Regolith chemical composition

Forstner, 1984 Forstner, 1988). Usually, the chemical compositions of these sediments are close to those of the regoliths and C-horizons in soil profiles of a given area. As in soils, trace elements can be contained in the mineral phases or adsorbed on them (Bourg, 1988). In this paper, we discuss river sediments in connection with naturally contaminated catchments (Section 3). In this field, a good knowledge of typical natural trace element ranges is particularly important in order to assess a possible anthropogenic contribution. 

Plumb, R. C., Tantayanon, R., Libby, M., and Xu, W. W. (1989). Chemical model for Viking biology experiments Implications for the composition of the martian regolith. Nature (London) 338, 633-635. 

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