Soil contamination interpretation using self-organizing maps

Abstract

The present study deals with the problem of soil contamination risk assessment for a region being actively impact by the routine production of Kremikovtzi metallurgical plant near Sofia, Bulgaria. Although the production is now cancelled, the soil pollution is present and needs careful assessment. The application of self-organizing maps classification strategy of Kohonen makes it possible to identify: a/ pollution sources in the region of interest; b/ spatial patterns of similarity of polluted sites and the reason for the specific pollution. © 2012 Global NEST Printed in Greece. All rights reserved.