A.Zissimos and C. Constantinou, 2016
This project was part of the URGE project of the Eurogeosurveys. A detailed urban geochemical mapping of the city of Lefkosia and the surrounding suburban areas was undertaken to assess the relationship between land use, geology and soil geochemistry. In total, 441 surface soil samples were collected and analysed following acid digestion. The main controls on major and most trace element concentrations are geogenic, with parent lithology and adsorption of metals on secondary Fe/Mn minerals dominating. A number of metals are relatively enriched in the soil of industrial and commercial areas, with the patterns for Ag, Sn and Sb indicating the preservation of historical metal contamination around the old city, and elevated Pb and Zn in areas currently zoned for residential or industrial purposes. The geochemistry of school yard soil generally displays a basaltic signature, with high Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn compared with surrounding sites. Children's' playgrounds have low trace element concentrations that are typical of soil developed from the carbonate-rich lithologies on the island. However, a high proportion of the playgrounds contain elevated As concentrations (>10 mg/kg) that can be linked to a particular source of transported fill. The results will assist in developing regulatory values for chemical elements in Cypriot urban soil that take into account the influence of geogenic factors and also indicate the need for regulation in the use of land fill or transported soil.