The speciation of iodine in the salt impacted Black Butte soil series along the Virgin river, Nevada, USA

Salt-impacted soils occur in floodplains, wetlands and backswamps in arid climates. These soils become sinks or temporary storage sites for soluble salts and contaminants including agricultural chemicals, industrial pollutants and radionuclides such as 129I. The vertical distribution of I in the Black Butte soil series along the Virgin river was assessed and the distribution of I between I−, IO3- and organically bound I was determined. The speciation of I was compared to the organic C content, specific components of the organic C, and clay content. This study indicates that organic I was the most abundant form of I in these soil samples and that the content of organic I generally correlated to total organic matter and lignin (as measured by chemolysis) of the samples.