Soil Magnetism

Neli Jordanova graduated with a degree in geophysics and obtained her PhD at Faculty of Physics of Sofia University “St. Kl. Ohridski”. Since 1996 she has worked at the National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and presently she is a Professor there. She was awarded the degree “Doctor of Science” in 2015, based on her dissertation on magnetic properties of soils in Bulgaria. N. Jordanova’s research interests cover different aspects of environmental magnetism and archaeomagnetism, such as exploring the link between magnetic properties of different types of soils and pedogenic processes, inherent to each of them; application of this knowledge to reveal the magnetic signature of anthropogenic pollution of soils and sediments; elucidating the influence of fire on magnetic properties of clays and soils and related effects on archeological materials of burnt clay.

1. Magnetism of materials occurring in the environment—Basic overview2. Magnetism of soils with a pronounced accumulation of organic matter in the mineral topsoil: Chernozems and Phaeozems3. Magnetism of soils with clay-enriched subsoil: Luvisols, Alisols, and Acrisols4. The magnetism of soils distinguished by iron/aluminum chemistry: Planosols, Pozdols, Andosols, Ferralsols, and Gleysols5. Magnetism of soils with limitations to root growth: Vertisols, Solonetz, Solonchaks, and Leptosols6. The magnetism of soils with little or no profile differentiation: Soils from mountain areas (Cambisols, Umbrisols) and floodplains (Fluvisols)7. Magnetism of soils from the Antarctic Peninsula8. The discriminating power of soil magnetism for the characterization of different soil types9. The mapping of topsoil magnetic properties: A magnetic database for Bulgaria—statistical data analysis and the significance for soil studies10. Applications of soil magnetismFuture challenges in soil magnetism studies