The geochemical quality of soils in the Clyde basin, Scotland, UK : main controls and anthropogenic impacts [abstract only]

Recently, the British Geological Survey’s (BGS) Geochemical Baseline Survey of the Environment (G-BASE) project carried out extensive surveys of rural and urban soil quality in the River Clyde catchment (Clyde basin) on the west coast of Scotland. The Clyde basin is interesting as it extends from a rural upland environment in the south, to the River Clyde estuary in the north. The catchment contains an historic lead mining area known as Leadhills that was active until the mid 20th century. In addition, the estuary and lower reaches of the river formed the transport and shipping links that drove the development of Scotland’s main conurbation – the city of Glasgow, which is centred on the River Clyde. Although heavy industry and mining have now declined, the newly available G-BASE soil datasets demonstrate the impacts of urbanisation and the post-industrial legacy of the Glasgow conurbation as well as of historical mining activities on environmental quality.