Variation in Soil Geochemistry across the Maritime Provinces, Eastern Canada

The North American Soil Geochemical Landscape Project (NASGLP) is a tri-national soil geochemical initiative involving the federal, provincial and state geological surveys of Canada, the United States and Mexico. The objective of this multi-national project is to establish, for the first time, a continental-scale database of inorganic, organic and microbiological soil geochemical data.

During the 2007 field season, the first soil samples of the NASGLP were collected from the Maritime Provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island) of eastern Canada at an average sampling density of two samples per 40 km by 40 km grid cell yielding an overall sample density of 2 samples per 1600 km2 (or double the average sampling density of 1 sample per 1600 km2 for the remainder of the NASGLP). A total of 181 sites (New Brunswick – 118, Nova Scotia – 54 and Prince Edward Island – 9) were sampled employing rigid sampling protocols established by the NASGLP.

Soil samples were collected by shovel from hand-dug pits averaging approximately 75 cm in depth. Samples were collected from the Public Health (PH) layer (0 – 5 cm) as well as the A, B and C soil horizons (based on Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's “The Canadian System of Soil Classification”). At each site, measurements of: (i) soil gas radon; (ii) in situ gamma ray spectrometric readings of Total Counts, eU, eTh, and K (iii) soil permeability were also collected. Additional soil material was also collected for the determination of bulk density and/or moisture content.

Preliminary results received to date for a number of elements including arsenic, uranium and radon will be presented and discussed in context of the regional surficial and bedrock geology.