Spatial Variability of Heavy Metal Contamination in Alluvial Soils in Relation to Flood Risk Zones in Southern Québec, Canada
The contamination of rivers and riparian soils is a growing problem for several catchments in southern Quebec due to agricultural pollutants and other sources of pollution. This study deals with the concentration of heavy metals in alluvial soils and their spatial variability following the various f...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.4137/ASWR.S10314 |
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doaj-5181fa83d7a9404abb3cf5d1a8bc06102020-11-25T03:43:00ZengSAGE PublishingAir, Soil and Water Research1178-62212013-01-01610.4137/ASWR.S10314Spatial Variability of Heavy Metal Contamination in Alluvial Soils in Relation to Flood Risk Zones in Southern Québec, CanadaDiane Saint-Laurent0Vernhar Gervais-Beaulac1Francis Baril2Claudia Matteau3Jean-Sébastien Berthelot4Géographie et Laboratoire de Recherche en Géomorphologie Fluviale et Sols, Université Du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada.Sciences de l'Environnement, UQTR, Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada.R.J. Lévesque Inc., Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada.Département de mathématique et informatique, UQTR, Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada.Sciences de l'Environnement, UQTR, Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada.The contamination of rivers and riparian soils is a growing problem for several catchments in southern Quebec due to agricultural pollutants and other sources of pollution. This study deals with the concentration of heavy metals in alluvial soils and their spatial variability following the various flood return periods (0-20 years and 20-100 years) and outside flood zones. The heavy metal concentration of some soils exceeds levels in government standards. The elements with the highest concentrations are mainly Ni, Pb and Zn. For instance, the levels of Zn and Pb can be as high as 310 and 490 mg kg -1 . In general, heavy metal concentrations are highest in active sedimentation zones (0-20 yrs). In this instance, the ANOVA test was conducted to determine whether the differences in heavy-metal concentrations in the soils could be significant between the three zones (Frequent Flood (FF), Moderate Flood (MF), and No Flood (NF)). With the increase in the flood return rate and current hydroclimatic changes, a downstream remobilization of contaminants can be expected, leading to a larger riparian area of contamination.https://doi.org/10.4137/ASWR.S10314 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Diane Saint-Laurent Vernhar Gervais-Beaulac Francis Baril Claudia Matteau Jean-Sébastien Berthelot |
spellingShingle |
Diane Saint-Laurent Vernhar Gervais-Beaulac Francis Baril Claudia Matteau Jean-Sébastien Berthelot Spatial Variability of Heavy Metal Contamination in Alluvial Soils in Relation to Flood Risk Zones in Southern Québec, Canada Air, Soil and Water Research |
author_facet |
Diane Saint-Laurent Vernhar Gervais-Beaulac Francis Baril Claudia Matteau Jean-Sébastien Berthelot |
author_sort |
Diane Saint-Laurent |
title |
Spatial Variability of Heavy Metal Contamination in Alluvial Soils in Relation to Flood Risk Zones in Southern Québec, Canada |
title_short |
Spatial Variability of Heavy Metal Contamination in Alluvial Soils in Relation to Flood Risk Zones in Southern Québec, Canada |
title_full |
Spatial Variability of Heavy Metal Contamination in Alluvial Soils in Relation to Flood Risk Zones in Southern Québec, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Spatial Variability of Heavy Metal Contamination in Alluvial Soils in Relation to Flood Risk Zones in Southern Québec, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Spatial Variability of Heavy Metal Contamination in Alluvial Soils in Relation to Flood Risk Zones in Southern Québec, Canada |
title_sort |
spatial variability of heavy metal contamination in alluvial soils in relation to flood risk zones in southern québec, canada |
publisher |
SAGE Publishing |
series |
Air, Soil and Water Research |
issn |
1178-6221 |
publishDate |
2013-01-01 |
description |
The contamination of rivers and riparian soils is a growing problem for several catchments in southern Quebec due to agricultural pollutants and other sources of pollution. This study deals with the concentration of heavy metals in alluvial soils and their spatial variability following the various flood return periods (0-20 years and 20-100 years) and outside flood zones. The heavy metal concentration of some soils exceeds levels in government standards. The elements with the highest concentrations are mainly Ni, Pb and Zn. For instance, the levels of Zn and Pb can be as high as 310 and 490 mg kg -1 . In general, heavy metal concentrations are highest in active sedimentation zones (0-20 yrs). In this instance, the ANOVA test was conducted to determine whether the differences in heavy-metal concentrations in the soils could be significant between the three zones (Frequent Flood (FF), Moderate Flood (MF), and No Flood (NF)). With the increase in the flood return rate and current hydroclimatic changes, a downstream remobilization of contaminants can be expected, leading to a larger riparian area of contamination. |
url |
https://doi.org/10.4137/ASWR.S10314 |
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