Kartograficzne badania geochemiczne w Polsce

At the beginning of the 1990s, both in Poland and in the world, the field of applied geochemistry was extended to issues related to the protection of the Earth’s natural environment due to the growing social interest in this problem and the requirements of the existing legislation. Geochemical studies in Poland were carried out in three stages, proceeding from the review scale (1:500,000 -1 stage) through regional research (on a scale from 1:250,000to 1:50,000 -stage II) to detailed research (on a scale of1:25,000 to 1:10,000 -stage III). The first stage of the geochemical mapping allowed for quick and relatively inexpensive assessment of the geochemical background diversity of soils, sediments, and surface water throughout the country, as well as the indication of the most polluted regions. The regional research (II stage) was focused primarily on issues related to the explanation of the origin of the identified geochemical anomalies detected in the first stage of research. They were taken in selected urban-industrial areas. In the most polluted Silesian-Cracow region a detailed geochemical study is being carried out (III stage).