Soil geochemical data from Nord-Salten, Nordland

Abstract

The geochemical study presented was carried out in an area dubbed Nord-Salten, which mainly covers the basement rocks of the Tysfjord granite, as well as interleaved and adjacent metasediments of Caledonian nappes. Prior geochemical surveys of surficial deposits on the 1 sample\/40km2 scale, as well as surveys covering smaller areas in higher detail, pointed to this area for a more detailed survey, particularly with focus on rare earth elements . Samples of till and loose weathered material from a total of 877 sites in a loose 2x2 km sampling grid were collected, dried, sieved <2mm and analysed for aqua regia extractable content of 65 elements, including the REE suite of elements, and following tight quality control procedures. The regional distribution of many elements clearly reflects geological boundaries. Maximum concentrations observed for the sum of the REEs is 1490 mg\/kg and several clusters of high REE values occur within the granite, as well as within the mangerite in coastal Hamarøy. Several additional geochemical anomalies have been identified.