The determined mercury concentrations revealed an important difference between the western and the eastern parts of the country. An huge anomaly in the western part is the consequence of environmental contamination due to the 500-year history of mining and ore processing in the Idrija mercury mine. It was established that, besides anthropogenic impacts, lithological and climatic characteristics that determine the type of soil also influence the distribution of mercury in soils. The data were compared to a previously conducted low-density geochemical survey (sampling density 25x25 km2) and to the regional geochemical data set (sampling density 5x5 km) supplemented by local high-density sampling data (Ljubljana, Idrija, Jesenice, Mežica, Celje, Drava valley). Higher sampling density allows the identification and characterization of anthropogenic influences on a local scale, while low-density sampling reveals some general trends in the mercury spatial distribution, but is not appropriate for identifying local contamination in industrial regions and urban areas.
COBISS.SI-ID: 2527829