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Environmental Aspects of Particle Size Distribution and Mineralogical Composition of...
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Environmental Aspects of Particle Size Distribution and Mineralogical Composition of Soil and Sediment

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Mineralogy and Biogeochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021) | Viewed by 16366

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Neda Vdović

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division for Marine and Environmental Research, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: sedimentology; geochemistry; soil/sediment characterization; physico-chemical properties of minerals; interactions between mineral particles and dissolved substances
Dr. Kristina Pikelj

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Horvatovac 102a, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: sedimentology; mineralogy; marine geology; grain size analysis; coastal geomorphology; geochemistry
Dr. Mavro Lučić

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division for Marine and Environmental Research, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: geochemistry; fluvial sedimentology; sediment source modeling; compositional data analysis; grain size analysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Environmental studies of heterogeneous systems as soils and sediments require numerous analyses to be performed in order to quantify/qualify contaminant fluxes and to describe their behavior. Sediments are often considered as the largest sink and/or source of potentially toxic elements in aquatic systems, and their importance for environmental health is widely recognized. The fate of potentially toxic substances in sediments and their bioavailability is closely related to sediment properties and physicochemical conditions of the sedimentary environment. The behavior of contaminants in soil is no less important for the soils provide numerous ecosystem services. Soils are non-renewable recources if become significantly damaged and that may have grave impact on food resources and human health. Soil aggregate size, soil organic carbon and mineral content, and physicochemical conditions are all responsible for the co-transport of contaminants in the subsurface and the soil environmental status.

In this Special Issue, we would like to focus on the study of the particle size distribution and mineral composition of soils and sediments related to different environmental concerns: geochemical behavior of potentially toxic elements and emerging contaminants in soils and sediments, new practices which limit the mobility of contaminants and rehabilitate polluted land, and sediment fingerprinting in river systems are all important factors in tracing the source of the sediments and contaminants.

Dr. Neda Vdović
Dr. Kristina Pikelj
Dr. Mavro Lučić
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Particle size
  • Mineral composition
  • Soil
  • Sediment
  • Contaminants

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 9431 KiB  
Article
Sediment Characteristics—A Key Factor for Fish Farm Site Selection: Examples from Croatia
by Kristina Pikelj, Anita Uroš, Anamarija Kolda, Ana Gavrilović and Damir Kapetanović
Minerals 2022, 12(6), 696; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12060696 - 30 May 2022
Viewed by 2282
Abstract
The rapid development and intensive production of aquaculture have brought to light various environmental problems. In particular, fish farming adversely affects the benthic environments through the accumulation of organic matter (OM), which leads to the degradation of aquatic sediments and associated biotic communities. [...] Read more.
The rapid development and intensive production of aquaculture have brought to light various environmental problems. In particular, fish farming adversely affects the benthic environments through the accumulation of organic matter (OM), which leads to the degradation of aquatic sediments and associated biotic communities. To prevent environmental degradation, proper site selection for fish farming is a prerequisite for sustainable aquaculture practices. An important physical factor in selecting a site for fish farming is sediment structure. Coarser sediments are preferred, while their mineral composition is rarely discussed. To investigate relationships between sediment characteristics and the content of OM, sediments were collected from three different sites with different aquaculture practices under different climatic and environmental conditions and analyzed during the one-year monitoring period. Grain size distribution, mineral composition, carbonate content, and organic matter content were determined for three fish farm sites (Ilova, River, Krka River, and Pelješac) and their reference sites. Preliminary results from all studied sites showed that sediment texture in combination with natural mineral composition is one of the key factors for the accumulation of OM in the sediment. In particular, the mineral composition of the fine-grained sediment should be known when conducting an environmental impact assessment of fish farms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Aspects of Particle Size Distribution and Mineralogical Composition of Soil and Sediment)
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16 pages, 15986 KiB  
Article
Morphometric Parameters of Krumbein Grain Shape Charts—A Critical Approach in Light of the Automatic Grain Shape Image Analysis
by Jacek Bogusław Szmańda and Karol Witkowski
Minerals 2021, 11(9), 937; https://doi.org/10.3390/min11090937 - 28 Aug 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4180
Abstract
Grain-shape analyses are essential in geological research because they provide the basis for genetic interpretations, including sedimentation conditions. The methods of visual evaluation used so far have been subjective, time-consuming and labour intensive. Automatic particle image analysis, including the methods used by the [...] Read more.
Grain-shape analyses are essential in geological research because they provide the basis for genetic interpretations, including sedimentation conditions. The methods of visual evaluation used so far have been subjective, time-consuming and labour intensive. Automatic particle image analysis, including the methods used by the Morphology G3SE device, open up the possibility of mass and objective roundness analysis of mineral and organic particles. The article presents the results of measurements for the grain scale proposed by Krumbein in 1941, as this scale has been used in numerous sedimentological studies. The standard shapes were analysed using four parameters: High Sensitivity (HS) Circularity, Convexity, Solidity and Aspect Ratio. In the discussion, both the results and the grain-shape standards were critically assessed. The most important trends in the distribution of morphometric parameters of the scale are shown. On this basis, it was found that it is impossible to determine the parameter boundary values that would distinguish each class of grain roundness proposed by Krumbein. The conclusions propose criteria for the automatic differentiation of angular, subrounded and rounded grains, which could be a basis for describing the shape of mineral particles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Aspects of Particle Size Distribution and Mineralogical Composition of Soil and Sediment)
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15 pages, 19103 KiB  
Article
Partitioning of Metal Contaminants between Bulk and Fine-Grained Fraction in Freshwater Sediments: A Critical Appraisal
by Neda Vdović, Mavro Lučić, Nevenka Mikac and Niko Bačić
Minerals 2021, 11(6), 603; https://doi.org/10.3390/min11060603 - 3 Jun 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3008
Abstract
The distribution of six common metal contaminants (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) in the bulk (<2 mm) and fine fractions (<63 µm) of freshwater sediments was compared to conclude on the long-existing dilemma which fraction should be used in the investigation of [...] Read more.
The distribution of six common metal contaminants (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) in the bulk (<2 mm) and fine fractions (<63 µm) of freshwater sediments was compared to conclude on the long-existing dilemma which fraction should be used in the investigation of the metal contamination. The environments included in the study (24 rivers, 8 lakes) were very different with respect to sediments origin and composition and they provided a good review of the possible scenarios. For the river sediments, particularly those having >40% of sand fraction, metal concentrations were up to seven times higher in the fine fraction, implying the necessity for considering sand dilution effect in compositional data analysis. The same samples were also characterized with higher organic matter content (OM) in the fine fraction. Lake environments were characterized by fine-grained sedimentation and the difference between metal concentrations in the bulk and fine fraction was not so expressed. The preparation of samples for the geochemical and compositional data mining should be carried out in accordance with the sedimentological characteristics of the investigated environment. It implies that the insight into geological setting and determination of sedimentological characteristics should be an obligatory part of monitoring/investigating metal contamination in freshwater sediments. For river sediments, the analysis of the fine sediment fraction or correction for sediment lithology are advisable. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Aspects of Particle Size Distribution and Mineralogical Composition of Soil and Sediment)
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10 pages, 1056 KiB  
Communication
Particle Size Distribution of Various Soil Materials Measured by Laser Diffraction—The Problem of Reproducibility
by Cezary Polakowski, Magdalena Ryżak, Agata Sochan, Michał Beczek, Rafał Mazur and Andrzej Bieganowski
Minerals 2021, 11(5), 465; https://doi.org/10.3390/min11050465 - 28 Apr 2021
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 5950
Abstract
Particle size distribution is an important soil parameter—therefore precise measurement of this characteristic is essential. The application of the widely used laser diffraction method for soil analysis continues to be a subject of debate. The precision of this method, proven on homogeneous samples, [...] Read more.
Particle size distribution is an important soil parameter—therefore precise measurement of this characteristic is essential. The application of the widely used laser diffraction method for soil analysis continues to be a subject of debate. The precision of this method, proven on homogeneous samples, has been implicitly extended to soil analyses, but this has not been sufficiently well confirmed in the literature thus far. The aim of this study is to supplement the information available on the precision of the method in terms of reproducibility of soil measurement and whether the reproducibility of soil measurement is characterized by a normal distribution. To estimate the reproducibility of the laser diffraction method, thirteen various soil samples were characterized, and results were analysed statistically. The coefficient of variation acquired was lowest (3.44%) for silt and highest for sand (23.28%). Five of the thirteen tested samples were characterized by a normal distribution. The fraction content of eight samples was not characterized by normal distribution, but the extent of this phenomenon varied between soils. Although the laser diffraction method is repeatable, the measurement of soil particle size distribution can have limited reproducibility. The main cause seems to be small amounts of sand particles. The error can be amplified by the construction of the dispersion unit. Non-parametric statistical tests should be used by default for soil laser diffraction method analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Aspects of Particle Size Distribution and Mineralogical Composition of Soil and Sediment)
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