| Abstrakt: |
Sediment source fingerprinting can provide information on the contribution of various sediment sources to the suspended load of a stream. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential of SEM/EDS analysis (scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectrometry) to fingerprint two types of topsoil in a research basin: a black, chernozemic, farmland soil and a grey, podzolic, forest soil. Simulated suspended sediment samples were prepared from each of the two soils, and SEM/EDS analysis of these samples provided information about the size distribution, mineralogy, and morphology of the particles. The two simulated suspended sediment samples were similar in particle size distribution, mineralogy, and total chemistry, so that these characteristics did not provide a distinctive fingerprint for the two topsoils. An important difference between the two simulated suspended sediment samples was the morphology of the CLAY class particles, consisting of water-stable clay aggregates. CLAY class particles derived from the grey forest soil were irregular whereas those derived from the black farmland soil were rounded. This difference in particle morphology can be explained by the difference in land use, and may provide a distinct fingerprint for each topsoil. |
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