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The Influence of Anthropogenic Sulfur Inputs upon Soil Properties in the Copper Basin Region of Tennessee
Author(s) -
Wolt J. D.,
Lietzke D. A.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1982.03615995004600030040x
Subject(s) - gibbsite , kaolinite , soil water , weathering , sulfate , copper , soil acidification , environmental chemistry , sulfur , sulfide , eluvium , geology , environmental science , chemistry , soil ph , mineralogy , soil science , geochemistry , organic chemistry
Anthropogenic sulfur (S) released from historical copper‐sulfide ore smelting in the Copper Basin of Tennessee provides an example of acid‐sulfate weathering from which the long‐term impact of acid‐sulfate precipitation upon soils of the Southern Appalachians may be inferred. Three similar soils (clayey and fine‐loamy, oxidic, mesic Typic Hapludults) were described and sampled downwind from smelter operations in the Copper Basin along a gradient of diminishing S input. The soil at the site of high S input, in the heart of the Copper Basin, contained twofold greater total S in the B2t horizon in comparison to the soil at a site of low S input approximately 11 km downwind. Decreased soil pH and increased exchangeable acidity were also associated with high levels of S input. Comparison of the clay fractions isolated from soils sampled from sites of varied S input indicated decreased gibbsite and total potassium (K) contents and increased kaolinite contents for soils subjected to higher levels of S input. The trends in total K, kaolinite, and gibbsite distributions are consistent with a mechanism whereby gibbsite was destroyed and K‐mica weathered to kaolinite in the past environment of the Copper Basin. The formation of an Al‐hydroxy‐sulfate compound as a consequence of the weathering processes may account for the greater levels of S retention by soils subjected to higher levels of S input.