الأهمية البيئية للجيوكيمياء الرسوبية للمنغنيز في مناطق مختارة من العراق

Abstract EN

The work studies mobile manganese (Mn) (soluble in 25% v/v glacial acetic acid) and its environmental significance in the areas of Mosul and Basra.

For this purpose, 85 samples of rock (Middle and Upper Miocene), soil (of Mosul and Basra cities), water (Tigris river, mineral springs and rain) and dust are analyzed.

Factors controlling the distribution of Mn in the Miocene strata are the contents of carbonates, Fe oxyhydroxides and clay minerals.

Also dust is found to be an important source for Mn in the study area and perhaps throughout Iraq.

The Mn in the Basra soils is lower than that of Mosul soils.

As for water, the controlling factors for Mn increase are pH, EC, temperature of hot springs, and the wastes discharged into the Tigris River.

The importance of this work arises from the widely debated relationship between Mn intake by humans and the nervous system and consequently Parkinson’s Disease (PD).

Official statistics (1985-2000) show that Mosul has twice as many PD cases than Basra, while both have roughly the same population.

This is in agreement with lower Mn values in the soils and dust of Basra compared with Mosul.

However, the drinking water of Mosul has lower Mn than Basra.

This observation is explained by the abundant Ca ion in Basra drinking water where Ca impedes the absorption of Mn during metabolic processes within the human body.