GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF A KARST POLJE - AN EXAMPLE FROM SINJSKO POLJE, CROATIA

The poljes of the Adriatic Coast are rather special features whose lik e is not found anywhere else in the world. The delineation of this uni que landform feature by its geochemical characteristics has been attem pted by using examples from Sinjsko polje, which represents a typical karst polje in the Adriatic Coast, or the area of the Dinaric Karst. F actor analysis was performed on 96 samples collected in a regular grid of 1 x 1 km which covered the entire area of the Sinjsko polje valley . Another factor analysis was performed in a regular grid of 5 x 5 km that comprised 41 samples in the karstic environment. In this manner t wo factor models were created and closely inspected for possible diffe rences due to the peculiar properties arising from two geochemically d ifferent environments. Within the polje itself it was possible to eval uate three factors, while four factors were identified to be significa nt for the explanation of the geochemical structure of data assessed i n the regular 5 x 5-km grid. This grid includes the area of Sinjsko po lje and its wider neighborhood. The Ba/Sr index reveals striking diffe rences in drainage patterns between the polje itself and the surroundi ng area.