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• Accuracy assessment of different soil databases concerning WRB reference soil groups

  1-12

  Dániel Balla

  Orsolya Varga

  Marianna Zichar

  Views:

  232

  As a result of international cooperation, the conditions of data access and data usage have been significantly improved during the last two decades. Also, the establishment of web-based geoinformatic infrastructure allowed researchers to share their results with the scientific community more efficiently on the international level. The aim of this study is to investigate the accuracy of databases with different spatial resolutions, using the reference profiles of LUCAS topsoil database. In our study, we investigated the accuracy of World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) Reference Soil Groups (RSG) groups stored in freely accessible soil databases (European Soil Database (ESDB), International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC)) in Hungary. The study concluded that the continental scale database tends to be more accurate. We used the Kappa Index of Agreement (KIA) statistical index to evaluate accuracy. The European and the international databases showed a value of 0.9643 and 0.3968, respectively. Considering the results, we can conclude that the spatial resolution has a relevant impact on the accuracy of databases, however, the study should be extended to the national level and the indices should be assessed together.

• Case study for estimation of the amount of contaminants stored in soil in an industrial area

  1-11

  Gergő Karancsi

  Emőke Kiss

  Dániel Béres

  Dániel Balla

  Views:

  294

  One of the main sources of contaminants in the soil is industrial activity which has become one of the major environmental problems of the last few decades. The development of geoinformatics as well as the introduction of standards and regulations has led to a decreased risk of soil contamination and the cost-effective optimization of remediation activities. Based on the above, the aim of our study is to demonstrate the geoinformation processing of the remediation performed in an industrial area located in the Great Hungarian Plain, with special regard to the estimation of the amount and spread of the contaminants accumulated in the soil. In order to reveal the lithological and hydrogeological properties of the investigated area and the environmental status of the underground areas, we performed a large number of shallow land drillings (115). During the field sampling, 1000–1500 grams of samples were collected from the drill bit and were processed in an accredited laboratory. Based on the concentration and volume models created it can be concluded that with the estimations performed via modeling, we were able to locate the most critical areas from the standpoint of contamination. It was revealed that the focal point of the contaminants accumulated in the soil was in the central part of the investigated area. Furthermore, the model demonstrated the effect of lithological factors, since contaminants tend to accumulate more heavily in cohesive soils compared to porous rocks. The extent of contaminant concentration in the aquifer increased with decreasing depth; however, after reaching the floor clay the extent of contaminant concentration began to decrease. The lithological layer closest to the surface contained the most contaminants.