Trace metal pollution and microtopography in a floodplain, the Háros Island (Budapest)

Abstract

Floodplains are particularly vulnerable environments to pollution. In the vicinities of cities heavy metals transported by rivers accumulate in floodplain deposits and vegetation. In the paper the results of investigations directed at the filtering capacities of floodplain deposits during two flood waves. From the analyses of groundwater samples it was found that Pb, Cd and Ca contents of groundwater grow with depth in alluvial soils. The observation is explained by the spread of contamination upwards from deeper horizons.