Discipline: Ecology Environmental and Earth Sciences
Subcategory: Pollution/Toxic Substances/Waste
Habibur Howlider - Texas Southern University
Co-Author(s): Maruthi Sridhar Balaji Bhaskar, Texas Southern University, Houston
Due to the rapid urbanization and industrialization heavy metal contamination appear to be a great concern for the environment and human health. The objectives of this study are 1) to analyze the heavy metal concentration in soil samples collected from the Brays and Sims bayou by ICP-MS and XRF Analyzer, 2) to determine the organic carbon content in the soil samples and 3) to determine the changes of the spectral reflectance in the soil samples. A total of 18 soil samples were collected from both upper and lower Brays Bayou and 18 more soil samples were collected from the upper and lower Sims Bayou located in different spatial regions within Harris County in Summer, 2016.The soil samples were collected air dried, grinded by pestle in a mortar and sieved through < 2 mm sieve. The variation of spatial trends in trace metal concentrations along the bayous are mapped with ArcGIS 10.3 software Spectral reflectance of the air-dried and sieved (<2 mm) soil samples were measured with a Field Portable Spectroradiometer (Spectral Evolution Inc.) with wavelength ranges from 350-2500 nm and scan time of 100 milliseconds and the Total C and N analyzer (Shimadzu) was used for the Organic C analysis of the soil samples. The concentrations of heavy metals like Zn, Cr, Ba, Sr, Mn and S were found to be in significant amount compared to the other metals while As ranged from 1.73 to 4.13 ppm. The spatial distribution analysis revealed that there is slight to no increasing trends were observed towards the downstream of Brays Bayou compared to upstream. The results from the C analyzer indicated that some locations of Sims Bayou are having more Organic C compared to Brays Bayou. The spectral reflectance of the soils decreased with increase in the organic C content of the soils. Monitoring and mapping the spatial distribution of the heavy metals along the urban bayous will greatly improve the environmental and ecological health.
Not SubmittedFunder Acknowledgement(s): Funder Acknowledgement(s): This study was supported, in part, by the grant from National Science Foundation (NSF) Targeted Infusion and Research Initiation grants to Maruthi Sridhar Balaji Bhaskar, Department of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Texas Southern University, Houston TX 77004.
Faculty Advisor: Dr.Maruthi Sridhar Balaji Bhaskar, bhaskarm@tsu.edu
Role: I had done the soil sampling analysis of the Brays and Sims Bayou, ICP-MS and XRF analysis, Spectral reflectance analysis and Organic C analysis of those soil sample as a part of my research activities .