Arsenic in European topsoils metadata

Arsenic in European topsoils

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EUSO

EUSO has developed a new method to model As contamination in European soils using LUCAS soil samples. They have introduced the GAMLSS-RF model, a novel approach that couples Random Forests with Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale, and Shape. The semiparametric model can capture non-linear interactions among input variables while accommodating censored and non-censored observations and can be calibrated to include information from other campaign databases. After fitting and validating a spatial model, they produced European-scale As concentration maps at a 250 m spatial resolution and evaluated the patterns against reference values (i.e., two action levels and a background concentration). They found a significant variability of As concentration across the continent, with lower concentrations in Northern countries and higher concentrations in Portugal, Spain, Austria, France and Belgium. By overcoming limitations in existing databases and methodologies, the present approach provides an alternative way to handle highly censored data. The model also consists of a valuable probabilistic tool for assessing As contamination risks in soils, contributing to informed policy-making for environmental and health protection.

esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu

Continental - Europe

Raster

250 m (250 x 250 m pixel)

2024-??-??

2009-??-??

2009-??-??

LICENCE AGREEMENT FOR USE OF THE “LUCAS_SOIL” DATA

Arsenic

Up to 20 cm

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Fendrich, A.N., Van Eynde, E., Stasinopoulos, D.M., Rigby, R.A., Mezquita, F.Y., Panagos, P., 2024. Modeling arsenic in European topsoils with a coupled semiparametric (GAMLSS-RF) model for censored data. Environment International, 185: 108544. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2024.108544