Geochemical sampling for geological–environmental studies

Geochemical sampling involves collecting and analyzing various earth materials such as rocks, soils, sediments, water, vegetation, and gasses. Various geochemical sampling methods have traditionally been some of the most efficient of any methods used in mineral exploration. These methods have also been applied, however, to geological and environmental studies. Variations in chemical compositions of certain earth materials are descriptors of the environment in which those materials occur or from which they were derived. For studying certain environments, it may be obvious which earth materials must be sampled and analyzed for contents/properties of substances of interest; whereas for other environments, that may not be so. However, depending on (a) sound conceptual models of dispersion of chemical substances in different earth materials in various environments and (b) well-defined objectives for particular geological and/or environmental studies at certain spatial scales, only certain earth materials can be optimally sampled and analyzed for contents/properties of substances of interest.