[developments in environmental science] concepts and applications in environmental geochemistry volume 5 chapter 1 what goes around comes around todays environmental geochemistry精品.pdfVIP

Developments in Environmental Science, Volume 5 1 D. Sarkar, R. Datta and R. Hannigan (Editors) r 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd. ISSN: 1474-8177/DOI:10.1016/S1474-8177(07)05001-2 Chapter 1 What goes around comes around: Today’s environmental geochemistry Robyn Hannigan Abstract What is environmental geochemistry? Is it simply the application of geochemical techniques to environmental media such as water or soil? Is it the study of contaminants and pollutants? Is it all low temperature geochemistry exclusive of the biosphere and natural weathering processes? For certain the definition is complex. The field is clearly diverse as is evidenced in this book. Indeed this book best represents the complexity of the field, a snapshot, if you will, of concepts and applications in the field. Bearing in mind that the field is ever changing, a dynamic and evolving discipline, we provide a brief historical perspective and an attempt to define today’s envi- ronmental geochemistry. 1.1. Introduction Many of us call ourselves environmental geochemists. If asked what that really means, it is difficult to explain. The boundaries between the sci- entific disciplines are significantly blurred. But were they always so blurry? Is there a place and time one can point to and say that ‘‘this’’ is the beginning of the field? First one has to define what environmental geochemistry is. Geochemistry is, most broadly, the study of the chemical composition of the earth and other planets, chemical processes, cycles, reactions that govern the composition of rocks and soils, and temporal and spatial changes in these controlling factors. While interac