Geochemical Landscape Studies along the U.S.-Mexico Border

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Task Objectives

The USGS is currently developing a Bureau-wide investigation focusing on the U.S.-Mexico border. Three specific areas are currently under consideration: 1) El Paso-Juarez urban area; 2) Brownsville-Matamoros urban area; and 3) a portion of the Chihuahuan Desert including Big Bend National Park. Regardless of the specific study area selected, this task will focus on the following objectives:

Generate a geochemical database for soils and stream sediments and its representation in map form for all or selected portions of the study area. This will include data on bioavailability of elements in the soil samples as determined by partial extraction methods.
Collaborate with other members of the USGS integrated science team and with colleagues in government agencies and academia in Mexico to interpret these data and maps, along with geospatial data sets compiled by the other disciplines, in terms of addressing issues related to environmental health and resource management.
Integrate the geochemical database into a web-based, geospatial natural-resource database for display and further analysis within a geographic information system (GIS) framework.
Determine characteristics and spatial distribution of the microbial communities in soil for parts of the study area.

Statement of Work

Samples collected during September 2007 will be submitted for routine geochemical analyses and semi-quantitative mineralogy. Collaborative research will continue along the Lower Rio Grande with members of the Border Environmental Health Initiative (BEHI) project. Efforts are being made to include an epidemiologist, (associated with PAHO) to help identify links in human health (illness) that correlate with geologic or environmental factors. Also, the potential links between soil and sediment composition with water quality in surface and ground water systems within the basin will be investigated.

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