The Geochemical Atlas of Cyprus
and the Geological Survey
Department
Dr Andreas Zissimos
Talk outline
•
•
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•
•
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Why the necessity?
Project Objectives / Structure
Tender information
Technical Considerations
GSD contribution
Results / Outcome
In context…
The primary purpose of geochemistry is to determine
quantitatively the chemical composition of the Earth and its
parts, and to discover the laws that control the distribution
of the individual elements (Victor Goldschmidt 1937; 1954).
Applied geochemistry is the application of this knowledge
to societal benefit.
Geochemical maps are schematic abstractions that greatly
facilitate visualizing, understanding, and classifying
complex spatial patterns, related to many underlying
controlling factors.
Why do we need to map chemical
constituents in soil?
• Exploration Tool
Discovering mineral resources
• Environmental purposes
Protecting the surface environment that sustains life
Improving the efficiency of agriculture and animal husbandry
and protects one of the most important resources,
underground water.
• Health and medical purposes
Studying the behaviour of elements in the food-chain and their
health effects on humans and other biota.
All of these, to varying extents, depend
upon knowledge of the spatial distribution
of the elements in and on the Earth.
Mineral exploration
• Cyprus and its history are directly linked to mineral
exploration and exploitation.
• Today mineral exploration, although diminished, is still of
high interest especially in view of the prices of mineral
commodities such as gold and copper.
• A figure that captures this interest is the number of
prospecting permits issued by the Cyprus Mines Service
with about 30 prospecting permits in force and many
applications under examination (2010 figures).
• Therefore datasets such as the Geochemical Atlas which
would boost this interest are of high importance to
Cyprus.
Environmental regulations
• In terms of soil protection Cyprus has not established and
enforced a set of statutory limits for toxic elements yet.
• Some references on acceptable limits of toxic elements
are applied through the Laws of 2002 on the monitoring
of water pollution. These refer mainly to the capacity of
soil accepting soil improvers.
• The development of statutory limits for toxic elements in
soil based on both natural background knowledge as well
as on human health assessment studies.
• Especially in view of the development of the EU
directives such us the Soil Framework Directive and the
Environmental Liability Directive.
Statutory limits of toxic elements in soil
(mg/Kg)
Element
United Kingdom
The Netherlands
Germany
Global
soil
mean
Cyprus
Residential
Industrial
Optimum
Action
Playgro
und
Resid
ential
Parks and
recreational
Industrial
?
As
20
500
29
55
25
50
125
140
5
?
Cd
8
1400
0.8
12
10
20
50
60
0.3
?
Co
-
-
20
240
-
-
-
-
10
?
Cr (tot)
130
5000
100
380
200
400
1000
1000
80
?
Cu
130
-
36
190
-
-
-
-
25
?
Hg
8
480
0.3
10
10
20
50
80
0.05
?
Ni
50
5000
35
210
-
-
-
-
20
?
Pb
450
750
85
530
200
400
1000
2000
17
?
Zn
-
-
140
720
-
70
?
National Inventory of potential sources of soil contamination in Cyprus,
2006
Land regeneration projects in Cyprus
• Total cost of land regeneration
• Impact on local communities
• Job generation
Chemical pollution and land regeneration costs
Project
Public /
Private
Sector
Pollution
/ Hazard
Regeneration Work
Time
Land use before
/ after
Cost
million
Euros
Limni Mine
Private
Mining
wastes/
Chemical
Transfer of material (10
million cubic meters of
tailings) back to the Mine,
landscaping, site
regeneration and soil cover,
planting
2009-2011
Industrial /
Residential resorts
30
Asbestos
mine at
Amiandos
Public
Mining
wastes /
carcinogeni
c fibres /
chemical
Landscaping, road
maintenance, ground
layering, soil preparation,
reforesting and maintenance
of plants, maintenance of
existing buildings, communal
works
1995-2010
Industrial /
Recreational Park
9
Chemical
industries at
Mari
Public
Through a
public
Tender
Chemical /
radioactive
Deconstruction of industrial
site, cleaning of site and
export of chemical and
radioactive waste
2006-2007
Industrial /
Industrial
3
Kokkinopez
oula sulphite
mine
Public
Mining
wastes /
chemical
Technical economic study of
the site
2010
Industrial /
Recreational Park
>1
2010
Industrial /
Residential
?
Oil
Refineries
Larnaca
Total Cost
Chemical/
hydrocarbo
ns
41
Geochemical Atlas of Cyprus
Project Objectives
• To build a multipurpose database of geochemical data
for the soils of Cyprus
• Define the geochemical background
• Help to establish a set of statutory limits for toxic
elements in soils
• Use it as an environmental and prospecting tool
Geochemical Atlas of Cyprus
The Tender
• Public Tender GSD 2005/12
• Won by the University of New South Wales and their
representatives in Cyprus, ADCS International Ltd
• Cost of the Tender 680.000 Euros plus VAT
• Project duration five years (Initiated in April 2006 and
completed in July 2011)
• Sampling/analyses/site visits/training
• Production of a huge amount of data in GIS format
• Publication of the Geochemical Atlas of Cyprus
Project Structure
Geological Survey
Department of
Cyprus (Client)
GSD Project
Committee
GSD
Director
GSD
Analytical
section
Professional and
Technical staff
UNSW Global Ltd
(Principal contractor)
John Arneil
UNSW-G Project Manager
School of Biological, Earth
and Environmental Sciences
Rutherford Mineral
Resource Consultants
David Cohen
Neil Rutherford
Principal UNSW
Advisor – Geochemistry
Principal UNSW
Advisor – Geochemistry
Actlabs Ltd
Andreas Demetriades
Consulting Services
Andreas Demetriades
Project Coordinator - Cyprus
Iain Dalrymple
Laboratory Manager
Simon
Gatehouse
Shawn
Laffan
Dorothy
Yu
Geoffrey
Taylor
Alistair
Dunlop
Morteza
Jami
John
Triantafilis
Scott
Mooney
Advisor –
Exploration
geochemistry
Advisor –
GIS
Advisor –
Analysis
Consultant –
GIS and
remote
sensing
Consultant –
Economic
geology
Consultant –
Laboratory
analysis
Consultant –
Soil
geochemistry
Consultant –
Soil dating
Field
technicians
(sampling)
Lab
technicians
(analysis)
Lab
technicians
(processing)
Project Workplan
Proposed
Actual
Month
Apr ‘06
0
6
12
18
24
30
36
42
48
54
60
Final Project Design Specifications
Field Sampling
Sample Processing
Geochemical Analysis
Mineralogical Analysis
Database Development
Data Analysis & modelling
Progress & Final Technical Reports
Geochemical Atlas of Cyprus
Training of GSD staff
Ongoing Research collaboration
Official
launch
Define the geochemical background?
A crucial term whenever natural or geogenic influences are to be
separated from non-natural or anthropogenic influences.
From a geochemical point of view, the term background is equivalent
to the absence of an anomaly and the term was first used by
exploration geochemists in order to differentiate between the
element concentration within unmineralised or unaltered rock matrix
and those rock parts that show relative enrichments or depletions.
The term became an important reference with increasing
environmental awareness and with a rising number of pollutant
investigations in soils and sediments. The term background indicates
the content depending on natural factors like lithology, genesis and
climate. The term in environmental management is more broadly
used to span the full limit of natural variation.
Is "natural" always good?
• Just because a metal concentration is naturally
generated does not mean it is not an environmental or
health risk.
• Just because metal concentration has been artificially
increased by human activity does not mean it poses a
risk.
• The problem is to set objective soil statutory limits that
reflect values above which there is an undesirable effect
on flora and fauna (of which we typically have greatest
concern for Homo Sapiens).
How do we set our statutory limits of
soil pollution?
• First define "background" – which has scientific,
philosophical, socioeconomic aspects
• Geochemical Atlas of Cyprus will help the definition
• Appreciate the concentrations of elements/ chemicals
above which there is significant probability of adverse
effects to human health
• Set statutory limits well above background and at safe
levels for human health
In an environmental investigation of
chemical pollution
• One needs to consider background in order to
successfully define the extent of pollution
• Accordingly define extent of remediation
Top soil
Cu
(0 – 25 cm)
copper
Aqua regia ICP-MS
Keryneia
5,377 sites
Lefkosia
Ammochostos
Polis
Sub soil
(50 – 75 cm)
Larnaca
Ayia Napa
Pafos
Lemesos
Cu (mg/kg)
Cu Mines
Top soil
Ultramafic
Ultramafic
Intrusives
MaficMafic
intrusive
Basaltic volcanic
Basalt
Mafic
clastic
Mafic Clastics
Silicic
clastic
Silicic
Clastics
Carbonate
Carbonate
Alluvium-colluvium
Alluv.m-Colluv.m
Cu
(mg/kg)
10
10
100
100
Dutch
Intervent
1,000 10,000
1000
800
220
135
115
100
75
65
55
45
35
15
Ba
Top soil
(0 – 25 cm)
barium
Aqua regia ICP-MS
5,377 sites
Lefkara Fmn
Ba
(mg/kg)
Dutch
Intervention
Dutch
Target
800
600
400
330
240
170
120
90
60
40
25
Technical Considerations of the
Atlas Project
Key components of the project were defined in the Technical
Proposal submitted by UNSW. Implementation issues were
discussed and accordingly revised along the way by the GSD
and UNSW.
• Sampling grid (introduction of stream sediments, some
vegetation, introduction of detailed studies, extra analyses and
elements)
• Sample processing (decisions on materials and techniques
used for sieving filtering and methods of digestion)
• Development of QA QC protocols (CRMs QC materials)
• Geochemical analyses (instrumentation)
Sampling Options
water
sediment
humus
soil
vegetation
Archiving of samples an important issue
If a Geochemical Map is a snap shot of elemental distribution
at that moment of time…its important to keep the negatives!!!
Soil sample archive for the
Geochemical Atlas of Cyprus
at the Athalassa storage
space of the Geological
Survey Department of
Cyprus. An important bank for
information extraction in the
future especially for
parameters that change over
time.
Two parallel surveys
• Soils: nominal 1 x 1 km grid with a top soil (0 – 25cm)
and sub soil (50 – 75cm).
• Stream sediment survey: sites on the sampled drainage
basins. A total of 89 drainage basins were sampled with
a top (0 – 25cm) and bottom (50 – 75cm) sample.
Analytical Techniques
Ion Chromatography (IC)
X-ray Fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF)
Automatic analysers Carbon Sulfur (CS)
Periodic table of elements analytical
techniques
ICP MS
INAA
XRF
CNS Automatic
analyser
IC
GSD contribution to analytical
measurements
•
•
•
•
Electrical Conductivity EC
Soluble ionic substituents F-, Cl-, NO3-, SO4-2
XRF Silica and other major elements (Al, Fe, Mg, Mn, P)
Total Carbon (TC), Soil Organic Carbon (SOC), Total
Sulphur (TS)
TC and SOC distribution in soils of
Cyprus
• Carbon is a vital component of soil and its sequestration
and cycle are well documented
• Its importance has been linked with climate change and
the reduction of atmospheric CO2 by using terrestrial
ecosystems as carbon sinks
• Carbon is contained in minerals and is tightly bound to
the fabric of soil and its referred to as Inorganic Carbon
(IC) because of its origins being geogenic. Carbon is also
contained in soil as soil biota, micro-organisms and
debris of plants and this form of carbon is often referred
to as Soil Organic Carbon (SOC)
• SOC can also be converted to Soil Organic Matter (SOM)
a more generic term used for all organic components in
soil.
Main pools and flows of
the natural global C cycle (in Pg)
ClimSoil report on the review of existing
information on the interrelations between
soil and climate change, 2008
Human perturbation to the flows of C (in Pg)
between the pools
ClimSoil report on the review of existing
information on the interrelations between
soil and climate change, 2008
Experimental
TC measurement
Collected sample
sieved in the field <
2 mm
Sample dried @
1000 C to remove
water content
Direct measurement
of TC on Automatic
analyser Eltra
CS800
SOC measurement
Heat 2 g sub sample
@ 5000 C for 4
hours and remove
SOC and other
organic debris
Direct measurement
of IC on Automatic
analyser Eltra CS800
Obtain SOC by
calculation SOC =
TC - IC
TC Vs Geology
25.000
Statistics for all TC and SOC measurements
25th Percentile
20.000
TC %
Samples
SOC %
3645
%TC
Minimum
Mean
15.000
50th Percentile
2521
10.000
Maximum
75th Percentile
Min
0.014
0.002
5.000
Max
19.255
15.463
0.000
Mean
5.154
1.318
Median
4.218
1.076
U
ltr
M
am
af
af
ic
ic
Vo
M
Si
C
A
ar
af
llu
l ic
lc
bo
ic
vi
ic
an
C
um
n
In
C
i
at
cs
la
tru
la
es
st
C
s
si
ti c
ic
ol
ve
lu
vi
um
Field Observation
SOC Vs Land use
Statistics for all TC and SOC measurements
18,000
TC %
SOC %
SOC %
16,000
14,000
25th Percentile
12,000
Minimum
Mean
10,000
Samples
3645
2521
Min
0.014
0.002
6,000
Max
19.255
15.463
2,000
Mean
5.154
1.318
Median
4.218
1.076
50th Percentile
8,000
75th Percentile
75th Percentile
4,000
0,000
Agricultural
areas
Artificial
surfaces
Forests / Sem inatural areas
Land Use
Wetlands
Carbon estimates based on results
• Soils in Cyprus are considered to be the greatest carbon
pool on the island with estimated sequestration of ~4Mt of
C in forest soils (Criteria and Indicators For the
Sustainable Forest Management in Cyprus Dept Forests
2006), However, this is likely to be an underestimate.
• New estimates of C
Mass of component (Mt)
SOC
All Cyprus
23
SOC
TC
Forested areas
All Cyprus
6
94
Achievements
•
•
•
•
The Geochemical Atlas the book
The Geochemical atlas the Data Base
The experience gained
The collaborations shaped
Applications and use
• Help industry stakeholders in locating resources (Mining
industry, Cement industry )
• Help environmental stakeholders in identifying pollution.
(eg arsenic GWB pollution in Mammari area)
• Giving expert opinion on issues of regeneration of
contaminated sites (Limni regeneration).
• Mari explosion area. Damage assessment and soil
impact.
Finally…Acknowledgements
UNSW and co-workers team
Prof David Cohen
GSD team
The project was supported and guided by the members of
the project committee
Dr Neil Rutherford
Extensive assistance to the project was provided by
the partner organisations, including
Mr Andreas Demetriades (ADCS)
Mr John Arneil (UNSW Global Consulting)
Mr Amber Ahuja UNSW Global Consulting
Dr Iain Dalrymple and Dr Eric Hoffman of Actlabs in
Canada and Australia.
Mr Christos Christofi
Mr Efthimios Tsiolakis
Ms Eleni Demetriou (State General Laboratory)
For valuable contributions to scientific, technical and
logistical issues during the implementation phase of the
Geochemical Atlas project
Dr George Petrides
Dr Polis Michaelides, former directors of the GSD,
Dr Antonios Charalambides
Dr Stelios Nicolaides
Special thanks go to:
Mr Takis Tsindides (Department of Forests),
Dr Dora Chimonidou and Dr Panagiotis Dalias (Institute
of Agricultural Research),
Mr Christos Hadjiantonis (Department of Agriculture),
Dr Maria Hadjicosti
and Mr Giorgos Georgiou (Department of Antiquities).
Ms Zomenia Zomeni
Mr Giorgos Hadjigeorgiou,
Mr Andreas Televantos,
Ms Eleni Stavrou,
Ms Constantina Kapodistria,
Dr Irene Christoforou,
Mr Giorgos Christodoulou,
Ms Georgia Kadi
Mr Peppinos Terzis.