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Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5118

Geochemical and Mineralogical Maps, with Interpretation, for Soils of the Conterminous United States

By David B. Smith, Federico Solano, Laurel G. Woodruff, William F. Cannon, and Karl. J. Ellefsen

Antimony

Map
0 to 5cm

0 to 5 cm

A Horizon

A Horizon

C Horizon

C Horizon


INTERPRETATION STATISTICS DOWNLOAD KML
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The purpose of these interpretive discussions is to provide a perspective on regional- and national-scale variations in element and mineral distributions in soils and their likely causes. The significant spatial variations shown by most elements and minerals can commonly be attributed to geologic sources in underlying parent materials, but other spatial variations seem clearly related to additional factors such as climate, the age of soils, transported source material, and anthropogenic influences. We attempt to distinguish the influence of these various factors on a regional and national scale. Numerous more local features might similarly be related to these same factors, but these features also have some probability of being an artifact of a random sampling of variable compositions, so that there is some probability of samples with similar compositions occurring in clusters of two or more adjacent sites by chance. Distinguishing such random occurrences from true variability is beyond the scope of the data from which these maps are constructed. Some caution, therefore, is advisable in interpreting the significance of these more local features unless some unique sources or processes can clearly be related to them.

Antimony (Sb) is a metalloid, meaning this element has properties between those of a typical metal and nonmetal. It is used in the production of storage batteries, flame retardants, alloys, ceramic and glass, plastics, and brake linings. Exposure to Sb at high concentrations can result in numerous adverse health effects. The element is not considered essential for humans. More information about the toxicity of Sb (or other elements and substances) and its potential negative human health impacts can be found at the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) website, or click to download a fact sheet about Sb. Antimony has a strong affinity for sulfur (S) and stibnite (Sb2S3) is the primary Sb ore mineral. Minor amounts of Sb can also occur in the more common sulfide minerals such as galena (PbS), sphalerite ((Zn,Fe)S), and pyrite (FeS2). In soils, Sb can sorb onto iron (Fe) oxides and hydroxides, clay minerals, and organic matter.

The distribution of mineral resource deposits with Sb as a commodity (major or minor) in the United States, extracted from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS) website, can be seen by hovering the mouse here. Statistics and information on the worldwide supply of, demand for, and flow of Sb–containing materials are available through the USGS National Minerals Information Center (NMIC) website. The average abundance of Sb in the upper continental crust is estimated to be 0.75 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) (Hu and Gao, 2008). Among the common rock types, shales contain the highest Sb concentrations, averaging about 1 mg/kg. Other common sedimentary and igneous rocks have concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 mg/kg. Coal can have elevated concentrations of Sb with averages of about 2 mg/kg.

In our data, the median Sb concentration varies little for the three sample types collected. The median concentration of Sb is 0.57 mg/kg for the top 0- to 5-cm layer and for the soil A horizon, and 0.58 mg/kg for the soil C horizon (see the summary statistics [open in new window]). In general, the geochemical maps for the three sample types are quite similar for Sb.

The distribution of Sb in soils of the conterminous United States is primarily controlled by the composition of underlying soil parent materials. Areas of elevated Sb concentrations include:

  • Eastern Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, eastern Nebraska, eastern Kansas, southern Iowa, northern Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania where parent materials for soils are dominantly marine shale, clayey till, or glacial deposits containing a significant amount of shale. In Pennsylvania, coal may also comprise a portion of the parent material; and
  • Western Montana, northern Idaho, Nevada, central and northern Arizona, and south–central Colorado where Sb is present as a constituent of sulfide minerals in areas of historical or current mining activities. Soils in these areas may be formed on mineralized bedrock containing elevated concentrations of Sb. In areas of extensive mining and mineral processing, it is also possible that there may be a component of Sb contamination from these activities superimposed on elevated background concentrations.

The Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain (Fenneman and Johnson, 1946) is bisected by the Southern Mississippi River Alluvium and the Southern Mississippi Valley Loess (USDA, 2006). Alluvial sediments have deposited in the Mississippi River valley as the river flooded in recent geologic time. When these sediments dried, winds picked up the fine material and deposited it in thick loess sheets, mainly along the east side of the river valley. The youngest loess sheets are about 10,000 years old. A pattern of higher Sb in soils developed on these young sediments reflects long–range transport of Sb–bearing material from the upper part of the Mississippi River drainage basin

Areas of relatively low Sb concentrations in soils include:

Statistics - 0 TO 5 CM

Number of samples4,841
LLD0.05 mg/kg
Number below LLD34
Minimum<0.05 mg/kg
5 percentile0.15 mg/kg
25 percentile0.37 mg/kg
50 percentile0.57 mg/kg
75 percentile0.80 mg/kg
95 percentile1.49 mg/kg
Maximum482 mg/kg
MAD0.311 mg/kg
Robust CV54.6%
0 TO 5 CM Histogram

Histogram


0 TO 5 CM Boxplot

Boxplot


0 TO 5 CM Empirical cumulative distribution function

Empirical cumulative distribution function


Statistics - A Horizon

Number of samples4,813
LLD0.05 mg/kg
Number below LLD25
Minimum<0.05 mg/kg
5 percentile0.15 mg/kg
25 percentile0.37 mg/kg
50 percentile0.57 mg/kg
75 percentile0.80 mg/kg
95 percentile1.48 mg/kg
Maximum630 mg/kg
MAD0.311 mg/kg
Robust CV54.6 %
A Horizon Histogram

Histogram


A Horizon Boxplot

Boxplot


A Horizon Empirical cumulative distribution function

Empirical cumulative distribution function


Statistics - C Horizon

Number of samples4,780
LLD0.05 mg/kg
Number below LLD83
Minimum<0.05 mg/kg
5 percentile0.11 mg/kg
25 percentile0.36 mg/kg
50 percentile0.58 mg/kg
75 percentile0.82 mg/kg
95 percentile1.49 mg/kg
Maximum40.6 mg/kg
MAD0.341 mg/kg
Robust CV58.8 %
C Horizon Histogram

Histogram


C Horizon Boxplot

Boxplot


C Horizon Empirical cumulative distribution function

Empirical cumulative distribution function


 

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