous Pb in soils by using Pb isotopic ratios.

Metal contamination of soils by diffuse atmospheric deposition is a worldwide phenomenon. The assessment of incorporation of exogenous metal contaminants in soils is of major environmental importance. Once entering in the soil's biogeochemical cycling, specific pedogenetic soil processes govern metal distribution patterns with depth. In this paper, we attempt to estimate the distribution of endogenous and exogenous Pb in two soils with contrasting pedogenesis, both representative of undisturbed ecosystems. Pb isotope analyses were performed using high-precision thermal ionization mass spectrometry. Endogenous and exogenous Pb concentrations and exogenous 206Pb/207Pb ratios of the samples were calculated using bulk Pb and Sc concentrations and bulk 206Pb/207Pb ratios. Endogenous Pb distribution was in agreementwith dominant soil characteristics, almost constant in the young Andosol and with a clear minimum and maximum in the eluvial and illuvial horizons of the Podzol. The distribution of exogenous Pb was closely related to that of organic C in both soils. Exogenous Pb was evidenced in significant amounts at depth. Using moderate dispersive particle-size fractionation allowed us to evidence the presence of exogenous Pb in functional soil compartments and to highlight preferential distributions of Pb, according to pedology.

Subsurface transfer of chloride after a lake retreat in the central Andes.

The area under study covers 3500 km2 in the upstream part of the closed catchment basin of the salt crust of Uyuni. This crust is a remnant of the saline Lake Tauca, which covered the area about 15,000 years ago. In the downstream part of the aquifer, the Cl concentration of ground water and Cl content in the unsaturated zone exceed 20 meq/L and 18 kg/m2, respectively. With the present hydrological conditions under semiarid conditions, the ground water residence time in the study area exceeds 3000 years. Transient simulations over 11,000 years were made using initial conditions as the retreat of Lake Tauca and taking into account a low recharge during the arid mid-Holocene period. The modeling simulates ground water flow, Cl transport, and ground water residence time. It includes the evaporation from the aquifer that leads to the accumulation of chloride in the unsaturated zone. Results of the modeling are consistent with the observations if it is assumed that the Cl previously accumulated in the unsaturated zone was flushed back into the aquifer around 2000 years B.P., contemporaneously with the end of the arid period.