Use of 137 Cs isotopic technique in soil erosion studies in Central Greece

The 137Cs technique was used to study soil erosion and deposition rates in soils in the Viotia prefecture, central Greece. Three sites with different soil types were selected and studied. Soils were sampled along transects and analyzed for 137Cs. The main goal of this field investigation was to study the 137Cs 3-D distribution pattern within key sites and to apply this information for the assessment of soil redistribution. The erosion and deposition rates were estimated using the proportional and the simplified mass balance models (Walling and He, 1997). Erosion and deposition rates predicted through the spatial distribution of 137Cs depended on the location of the profile studied in the landscape and were determined by the soil plough depth, the soil structure (bulk density), and the calibration model used to conve rt soil 137Cs measurements to estimates of soil redistribution rates. Estimated erosion rates for the Mouriki area site, varied from 16.62 to 102.56 t ha-1 y-1 for the top of the slope soil profile and from 5.37 to 25.68 t ha-1 y-1 for the middle of the slope soil profile. The deposition rates varied from 7.26 to 42.95 t ha-1 y-1 for the bottom of the slope soil profile

Tell formation processes as indicated from geoarchaeological and geochemical investigations at Xeropolis, Euboea, Greece

Xeropolis is a tell site on the island of Euboea, Greece just to the east of the village of Lefkandi, and was occupied from the Early Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age. Excavations in recent years have provided an opportunity to investigate site formation processes using geoarchaeological and geochemical techniques. Sediments derived from the tell on the southern side have been lost by coastal erosion whilst those on the north mantle the flanking slope. Of particular interest is a homogeneous and unstratified deposit of over 2 m which overlies the archaeology near the southern perimeter of the summit area. The soil structure as evident in thin sections indicates a high degree of bioturbation, probably stimulated by recent manuring and cultivation. The implication is that tillage erosion has had a major impact on the morphology as well as on the surface soils of the tell. Despite such reworking and redeposition of near surface materials, it is still possible from multi-element analysis to identify the geochemical distinctiveness of six archaeological contexts (pit, house, plaster floor, alley, road and yard); pits and floors have high loadings of all elements except Pb; in contrast pits and floors have the lowest elemental concentrations

Traceabilty of environmental soil measurements

Traceability is a key concept in environmental soil measurements, and should be linked with any soil measurement, especially long-term soil monitoring, which needs to demonstrate measurement quality. This article presents the main soil measurements of environmental concern, including traceability, uncertainties and possible errors, for each step in the process. It starts with sampling the soil in the field, treatment and conditioning in the field, transportation, storage and preservation of the sample in the laboratory, then goes on to the pre-analytical treatment and preparation for analyses, including the main extraction methods and analytical techniques and instruments employed. The article highlights the traceability links that should be considered for soil measurements to achieve data comparability. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved