Regional patterns of the accumulation of toxic and nutrient elements in the superficial formations of Hungary

Abstract

South of the Sudetes and Tatra Mountains young sediments contain more of almost all micro-and mesoelements than those to the north of the Carpathian Mountains, which were covered by ice during the Late Pleistocene. As detailed investigations show this larger unit is a collection of many individual geochemical regions, among which there are four on the area of Hungary: the region of soil calcification in the central part of Hungary, the slope debris of the foothills of the Eastern Alps, the floodplains of the rivers of Eastern Hungary that are contaminated with the waste material of heavy industry, and the rest of the country. No general geochemical background can be given to the whole; the background value intervals for each element shall be given for each geochemical region separately. In Eastern Hungary, where those rivers flow that originate from the heavy industrial centers of Transylvania and Slovakia, the toxic elements can locally exceed the limit value. In the central part of the country, however, the micro-elements are frequently found below the minimum concentration required, since a carbonate accumulation zone develops above the groundwater level and the carbonate minerals contain low amounts of nutrient elements.Key words: trace elements, geochemical maps, background level, regional anomalies, heterogeneity, stream sediment, floodplain sediment, soil calcification Soil-forming sediments and their origin in HungaryGeographers divide the loose plains and hilly regions of Hungary into five separate units (Pécsi 1967): Tisza Plain, Danube Plain, Little Plain, West Hungarian Borderline and Transdanubian Range. The near-surface and superficial formations of these re- 1788-2281/$20.00 © 2014 Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest Central European Geology, Vol. 57/3, 231-251 (2014 DOI: 10.1556/CEuGeol.57.2014.1 * Corresponding author; Geological and Geophysical Institute; Stefánia út 14, H-1143 Budapest, Hungary; E-mail: fugedi.ubul@mfgi.hu Received: October 28, 2014; accepted: October 28, 2014 gions are usually young, loose sediments, from the uppermost part of which soil forms. These regions are the main areas of agricultural production of Hungary.The three plains are accumulation regions where rivers coming from the surrounding mountains deposit their alluvium. In regions where the groundwater level is located near to the surface the sediments could have undergone salinization.According to the same type of division, there are two mountainous areas in Hungary: the Transdanubian Mountains and the North Hungarian Range. The mountains are predominantly built up of older, Mesozoic rocks, while the intermountain basins are filled with younger sediments. On the hard rocks mostly younger sediments are deposited with variable thicknesses.With regard to agriculture, forestry and environmental geology, the loose sediments are of importance in the mountainous areas as well. Danube PlainThe largest area of blown sand of the country is situated above the ridge of the Danube-Tisza Interfluve where the thickness of the blown sa...