Periglacial transport distance of Pb derived from small-scale ore veins in the Rhenish Slate Mountains

The spatial extent of metal contamination caused by small-scale ore veins is increased by periglacial solifluction. Our objectives were (1) to examine the spatial distribution of Pb in cover beds that migrated over Pb ore veins, (2) to calculate the transport distance of ore-derived Pb, and (3) to determine controls on the transport distance.We examined six transects (320–775 m long) in the Rhenish Slate Mountains in West Germany. The transects included four west-exposed and two east-exposed slopes with inclinations between 2–20°. All transects were forest-covered and located at 280–450 m above sea level. Soils were Dystric Cambisols and Stagnic Luvisols. Samples of 120 B horizons developed in the sediments of the last ice age (Wuerm) were analyzed for total Pb concentrations and partly also 206Pb/207Pb ratios. The Pb concentrations ranged from 20 to 135 mg kg− 1. The spatial Pb distribution suggested that 14 (out of 18) sampling points showing local Pb concentration maxima contained Pb from ore veins upslope. With a two-end-member-mixing model using 206Pb/207Pb isotope ratios of the ore (206Pb/207Pb ratio: 1.1828) as one end member and of the native substrate (a mixture of slate and loess; 206Pb/207Pb ratio: 1.2254 ± 0.0072) as the other we confirmed that the 14 Pb peaks originated from the ore, because they contained 76–100% of ore-derived Pb. By the use of a geographic information system, the transport distance of this Pb was determined to range between 30 and 110 m. Silt concentrations (Pearson r = − 0.69) and the relief curvature (Cramér's V = 0.60) were major controls on the transport distance. Our study demonstrates that Pb ore veins can increase native soil Pb concentrations in soil derived from the periglacial drift of the last ice age (Wuerm) up to a distance of more than 100 m.