Dust from tree leaves in urban roadsides, magnetism, harmful metals due to pollution

What is it about?

Sampling leaves from the most widely available trees along roadsides seemingly polluted by pollution (trafic or industrial), measuring their magnetic susceptibility of all samples using cost-effective, rapid and non-destructive methods, measuring the content of heavy metals in limited samples. Performing correlation analysis between the susceptibiity and heavy metal contents to establish the mathematical relationships between them and finally using the relationship to estimate the metal content in all samples.

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Why is it important?

Monitoring pollution (industrial or traffic) hazardous for human health is important. The method suggested here allows monitoring short-term to seasonal pollution levels (heavy metal contents) in urban areas in easy, cheap and nondestructive ways. Cities, towns or village interested in such studies can approach to the universities (geohysics, geology, environmental science or physics etc. departments) for exploratory studies through joint collaboration that will be beneficial for the university (engagement of faculty members and students in research) as well as the society/community (the city, town, village and its inhabitants).

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