Abstract:The characterization of the content of trace metals in soils is an instrument in many programs of environmental protection, including the establishment of regional-level standards to detect sites affected by contamination. The objectives of the present study were to study the available levels of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in surface horizons of agricultural soils in a typical European Mediterranean region, to establish the geochemical for Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn, respectively. Soil properties were found to be correlated with the available heavy metal content, suggesting that the enhanced mobility of heavy metals are related to anthropic activities.

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The conservation of archaeological marine iron artefacts requires chloride ions removal. In this study, the removal of chloride ions was undertaken by two electrochemical methods: the electrolytic and the galvanic reduction in alkaline media. The results were compared with those obtained by the washing and the sulphite reduction methods, under identical conditions. The experiments were performed on samples coming from an 18th century cast iron cannon‐ball, found in the archaeological context of a shipwreck, l'Océan, which sank near the southern Portuguese coast, in 1759. The extraction of chloride ions was monitored by ionic chromatography (IC). The results allow to conclude that the sulphite reduction experiments using the mixture 0.5 M NaOH/0.5 M Na2SO3 presents the higher efficiency in the first week, being further overcome by both electrochemical methods. After 40 days of treatment, the electrolytic reduction is the most efficient method.

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