Soil characterization using patterns of magnetic susceptibility versus effective radium concentration

Abstract

Low-field magnetic susceptibility χ_m and effective radium concentration EC_Ra, obtained from radon emanation, have been measured in the laboratory with 129 soil samples from Nepal. Samples along horizontal profiles in slope debris or terrace scarps showed rather homogeneous values of both χ_m and EC_Ra. One sample set, collected vertically on a lateritic terrace scarp, had homogeneous values of EC_Ra while χ_m increased by a factor of 1 to 10 for residual soils and topsoils. However, for a set of samples collected on three imbricated river terraces, values of EC_Ra, homogeneous over a given terrace, displayed a gradual increase from younger to older terraces. By contrast, χ_m showed more homogeneous mean values over the three terraces, with a larger dispersion, however, for the younger one. Similarly, Kathmandu sediments exhibited a large increase in EC_Ra from sand to clay layers, while χ_m increased moderately. The combination of χ_m and EC_Ra, thus, provides a novel tool to characterize quantitatively various soil groups and may be of interest to distinguish modes of alteration or deposition histories.