Transport of organic chlorine through soil : A study of organic chlorine in soil water from a catchment in northern Sweden  

Abstract: Chlorine is an element commonly found in the environment of our planet, in the atmosphere, the earth crust and the oceans. Chlorine occurs in two forms, inorganic chloride (Clin) and organically bound chlorine (Clorg), also called organochlorine. For a long time, the organic halogens (among them the organic chlorine) had been considered as produced only by human activities. However, the research of the recent decades suggests a considerably amount of naturally produced organic chlorine in soil and water. Through the research, a hypothesis have emerged, suggesting that there occur a formation of organic chlorine in the top soil layer where chloride is consuming, while the organic chlorine is degrading on deeper soil levels, causing a release of chloride. The study in this thesis attempts to explore the transportation of organic chlorine through soil. 49 soil water samples were collected at three transects, S04, S12 and S22, nearby a stream in northern Sweden and analysed for Clorg, using an AOX-analyser. The results suggest a decrease in concentrations of Clorg by soil depth for transects S04 and S12. The study also indicates that concentrations of Clorg are decreasing with increasing distance from the stream, where the highest mean concentration was found in the organic matter-rich riparian transect S04. Further conclusions are that the spring flood and changes in groundwater level may influence the concentrations of Clorg.