Anthropogenically induced global change — Report of working group 3, IUGS workshop on global change past and present

The foundations of geochemistry and health are associated with work in Canada, U.S.A., C.I.S. and U.K. in the 1960s and parallel studies in geomedicine in Scandinavia. The development of geochemical mapping techniques and compilation of geochemical atlases have led to innovative multidis-ciplinary research into their applications in the areas of agriculture and land use, fresh water quality for irrigation and potable supplies, estuarine and coastal waters and fisheries, medicine and public health, and environmental pollution. Recent developments have concerned the influence of geochemistry in wildlife nutrition. Research in urban geochemistry has been applied to the modification of the chemical environment in towns and cities arising from urban and industrial development.The paper illustrates this research with some specific case histories and presents the author's opinion as to those priority areas that will require both national and international input in the present decade and beyond.