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This review article considers the following aspects: naturally distributed chemical elements and their enrichments, and the increased occurrence of PTEs due to anthropogenic and urban activities, as well as due to the geochemical uniqueness of certain geochemical landscapes, depending on the lithological environment. The review article is the result of many years of successful cooperation between the Geological Survey of Slovenia and the Faculty of Natural Sciences in Skopje, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, as well as several other institutions from North Macedonia, Russia and Romania but, also, through the voluntary and enthusiastic work of Prof. Trajče Stafilov's PhD and Master's students. To create the Geochemical Atlas, the territory of North Macedonia was covered with 995 sampling locations, but 16 separate areas with soil contamination were additionally sampled. The total sum of all collected soil samples was 3983 from 2449 different sampling sites in the period from 2006 to 2017. The analyses were performed at the Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences in Skopje, at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, North Macedonia, at the Research Institute for Analytical Instrumentation (ICIA), Cluj-Napoca, Romania, at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Moscow Region, Russia, and at Acme Labs in Vancouver, Canada. The sum of all analysed soil samples in all four mentioned laboratories was 7991 from 2006 to 2017. Using advanced mathematical methods such as multivariate statistical methods (HCA, FA, PCA) and artificial neural networks–multilayer perceptron (ANN-MP), predictions were made about the concentrations of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and their distribution in real space. In less than two decades (2007–2023) of fruitful collaboration, a large number of scientific works have been published: 188 scientific publications, 8 geochemical atlases and 23 chapters in monographs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this study is to map multi-element geochemical anomalies in soil on a regional scale. We aimed to determine and evaluate the baseline geochemical values and main geochemical trends in soil that may serve as reference values against any future changes. A total of 817 topsoil samples (0–10 cm) were collected in a 5 × 5 km grid and analyzed for 35 elements using ICP-ES after multi-acid digestions (HClO4/HNO3/HCl/HF) and 53 elements using ICP-MS after modified aqua regia digestion (HCl/HNO3/H2O). The analytical results for the two different digestion methods (multi-acid digestion vs. aqua regia) were also compared for each chemical element. Multivariate statistical methods were applied to identify the geochemical trends and main sources of trace elements over the territory of Slovenia. Based on these results, seven natural and one mixed natural/anthropogenic geochemical association were established. The contents and trends of the determined factors are presented according to 8 natural units, 4 drainage areas, and geological units characteristic of Slovenia. The identified anthropogenic geochemical association combines toxic elements (Ag, Bi, Cd, Hg, P, Pb, S, Sn, and Zn). Increased values of these elements can be found in mining areas and metallurgic centers, in Quaternary sediments of the Sava River, and Adriatic Basin as the consequence of past mining activities and in the Julian Alps, where their origin could be connected to the atmospheric deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to present a spatial distribution of As, Sb, and Tl in topsoil and subsoil in the Kavadarci region, Republic of Macedonia. In total, 344 soil samples were collected from 172 locations (0–5 cm and 20–30 cm) in an area of 360 km2. ICP-MS was applied for the determination of the invesgated elements. It was found that the highest contents of As, Sb, and Tl were on Holocene alluvium of the river Crna Reka, where average concentrations exceeded the average of the total investigated area by two times for As, three for Tl, and more than five times for Sb. The enrichment of the Holocene alluvium of the river Crna Reka is supposed to be a consequence of natural erosion from Allchar mine deposits on Kožuf Mountain and also from mining activities in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]