STUDY OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF TRACE-ELEMENTS IN SOILS IN AND AROUND MYSORE CITY, KARNATAKA

Soil samples collected from various places in and around Mysore were a nalyzed for the total trace elements such as Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, and C d. The results of the analysis indicate that the concentration of lead and cadmium in soils is below 2.5 mu g ml(-1) and 0.2 mu g ml(-1) res pectively, which are the minimum detection levels, whereas the concent ration of iron, manganese, copper, and zinc in most of the samples is within the global average ranges of 3%, 500-1000 mu g g(-1), 15-40 mu g g(-1), and 50-100 mu g g(-1), respectively. The investigated area ha s the presence of gneisses and schists, in which partly there are igne ous intrusions and pegmatitic intrusions. There are amphibolite enclav es in gneisses that account for the higher concentration of trace elem ents. The lower concentration may be attributed to the presence of sil icic type of rock.