Use of geological and geochemical data for the derivation of maps for environmental planning in Iisalmi, Finland

Geoscientific maps for the purposes of land-use planning are being produced by the Geological Survey of Finland (GSF), the pilot area for this being the twon of Iisalmi in Eastern Finland. The work requires close cooperation between geologists and land-use planners. The collection comprises thematic maps of natural resources, water reserves, susceptibility to acidification, natural heavy metal concentrations, environmental impact and bedrock to a scale of 1:50,000. The maps are based on data published earlier by GSF on traditional geological maps, i.e. a digitalized bedrock map (1:100,000), a map of surficial deposits (1:20,000), aerogeophysical maps (1:100,000) and geochemical maps (1:400,000). This new series of maps of specific local government areas is being produced by Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques using the ARC/INFO program, which allows the combination and analysis of large databases and the inclusion of non-geological filed data, e.g. roads and other sites of human activity. The interest aroused by these geoscientific maps for land-use planning amongst local authorities in Finland has been most encouraging.