geogen

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The adjective geogen ( ancient Greek γῆ gē̂ “earth” with the verbal stem gen- “to arise”) is a technical term for the characterization of substance or element concentrations in the soil , air and water that can be traced back to natural chemical, physical and biological processes in the subsoil . In geology , geochemistry or environmental sciences , the geogenic background concentration of a substance or chemical compound is often given as a base or reference value in order to delimit the anthropogenic influence on a substance system.

Selected case studies

Eau Rouge : Geogenic ocher formation at a source outlet in the High Fens

Geogenic base loads are primarily dependent on the geological conditions in the subsurface. For example, bodies of water or soils that are completely unpolluted by human activity cannot be used for drinking water or for agriculture if they are B. in the area of ore deposits are characterized by increased heavy metal contents.

In certain rock formations, the near-surface waters or rocks can have geogenically high contents of heavy metals or radioactive elements due to the rise of deep water . The Bavarian State Office for the Environment , for example, monitors large areas of the increased arsenic levels in Bavarian molasses sediments .

Local gaseous substances can also be released to a greater extent through rock falls due to the disintegration of the rock. A well-known example is the geogenic enrichment with radioactive radon after a rock fall in Umhausen in Tyrol .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Manfred Bayer: Natural arsenic enrichment in the Upper Freshwater Molasse of Bavaria . Publications of the Grundbauinstitut der Landesgewerbeanstalt Bayern, Volume 77, Nuremberg 1995, 250 pp.
  2. ↑ Fridolin Purtscheller, Volkmar Stingl, Richard Tessadri, Volkmar Mair , Thomas Pirchl, Gertraut Sieder, Peter Brunner, Peter Schneider, Oswald Ennemoser: Geological-petrographic causes of the radon anomaly in Umhausen (Tyrol). Communications of the Austrian Geological Society, Volume 88, Vienna 1997, pp. 7–13.

Web links

literature

  • Sylke Hilberg: Environmental Geology - An Introduction to Basics and Practice . Springer, 2015, ISBN 978-3-6624-6948-4 , 245 pp.
  • Author collective (ed.): Lexicon of Geosciences , Volume II, Spectrum Academic Publishing House, Heidelberg, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-8274-0421-5 , S, 267.