Abstract:

 The paper interprets the spatial variance structure of As, Cd, Hg, Pb and Zn in soil in the Tongling mining area of China, makes spatial interpolation, and analyzes the pollution by using geostatistical method, expecting to provide insight into risk assessment of environmental pollution, soil remedy and decision making. The dataset of soil element contents is derived from project of “Multitarget Regional Geochemical Survey in Jianghuai Drainage Area in Anhui Province” by Anhui Institute of Geological Survey, China. With normalized datasets that are transformed by Johnson transformation, the variogram models are fitted, in which the As and Cd are spherical, Pb and Zn are pentaspherical, and Hg is exponential. The results show that the variograms of As, Cd, Pb and Zn exhibit anisotropy, which possibly is controlled by the distribution of ore deposits; Hg behaves strong nugget effect, which is influenced by smallscale factors, and the further study should increase the sample density. The As, Cd, Pb and Zn in soil in the Tongling mining area have high pollution hazard, especially the Cd; the Hg has low hazard. The pollution of As results from the copper deposits, the leadzinc deposits and limonite, and from their exploitation; the pollution of Cd is related to leadzinc deposits, the exploitation, and agricultural irrigation with waste water; the pollution of Pb and Zn are mostly ascribed to the leadzinc deposits and related exploitation.

Key words:

Key words: soil; heavy metal; geostatistics; spatial variance; Tongling