Group News

The new publication in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta demonstrates how aluminium can slow the transformation of jarosite, and change the products of its transformation. Jarosite is commonly associated with acid sulfate soils, and the study sheds new light on the possible effect of Al in stabilising jarosite in flooded acid sulfate soils.

The study shows that combined sulfate and limestone amendment of intermittently flooded rice growing soil is an effective treatment to decrease the amount of both arsenic and cadmium that is taken up by rice. The findings have been released in an article that was published in the journal Environmental Pollution.

A new study published in Geochimica Cosmochimica Acta explores how vivianite transformation occurs in intertidal sediments in the presence and absence of sulfide and calcium carbonate. The outcomes are important to understand the dynamics of P in sediments following sea level rise.

The new article, published in ACS Earth and Space Chemistry, explores how to use a range of laboratory-based mineral characterisation techniques to reveal the elemental substitution of jarosite. The results have implications for measuring the Al content in natural samples of jarosite.

The new article, published in the journal Chemosphere, is titled "Temporal development of arsenic speciation and extractability in acidified and non-acidified paddy soil amended with silicon-rich fly ash and manganese- or zinc-oxides under flooded and drainage conditions".

Joëlle Kubeneck has successfully defended her doctoral thesis in the Soil Chemistry group.

To mark World Soil Day 2023, Agroscope has published the Geochemical Soil Atlas of Switzerland. The atlas presents a survey of the geogenic distribution of 20 toxic and/or essential elements in Swiss soils, and several other soil parameters, using soil samples from across the country and interpolation to produce the cartographic visualisations. Jolanda Reusser, based at Agroscope and the IBP is lead author, and Ruben Kretzschmar is a contributing co-author.

The new publication in Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts, follows the transformation of ferrihydrite and lepidocrocite in periodically flooded rice paddy soils. The work comes out of the ERC IRMIDYN project, and was led by Katrin Schulz, with Luiza Notini, Andrew Grigg, Joëlle Kubeneck, Worachart Wisawapipat (Kasetsart Univeristy), Laurel ThomasArrigo (now at the University of Neuchatel) and Ruben Kretzschmar.

Andrew has successfully defended his doctoral thesis.