Abstract:
To better understand geographic trends in arsenic
occurrence, researchers recently used
an interactive visualization technique to link geospatially
referenced arsenic concentration information
from a water quality database with data
contained in digital terrain elevation data
(DTED) files. DTED files allow users to
develop 3-D plots of arsenic concentration and topography.
For example, the plots show high arsenic is
1) associated with topographic transition
from plains to piedmont in New Jersey,
2) found in Oklahoma in a region of transition to lower elevation,
and 3) apparent in the southeastern portion
of California's Central Valley.
These results are consistent with how
arsenic moves in organic-rich sediments
of river valleys. However, further statistical analysis
is required to confirm the significance of this association.
