ABSTRACT
In the last three decades chemometrics has undergone enormous development as a result of the ever greater attention accorded by scientists to environmental data treatment, intelligent instrument signal interpretation, the design and optimization of analytical procedures, and, last but not least, the new metrological aspects of the methods and procedures of analysis. However, it is our deep conviction that the pathways and the effects of numerous polluting species in all environmental compartments have turned out to be the most speci c reason for the predominant application of chemometrics in the environmental research eld. The opportunities offered by chemometric approaches to classify, model, and reliably interpret large, multiparametric data sets (delivered mainly by the procedures for the environmental monitoring of water, air, and soil) are indeed remarkable.
