Correlation between Magnetic Susceptibility and Heavy Metal Contamination in Agricultural Soil of Jalgaon Peri Urban Area, Maharashtra, India

Full text

Vol. 5, No.2, July, 2020
pp. 117-122
Correlation between Magnetic Susceptibility and Heavy Metal Contamination in
Agricultural Soil of Jalgaon Peri Urban Area, Maharashta, India
S.N. Patil*, S.T. Ingle, D.R. Yeole, D.V. Patil and B.D. Patil
School of Environmental and Earth Sciences, Kavaytri Bahinabai Chaudhari North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon-425001, India
*E-mail: drsnpatil9@gmail.com
Abstract
The heavy metals are good indicator for assessment of anthropogenic impacts of human activity on the agricultural soil. The accumulation
of heavy metals in the agricultural soil may not only result in environmental contamination, but elevated heavy metal uptake by plants may affect
the food quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate agricultural soil pollution due to heavy metals and to correlate it with magnetic
susceptibility (MS) measurements. Magnetic susceptibility measurements were conducted on agricultural soil collected from 25l locations of
Jalgaon area. Higher values of heavy metals are observed at all the locations and it shows positive correlation with the magnetic susceptibility.
The enrichment of Pb, Cu, Cd, Ni, Zn and Fe in agricultural soil was strongly influenced by anthropogenic activities.
Keywords: Magnetic Susceptibility, Heavy metal pollution, Agricultural soil, Jalgaon, Maharashtra.
Introduction
Contamination of soil by heavy metals is ubiquitous
problem of the environment. The mining activities, industrial
waste, atmospheric deposition, sewage sludge application,
agricultural fertilizers . are the sources of heavy metal
contamination in the soil. The mobility of these heavy metals
constitutes a risk as they may leach into groundwater that
could be later used for human or animal consumption
(Alloway, 1995).Absorption of heavy metals differs due to its
composition. The accumulation and leaching movement of
heavy metals within the soil profile is measured by the
magnetic susceptibility. Magnetic susceptibility has become
acceptable technique for pollution mapping in recent years.
Environmental magnetic or mineral magnetic
measurements are used as a powerful tool for the assessment
of heavy metal contamination in sediments and in the
investigation of compositional properties of rocks and
sediments (Thompson and Oldfield, 1986). Magnetic
susceptibility could be increased or decreased by biochemical
and transformation processes. Magnetic susceptibility
depends on composition and grain size of magnetic minerals.
Magnetic particles generated by industrial processes have
diameter of > 2μm and particles generated due to vehicular
emissions have diameter of < 2.5μm (Flanders, 1994; Matzka
etc
and Maher, 1999). Pedogenic feri-magnetic minerals are
predominantly in super paramagnetic state in a stable single
domain with grain size range from < 0.02μm to 0.02-0.04μm
(Maher and Taylor, 1988; Zhou 1990; Venkatachalapahy
, 2011). The anthropogenic magnetic particles are
generally dominated by multi-domain (MD >105μm) and
SSD size (Hay , 1997).
The pollutants and magnetic particles are separate, but a
complex relationship exists between these two. Hence it is
impossible to derive single function to calculate pollutant
concentrations from the susceptibility measurement. For each
new area of investigation, new ways of interpretation have to be
found. It is difficult to assess how far magnetic susceptibility is
providing information on pollution (Hanesch and Scholger
2002; Xue and Qin, 2005). Two conditions must be met for
magnetic susceptibility to be used as general measures of
contamination in the sediments; firstly, the resulting magnetic
susceptibility values should be greater than the background
level. Secondly,the magnetic susceptibility must show a strong
correlation with the measured heavy metal concentration.
The present study is aimed to determine the
concentration of heavy metals in agricultural soil and examine
for their magnetic susceptibilities. The results were correlated
with the heavy metal concentration data to study the pollution
in the agricultural soil.
et al.,
et al.
et al.
,

118 S.N. Patil JGSR,pVol. 5, No.2, July 2020
Study Area
Method and Materials
The study area is situated in Jalgaon, the East Khandesh
district of Maharashtra State, India, between Latitude
20°15'00'':21°25' 00''N and Longitude 74°55'00'':76°28'00''E
(Fig.1). The study area is semi-urban area of Jalgaon city,
which is one of the warmest, arid and dry areas, having less
rainfall and humidity. The maximum and minimum mean
temperature varies between 42.4°C to 30.5°C. Rainfall in
Jalgaon is predominant in the monsoon season from June to
September. The study area is covered by 0.40 to 2.0m thick
black cotton soil. This soil has swelling and developing orders
due to shrinkage properties in wet and dry conditions,
respectively. Since, Jalgaon is a fast growing district, rural
population migrates to the city, giving additional stress to
planning and waste disposal systems. The wastewater stream
carries pollutant load through city and flows from the
agricultural area, where this wastewater is used for
agricultural activities in the study area. The agricultural soil of
study area depends on the wastewater flowing from these
streams for irrigation due to less rainfall and high temperature
in this area. Use of this water for agriculture has deteriorated
the soil and groundwater quality and increased pollution levels
(Baride 2012;Yeole 2012).
The sampling locations were selected by considering the
et al., et al.,
human activities and wastewater steams surrounding
agricultural field (Fig.1). The soil sampling sites were selected
horizontally from nearby wastewater stream. The samples
were collected from the agricultural area. The soil samples
were collected from at least 25 different spots. During the soil
sampling each site is divided into five parts and from each part
the soil was collected and then mixed to obtain a homogeneous
mixture. Standard sampling norms suggested by CPCB were
followed during the soil sampling and site selection (Biswas,
2010). Soil analysis was carried out following Saxena (1994).
The heavy metal analysis was done by using Thermo double-
beam atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) as per the
standard procedures.
Magnetic susceptibility (MS) is a dimensionless
proportionality constant that indicates the degree of
magnetization of a material in response to an applied magnetic
field. A related term is magnetizability, . the proportion
between magnetic moment and magnetic flux density.
Magnetic susceptibility measurements were carried out on soil
sample, which were dried at 40°C and disaggregated. Samples
were packed into 10ml plastic container using cling-film to
immobilize the sediments. To ensure that the variable sample
volume did not influence result, containers were filled to at
least half of their capacity. Magnetic susceptibility were
conducted using AGICO-MFK1-FA multifunction frequency
Magnetic Susceptibility
i.e
Fig.1. Drainage pattern and soil sampling stations of the study area.

JGSR, Correlation between Magnetic Susceptibility and Heavy Metal Contamination in Agricultural Soil 119pVol. 5, No.2, July 2020
kappa bridge KLY4S with low frequency susceptibility (F1)
976Hz and high frequency susceptibility (F3) 15616Hz.
the expression-
A hysteric remnant magnetization (ARM) is expressed
as susceptibility of ARM (X ARM), measured after
demagnetization in the field using Molspin AF demagnetizer
(0.1T) with ARM and pARM attachment along with Molspin
pulse magnetizer (1T), measured on Mini spin magnetometer.
Isothermal remnant magnetization (IRM) is acquired by a
sample after exposure to removal from DC magnetic field.
IRM depends by a subscript. It is also function of magnetic
mineralogy and grain size. IRM was measured for forward
fields 20, 100, 300, 600, 1000mT and back field 20, 40, 60,
100, 300mT. The maximum remanence that can be produced
in a sample is called Saturation Isothermal Remnant
Magnetization (SIRM). IRM is often used as an indicator for
the concentration of ferri-magnetic minerals, but anti-
ferromagnetic minerals, such as hematite and goethite also
contribute to IRM measurements, where fields in excess of
100mT are used (Alagarsamy, 2009).
Magnetic susceptibility measurement is a powerful tool
for the assessment of the heavy metal contamination.
Distribution of magnetic susceptibility minerals in the soil
The percentage frequency depended susceptibility χfd%
was calculated from
χfd (%) = [(χlf −χhf)/χlf] x100 (1)
profile is often similar to the distribution of heavy metals
(Strzyszcz, 1993; Hanesch and Scholger, 2002). Commonly
maximum magnetic susceptibility in the soil profile is
observed at the same depth as highest concentration of heavy
metal. Magnetic materials are conventionally classed by virtue
of their response to a magnetic field. If a magnetic field 'H'
induces a magnetic moment 'm' the material is said to possess a
magnetic susceptibility-
If the moment 'm' occurs in the material of volume V, the
material is said to possess a magnetization-
Magnetic susceptibility is a unit less constant. This is
determined by physical properties of the magnetic materials. It
can take on either positive or negative values. The magnetic
susceptibility describes the magnetic response of a sample
when exposed to a magnetic field. The induced magnetization
is reversible, so no remanence is acquired. (Monney, 2002)
The soil magnetic susceptibility val
10 m /kg (Table 1). Higher values of
magnetic susceptibility were observed in all the soil samples.
m = χ H (2)
M = m/V = χH/ V (3)
ues ranges from
13.90 to 158.09χ
Result and Discussion
-7 3
Table 1: Magnetic susceptibility and heavy metal concentration from the agricultural soil of study area.
Sr.
No. 10 m /kg Cd Cu Fe Pb Mn Ni Zn
1 134.31 0.170 6.445 82.309 1.426 9.503 0.837 1.254
2 88.23 0.716 11.23 89.160 2.352 16.235 1.191 1.583
3 102.62 0.155 1.256 81.484 1.338 9.288 0.814 1.139
4 95.47 0.126 5.589 80.480 1.033 8.430 0.636 1.012
5 73.13 0.159 0.155 73.880 0.338 3.932 0.447 0.794
6 77.78 0.330 6.342 82.415 1.463 10.804 0.863 1.235
7 101.40 0.129 5.648 81.026 1.248 8.665 0.679 1.091
8 18.94 0.052 0.635 75.359 0.435 2.966 0.453 0.917
9 58.45 0.386 7.050 83.391 1.592 11.590 0.910 1.285
10 13.90 0.019 0.590 72.309 0.264 2.664 0.264 0.669
11 48.62 0.263 5.498 81.250 1.310 9.866 0.812 1.175
12 37.71 0.086 4.683 81.070 1.266 9.038 0.790 1.099
13 19.67 0.061 0.896 75.435 0.456 3.366 0.592 0.944
14 21.83 0.064 1.053 75.745 0.777 6.857 0.628 0.964
15 40.75 0.116 4.855 79.029 0.903 7.568 0.631 0.966
16 16.40 0.050 0.625 72.750 0.299 10.933 0.886 0.895
17 42.72 0.122 4.877 79.343 1.126 8.600 0.655 1.050
18 45.69 0.192 4.601 80.012 1.146 8.869 0.748 1.111
19 101.54 0.137 5.681 81.111 1.337 9.130 0.807 1.126
20 152.64 0.182 7.029 82.911 1.580 12.085 0.925 1.316
21 158.09 0.963 7.396 83.782 1.966 13.462 1.000 1.497
22 146.90 0.177 6.887 82.909 1.466 9.656 0.873 1.286
23 131.69 0.164 6.260 82.031 1.407 9.433 0.836 1.165
24 43.81 0.123 5.101 80.413 0.930 8.342 0.636 1.026
25 27.85 0.085 1.966 76.993 0.784 7.425 0.629 0.965
Min 13.90 0.019 0.155 72.309 0.264 2.664 0.264 0.669
Max 158.09 0.963 11.23 89.160 2.352 16.235 1.191 1.583
Av. 72.01 0.201 4.494 79.864 1.130 8.748 0.742 1.102
-7 3
χ

Analysis of the peri urban agricultural soil indicated presence
of high concentration of metal in the soil samples and it varied
in wide ranges. The Cd values ranges from 0.019 to
0.963mg/kg, Cu varies from 0.155 to 11.233mg/kg, Fe varies
from 72.309 to 89.160mg/kg, Pb varies from 0.264 to
2.352mg/kg, Mn varies from 2.664 to 16.235mg/kg, Ni ranges
from 0.264 to 1.191mg/kg and Zn varies from 0.669 to
1.583mg/kg (Table 1).
The correlation between geochemically determined
heavy metal concentration from the sampling stations and
magnetic susceptibility values are poor but at some other
stations it is quite high. In the present study, the linear
regression of magnetic susceptibi .,
Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni and Zn show positive correlation (Figs.
2-7), which may be due to the leaching of the heavy metals in
the soil because of anthropogenic activities.
lity (χ) and heavy metals viz
Fig.2. Cd . magnetic susceptibility plot.vs Fig.3. Cu . magnetic susceptibility plot.vs
Fig.4. Fe . magnetic susceptibility plot.vs Fig.5. Pb . magnetic susceptibility plot.vs
Fig.6. Mn . magnetic susceptibility plot.vs Fig.7. Zn . magnetic susceptibility plot.vs
120 S.N. Patil JGSR,pVol. 5, No.2, July 2020

The anthropogenic particles were possibly originated
from emission of fly ash from fossil fuel combustion
processes, vehicles, building and road surfaces (brake lining
dust, exhaust particulates); exotic material (metallic
fragments, slag and building material) incorporated into
distributed soil surfaces (Lu and Bai, 2006). In the present
study area, untreated municipal wastewater is the main
source of pollution and this wastewater is used for irrigation
purpose.
Analysis of vertical distribution of '
eposited on the
soil surface including technogenic magnetic particles and
related heavy metals. The anthropogenic peak of '
The maximum magnetic level enhancement was from
top layer to the depths of 6cm and 18cm, whereas at the depth
of 9, 12 and 15cm, the magnetic susceptibility becomes stable
and increases at 18cm. In the deeper part of the soil profile the
magnetic susceptibility was constantly decreasing and
reached constant value. The maximum value of magnetic
susceptibility was observed in most of the samples in different
depth of the soil profile. In this soil horizon of the study area,
the majority of anthropogenic contaminants and heavy metals
were accumulated due to use of untreated wastewater for
irrigation.
In the present study, the maximum concentration of the
Pb in soil is observed in the Mamurabad agricultural area near
Khedi nala, Lendi nala and Hated nala. These wastewater
streams carry the industrial waste and this water is used for the
agricultural purpose. The maximum concentration of Cd, Ni in
soil is observed near the Lendi nala wastewater flowing
streams. The maximum value of Mn and Cu is recorded at
Aman Park near fertilizer factory, Mamurabad area; the
highest Fe and Zn are observed at Mamurabad area from
where the Khedi and Lendi nala carries industrial waste
material.
Higher metal values occur in the study area is due to the
use of untreated municipal wastewater for irrigation and crop
yield. The anthropogenic emission sources of heavy metals in
the study area especially for the soil of urban and industrial
к' values in the soil
profile show the presence of magnetic susceptibility in the soil.
The enhanced magnetic susceptibility levels are recorded in
the uppermost horizons of the soil profile (Fig. 8). Uppermost
horizon is collector of atmospheric pollution d
к' value is
characteristics of areas with strong anthropogenic pressure
(Magiera and Strzyszcz, 2000; Henesch and Scholger, 2002).
Conclusions
locations are the atmospheric emissions, domestic and
industrial waste disposal into the wastewater streams.
The maximum magnetic level enhancement was at top
layer to 6cm depth and at the depth of 18cm, where at the depth
of 9, 12 and 15cm the magnetic susceptibility becomes stable.
In this soil horizon the majority of anthropogenic
contaminants and heavy metals were accumulated due to use
of untreated wastewater for irrigation in the study area. Hence,
the magnetic susceptibility and heavy metal concentrations are
both high in the agricultural soil of this area.
In the present study, positive correlation between the
magnetic susceptibility and heavy metals occurs due to the
leaching of the heavy metals in the soil, due to anthropogenic
activities.
The authors are thankful to University Grants
Commission, New Delhi for financial assistance for Major
Research Project F. No. 41-1039/2012, 08-08-2012.
Acknowledgements
Fig.8. Vertical distribution of magnetic susceptibility in soil profile.
(Depth in cm and MS is m /kg).χ10-7 3
JGSR, Correlation between Magnetic Susceptibility and Heavy Metal Contamination inAgricultural Soil 121pVol. 5, No.2, July 2020

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