Estimated Soil Heavy Metal Concentrations Across Scotland
Updated 3mo ago
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Description
A 2026 dataset from the British Geological Survey provides estimated geometric mean concentrations of Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium, Nickel, and Lead in Scottish surface soils. The data is derived from the GBASE geochemical survey and converted stream sediment measurements, covering Scotland with broader Great Britain data excluding London.
Use Cases
Map spatial distributions of Arsenic and Lead concentrations to identify potential contamination hotspots in Scotland
Analyze correlations between Cadmium, Chromium, and Nickel levels to understand geochemical associations
Use estimated geometric mean concentrations of potentially harmful elements for regional environmental risk assessment
Strengths
Data originates from the authoritative British Geological Survey (BGS)
Provides estimates for five specific heavy metals: Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium, Nickel, and Lead
Covers the spatial extent of Scotland with broader Great Britain context
Limitations
Dataset is explicitly noted as superseded by a newer version
London area is excluded due to an inadequate number of geochemical samples
Concentrations are estimates derived from multiple data sources, not direct soil measurements
Provenance
Source
British Geological Survey (BGS)
Collection Method
Based on GBASE (Geochemical Baseline Survey of the Environment) soil data and converted stream sediment data.
Time Range
null
Freshness
Last updated in March 2026, but dataset is superseded.
Geography
Scotland, with data available for most of Great Britain excluding London.
This dataset has been superseded; users should consult the 'Estimated Ambient Background Soil Chemistry Scotland' dataset instead.