Geochemistry at the surface of the earth is dominated by two somewhat antagonistic forces: chemical reactions which attempt to attain a steady state (equilibrium) and geological movement of materials in time and space which changes the parameters that control chemical equilibrium. Another aspect that is extremely important to earth surface geochemistry is the effect of plants on the chemical and physical stability of materials (soils). Plant systems in fact work against the normal chemical changes (loss of silica, potassium, etc.) and the normal physical changes (stabilizing fine grained materials (clays) in the surface zones to avoid erosion). Biological effects are clearly seen in redox effects in the various parts of the earth surface movement cycle; soil formation, stream transport, sedimentation. This book attempts to outline these different parameters and their interactions as they affect earth surface geochemistry in order to give a better understanding of movement and accumulation of elements at the surface of the earth.

After the discovery that elements were commonly composed of isotopes, there developed a range of studies of the variability of isotopic compositions in Earth materials, which was able to add to our understanding of Earth processes and history. This collection of chapters from the Treatise on Geochemistry describes the range of isotopic studies. The chapters are grouped into the following categories: light stable isotopes, radiogenic tracers, noble gases and radioactive tracers. The first three groups depend on mass spectrometric measurements. The section on radioactive tracers employs both radioactive counting techniques and the newly developed accelerator mass spectrometric techniques. Comprehensive, interdisciplinary and authoritative content selected by leading subject experts Robust illustrations, figures and tables Affordably priced sampling of content from the full Treatise on Geochemistry

Geochemistry of Earth Surface Systems offers an interdisciplinary reference for scientists, researchers and upper undergraduate and graduate level geochemistry students a sampling of articles on earth surface processes from The Treatise on Geochemistry that is more affordable than the full Treatise. For professionals, this volume will provide an overview of the field as a whole. For students, it will provide more in-depth introductory content than is found in broad-based geochemistry textbooks. Articles were selected from chapters across all volumes of the full Treatise, and include: Volcanic Degassing, Hydrothermal Processes, The Contemporary Carbon Cycle, Global Occurrence of Major Elements in Rivers, Organic Matter in the Contemporary Ocean, The Biological Pump, and Evolution of Sedimentary Rocks. Comprehensive, interdisciplinary and authoritative content selected by leading subject experts Robust illustrations, figures and tables Affordably priced sampling of content from the full Treatise on Geochemistry

Topics covered: Geochemical record of terrestrial environmental change, and global geochemical cycles; Chemical weathering and climate, river catchment studies; Environmental geochemistry of the terrestrial environment and its effect on health; Organic geochemistry; Marine and sedimentary geochemistry; Mineralogy, microbes and chemistry of weathering; Geochemical thermodynamics and kinetics; Geochemistry of crustal fluids and of catastrophic events.

The Earth system consists of subsystems that include the atmosphere, hydrosphere (water), geosphere (rocks, minerals), biosphere, and humans. In order to understand these subsystems and their interactions, it is essential to clarify the mass transfer mechanism, geochemical cycle, and influence of human activity on the natural environment. This book presents fundamental theories (thermodynamics, kinetics, mass balance model, coupling models such as the kinetics-fluid flow model, the box model, and others) concerning mechanisms in weathering, formation of hydrothermal ore deposits, hydrothermal alteration, formation of groundwater quality, and the seawater system. The interaction between fluids (atmosphere, water) and solid phases (rocks, minerals) occurs both in low-temperature and also in high-temperature systems. This book considers the complex low-temperature cycle with the high-temperature cycle, a combination that has not been dealt with in previous books concerning Earth systems. Humanity is a small part of the biosphere; however, human activities greatly influence Earth’s surface environments (atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, soils, rocks). Thus, the influences of humans on other subsystems, particularly mass transfer in the deep underground geologic environment composed of host rocks and groundwater, are discussed in relation to high-level nuclear waste geologic disposal and CO2 underground sequestration—topics that have not been included in other books on environmental science.

The Encyclopedia is a complete and authoritative reference work for this rapidly evolving field. Over 200 international scientists, each experts in their specialties, have written over 330 separate topics on different aspects of geochemistry including geochemical thermodynamics and kinetics, isotope and organic geochemistry, meteorites and cosmochemistry, the carbon cycle and climate, trace elements, geochemistry of high and low temperature processes, and ore deposition, to name just a few. The geochemical behavior of the elements is described as is the state of the art in analytical geochemistry. Each topic incorporates cross-referencing to related articles, and also has its own reference list to lead the reader to the essential articles within the published literature. The entries are arranged alphabetically, for easy access, and the subject and citation indices are comprehensive and extensive. Geochemistry applies chemical techniques and approaches to understanding the Earth and how it works. It touches upon almost every aspect of earth science, ranging from applied topics such as the search for energy and mineral resources, environmental pollution, and climate change to more basic questions such as the Earth’s origin and composition, the origin and evolution of life, rock weathering and metamorphism, and the pattern of ocean and mantle circulation. Geochemistry allows us to assign absolute ages to events in Earth’s history, to trace the flow of ocean water both now and in the past, trace sediments into subduction zones and arc volcanoes, and trace petroleum to its source rock and ultimately the environment in which it formed. The earliest of evidence of life is chemical and isotopic traces, not fossils, preserved in rocks. Geochemistry has allowed us to unravel the history of the ice ages and thereby deduce their cause. Geochemistry allows us to determine the swings in Earth’s surface temperatures during the ice ages, determine the temperatures and pressures at which rocks have been metamorphosed, and the rates at which ancient magma chambers cooled and crystallized. The field has grown rapidly more sophisticated, in both analytical techniques that can determine elemental concentrations or isotope ratios with exquisite precision and in computational modeling on scales ranging from atomic to planetary.