Environmental Stratigraphy—Chemical Markers of Historic Contamination in Soils and Sediments

Dear Colleagues,

Throughout history, mankind has left evidence of its activities on the Earth’s surface. Many of these activities (e.g., agricultural, industrial, mining, urban) have left a legacy of contamination of soils and sediments. ‘Environmental Stratigraphy’ is a discipline in which the chemical markers of contamination can be fingerprinted, using field, forensic, statistical and chemometric approaches. The basis of Environmental Stratigraphy is the Source – Pathway – Receptor model, in which the contaminants that originate in the source move through pathways to accumulate in receptors, chiefly sediments and soils. A natural analogue is the record by soil and sediments of volcanic events. Contaminant accumulation in the receptors is spatially controlled by sedimentary or soil-forming processes, and temporally controlled by the timing of the contaminating activity. Chemical analysis, combined with sedimentary logging and dating, enables detailed pictures to be developed of contamination histories that can be linked to their possible sources. A contaminant signature is rarely based on a single substance. It often comprises several substances emitted by the source industry or activity. Contamination events are recorded by the soil or sediments that will combine them. In some cases, the observed signature is unique to an activity and may help to identify it (e.g., in forensics and industrial archaeology).  Spot accumulations of contaminants may lie within the sedimentary or soil sequence, and constitute potential hazards in relation with climate change or extreme events. In this Special Issue we wish to publish original research, reviews and perspectives that describe recent advances and case studies on the techniques, outcomes and processes involved in Environmental Stratigraphy.

Dr. Bruno Lemière
Prof. Dr. Karen Hudson-Edwards
Guest Editors

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