Papers by Clemens Reimann
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2022
This atlas is the culmination of one of the most comprehensive environmental geochemical studies ... more This atlas is the culmination of one of the most comprehensive environmental geochemical studies ever undertaken on a regional scale. It covers some of the most polluted, and some of the most pristine areas in Europe. It provides data for many elements for which the media concerned have not previously been analysed on a large regional scale and demonstrates that many of these are part of the emission spectra from industries within the area covered. It casts light on many processes governing the distribution of elements in the biosphere, pedosphere and geosphere, questioning some established theories and confirming others. It represents both an end and a beginning, in that the data are now available for use in studies related to toxicological impacts on plants, animals and humans, remediation of polluted areas, the scientific basis for action levels, baseline assessments for new development projects and other fields.
Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis, 2018
The study presents data from a geochemical till survey conducted in the Oppdal/Berkåk area of Cen... more The study presents data from a geochemical till survey conducted in the Oppdal/Berkåk area of Central Norway. Using a 1 × 2.5 km grid, 877 samples were taken to cover a 2000-km2 survey area (one site per 2.2 km2). The samples were air dried, sieved to <2 mm and analysed for 51 elements following an aqua regia extraction. A number of geochemical anomalies, related to lithology, a prominent fault zone, mineralization or environmental processes, are delineated for a large number of elements. Four main anomalies are outlined. A large, elongated (40 km long) multi-element anomaly is associated with normal faults and adjacent rhyolitic-andesitic rocks occurring in the area. Elements associated with gold (As, Sb) form an anomaly on the central high-altitude area just to the east of the fault related anomaly. Two further areas that display high concentrations for many elements are located around Orkelsjøen and Soknedal. Climatic/topographic conditions have a strong influence on the Hg and Se distribution. Several areas that display geochemical anomalies, where more detailed studies could be conducted were also identified. Supplementary material: Geochemical maps for all elements, boxplots showing till samples grouped in tectonic units, and boxplots showing till samples grouped by main lithologies are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4038950
Science of The Total Environment, 2019
Analytical quality has improved over the last 30 years but external QC is still a necessity. • Me... more Analytical quality has improved over the last 30 years but external QC is still a necessity. • Methods and graphics for external, laboratory independent QC are presented. • With simple, yet powerful, graphics, artefacts in analytical data can be discovered.
Applied Geochemistry, 2018
Lactarius rufus, the rufous milkcap, is one of the most widespread fungi in northern Europe. 40 s... more Lactarius rufus, the rufous milkcap, is one of the most widespread fungi in northern Europe. 40 samples of Lactarius rufus were collected along a 100 km transect in an almost pristine area of southern Norway. Along the transect two mineral deposits occur (a) the Nordli porphyry molybdenum deposit and (b) the Snertingdal Pb occurrence. 53 chemical elements were analysed in Lactarius rufus and its substrate, the soil O and C horizon. Of these, 32 elements (Ag,
The Science of the total environment, Jan 15, 2018
Geochemical element separation is studied in 14 different sample media collected at 41 sites alon... more Geochemical element separation is studied in 14 different sample media collected at 41 sites along an approximately 100-km long transect north of Oslo. At each site, soil C and O horizons and 12 plant materials (birch/spruce/cowberry/blueberry leaves/needles and twigs, horsetail, braken fern, pine bark and terrestrial moss) were sampled. The observed concentrations of 29 elements (K, Ca, P, Mg, Mn, S, Fe, Zn, Na, B, Cu, Mo, Co, Al, Ba, Rb, Sr, Ti, Ni, Pb, Cs, Cd, Ce, Sn, La, Tl, Y, Hg, Ag) were used to investigate soil-plant relations, and to evaluate the element differentiation between different plants, or between foliage and twigs of the same plant. In relation to the soil C horizon, the O horizon is strongly enriched (O/C ratio > 5) in Ag, Hg, Cd, Sn, S and Pb. Other elements (B, K, Ca, P, S, Mn) show higher concentrations in the plants than in the substrate represented by the C horizon, and often even higher concentrations than in the soil O horizon. Elements like B, K, Ca, S...
Oral health & preventive dentistry, 2003
High-fluoride drinking water represents a health hazard to millions of people, not least in the E... more High-fluoride drinking water represents a health hazard to millions of people, not least in the East African Rift Valley. The aim of the present project was to establish a simple method for removing excessive fluoride from water. Based on geological maps and previous experience, 22 soil samples were selected in mountainous areas in central Ethiopia. Two experiments were performed: 1. After sieving and drying, two portions of 50 g were prepared from each soil and subsequently mixed with solutions of NaF (500 mL). Aliquots (5 mL) of the solutions were taken at pre-set intervals of 1 hour to 30 days for fluoride analysis--using an F-selective electrode. 2. After the termination of the 30-days test, liquids were decanted and the two soil samples that had most effectively removed fluoride from the NaF solutions were dried, and subsequently exposed to 500 mL aqua destillata. The possible F-release into the distilled water was assessed regularly. Great variations in fluoride binding patter...
Science of The Total Environment, 2007
During a recent study of surface water quality factory new white high-density polyethylene (HDPE)... more During a recent study of surface water quality factory new white high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles were used for collecting the water samples. According to the established field protocol of the Geological Survey of Norway the bottles were twice carefully rinsed with water in the field prior to sampling. Several blank samples using milli-Q (ELGA) water (&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;18.2 MOmega) were also prepared. On checking the analytical results the blanks returned values of Ag, Ba, Sr, V, Zn and Zr. For Ba and Zn the values (c. 300 microg/l and 95 microg/l) were about 10 times above the concentrations that can be expected in natural waters. A laboratory test of the bottles demonstrated that the bottles contaminate the samples with significant amounts of Ba and Zn and some Sr. Simple acid washing of the bottles prior to use did not solve the contamination problem for Ba and Zn. The results suggest that there may exist &amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;clean&amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; and &amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;dirty&amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; HDPE bottles depending on manufacturer/production process. When collecting water samples it is mandatory to check bottles regularly as a possible source of contamination.
Mathematical Geosciences, 2014
In regional geochemistry rock, sediment, soil, plant or water samples, collected in a certain reg... more In regional geochemistry rock, sediment, soil, plant or water samples, collected in a certain region, are analyzed for concentrations of chemical elements. The observations are thus usually high dimensional, spatially dependent and of compositional nature. In this paper, a novel blind source separation approach for spatially dependent data is suggested. For the analysis, it is assumed that the multivariate observations are linear combinations or mixtures of latent components and that the spatial processes for these latent components are second order stationary and uncorrelated. In the present approach, the latent components are then recovered by simultaneously diagonalizing the covariance matrix and a local covariance (correlation) matrix. This method can be easily applied also in the context of compositional data after appropriate data transformations. The components obtained in this way are uncorrelated and easily interpretable, and can be used for dimension reduction and for visual presentation of different features of the data. To demonstrate the usefulness of the new method, the KOLA data are reanalyzed using the new procedure and the results are compared to the results coming from marginal principal component analysis and independent component analysis that ignore spatial dependence.
Progress in Environmental Science, Technology and Management, 2012
Science of The Total Environment, 2004
Clean and healthy drinking water is important for life. Drinking water can be drawn from streams,... more Clean and healthy drinking water is important for life. Drinking water can be drawn from streams, lakes and rivers, directly collected (and stored) from rain, acquired by desalination of ocean water and melting of ice or it can be extracted from groundwater resources. Groundwater may reach the earth&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s surface in the form of springs or can be extracted via dug or drilled wells; it also contributes significantly to river baseflow. Different water quality issues have to be faced when utilising these different water resources. Some of these are at present largely neglected in water quality regulations. This paper focuses on the inorganic chemical quality of natural groundwater. Possible health effects, the problems of setting meaningful action levels or maximum admissible concentrations (MAC-values) for drinking water, and potential shortcomings in current legislation are discussed. An approach to setting action levels based on transparency, toxicological risk assessment, completeness, and identifiable responsibility is suggested.
Science of The Total Environment, 2006
Forty terrestrial moss (Hylocomium splendens) samples were collected along a 120-km-long south-no... more Forty terrestrial moss (Hylocomium splendens) samples were collected along a 120-km-long south-north transect running through Norway&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s largest city Oslo. Concentrations of 29 chemical elements (Ag, Al, Au, Ba, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, La, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Pt, S, Sb, Sr, Th, Ti, and Zn) and values for loss on ignition (475 degrees C) are reported. Silver (Ag), Al, Au, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mo, Ni, Pb, Pt, Sb, Th, Ti, and Zn all show a characteristic Oslo peak when element concentrations are plotted against location of the sample site along the transect. Gold (Au) and Pt show the greatest relative enrichment of all elements in the city (ca. 10x &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;background&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;). Titanium (Ti), which is related to local minerogenic dust rather than anthropogenic emissions, shows a significant peak in Oslo. Loss on ignition, a measure of the amount of organic material in a sample, shows a negative peak in Oslo and at sites close to a known dust source. Input of fine dust thus appears to dominate many of the observed element concentrations in moss. The concentrations of Na are clearly influenced by the input of marine aerosols and show decreasing concentrations from south (near Oslo Fjord) to north (inland). The major plant nutrients Ca, K, Mg, P and S, as well as Hg, are the few elements displaying no spatial dependency along the transect. Element concentrations reach background variation levels at a distance of 20-40 km from the city centre.
Mikrochimica Acta, 1986
A method is presented to monitor for accuracy and precision of chemical analyses based on the use... more A method is presented to monitor for accuracy and precision of chemical analyses based on the use of a control reference sample (CRS) and blind duplicates of project samples. The major advantage of the method is that it works with real samples instead of international (or laboratory) reference standards. Thus, it will take into account changes in absolute or relative errors over the whole observed concentration range. For each project and each sample type, respectively, and for all elements analysed, it provides realistic estimates of precision and-if there are any determinations at low concentrations-of the practical instead of the rather meaningless theoretical detection limit. By introducing robust and resistant statistics it is possible to drastically reduce the number of samples necessary for the monitoring procedure. As an additional advantage, these statistics are independent of any distribution model and solely reflect the data structure. A program for the whole monitoring procedure, the Laboratory Control Package (LCP), has been written in FORTRAN. It can be implemented on any personal computer with graphic capabilities.
Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 1988
Tests in three different areas of the Austrian Alps showed that in mountainous areas, soil sample... more Tests in three different areas of the Austrian Alps showed that in mountainous areas, soil samples taken at the break of slope are an alternative sampling medium to stream sediments for regional geochemical exploration even if taken at the unusually low density of I sample/kin 2. Bhorizon soil samples from the nearest break of slope were collected in conjunction with stream sediment orientation studies. The minus 0.2 mm fraction of all samples was routinely analyzed for the total contents of 36 elements. The results for the indicator elements in the three test areas {Area 1: Cu; Area 2: Ag, As, Cu, Pb, Sb, Sn, Zn; Area 3: As, Cu) showed that break-of-slope soil samples more clearly indicate known mineralization than drainage geochemistry. In the soils, almost all elements showed a higher natural variability of the data with considerably higher metal contents. In mountaineous regions, each soil sample will have a clearly defined area of influence. The break of slope represents a site where clasticaUy and hydromorphically dispersed elements are concentrated. It is concluded that soil samples can be used for regional exploration using low sampling densities in mountaineous areas. At the same time they will provide valuable information for other fields of science (e.g. agriculture, forestry, environmental sciences) and are thus superior to stream sediments.
Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis, 2008
... et al. 1966; 1968a, b; Thornton et al. 1966). These and other studies (eg Nichol et al. 1967 ... more ... et al. 1966; 1968a, b; Thornton et al. 1966). These and other studies (eg Nichol et al. 1967 ... al. 1986), after which time a wide range of maps and reports were published by the participants. In Norway, Ottesen et al. (1989) investigated ...
Applied Geochemistry, 2009
Forty soil O-and C-horizon samples were collected along a south-to-north transect extending inlan... more Forty soil O-and C-horizon samples were collected along a south-to-north transect extending inland for approximately 200 km from the southern tip of Norway. The elements As,
Applied Geochemistry, 1996
A pilot project for a regional environmental geochemical mapping project covering 188,000 km2 of ... more A pilot project for a regional environmental geochemical mapping project covering 188,000 km2 of an area exposed to severe airborne deposition of heavy metals and sulphur originating from the Nismelters of the Kola Peninsula, Russia, was initiated by the Central Kola Expedition and the Geological Surveys of Finland and Norway in 1992. To select the best suited samplemedia as well as sample preparation and analytical techniques for the regional project to be carried out in 1995, 10 different media were sampled in a 12,000 km2 subarea and analysed for up to 40 elements. AO-horizon (humus), terrestrial moss, snow and stream water were found to give the best picture of the deposition pattern for a number ofpollutant elements (As. Cd Co, Cr. Cu, MO, Ni, S, Sb, V). The mobilities and pathways of different elements were estimated based on the data of different media. Results obtained indicate that sulphur is not retained by the organic soil but leached to surface water together with some mobile heavy metals (e.g. Ni) and exchangeable base cations. Copper, however, is immobilised effectively by organic matter in the uppermost parts of the soil profile.
Applied Geochemistry, 1998
ÐSoil acidity status and Al mobility in podzols was examined on a broad scale near the large emis... more ÐSoil acidity status and Al mobility in podzols was examined on a broad scale near the large emission sources of SO 2 and heavy metals on the Kola Peninsula (the Severonikel and Pechenganikel smelter complexes) in NW Russia and in neighbouring parts of Norway and Finland. Acidi®cation of the upper podzol horizons and depletion of mobile base cations were only evident at sites where ecosystems are severely destroyed, in the immediate vicinity of the Severonikel smelter complex. The high content of base cations in the parent material (till) near the emission sources may mask the acidi®cation eect of pollution. Both strong anthropogenic (SO 2) emissions and natural acidi®cation (in situ weathering of black schist) accelerate weathering and mobilize Al. However, drainage conditions seem to be the most important factor determining the content of mobile Al in the podzols.
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Papers by Clemens Reimann