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Published on: October 16, 2018
Kriging method evaluation for assessing the spatial distribution of urban soil lead contamination
Julie A Cattle1, Alex B McBratney, Budiman Minasny
1Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, Univ. of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. cattlej@epa.nsw.gov.au
Journal of Environmental Quality
|October 10, 2002
Summary
Multiple indicator kriging (MIK) and kriging with the cumulative distribution function of order statistics were compared for soil contamination assessment. MIK demonstrated superior accuracy in distinguishing between "contaminated" and "clean" soil sites.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Geostatistics
- Risk Assessment
Background:
- Accurate spatial distribution of contaminants is crucial for effective environmental risk assessment.
- Geostatistical methods offer powerful tools for estimating contaminant concentrations and exceeding critical thresholds at unsampled locations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comparatively evaluate four geostatistical methods for delineating contaminated and clean soil.
- To determine the optimal method for distinguishing between soil contamination levels.
Main Methods:
- Comparison of multiple indicator kriging (MIK) and kriging with the cumulative distribution function of order statistics.
- Utilized both local and global variograms for geostatistical modeling.
- Validated prediction accuracy using root mean square error (RMSE), analysis of variance, and misclassification proportions.
Main Results:
- All four geostatistical methods showed comparable performance in delineating soil contamination.
- Multiple indicator kriging (MIK) provided the most accurate predictions for classifying soil as 'clean' or 'contaminated'.
- The study analyzed 807 topsoil lead (Pb) concentrations from Sydney, Australia.
Conclusions:
- Multiple indicator kriging (MIK) is recommended as the preferred method for accurate soil contamination mapping.
- Geostatistical approaches are effective for environmental risk assessment and soil remediation planning.
