Aqueous geochemistry

Last updated

Aqueous geochemistry studies the role of various elements in natural waters, including copper, sulfur, and mercury. Researchers in this field also study how elemental fluxes are exchanged through interactions between the atmosphere, the earth or soil (terrestrial interactions) and bodies of water (aquatic interactions).

Work in the field of aqueous geochemistry has also studied the prevalence of rare earth elements, [1] nuclear waste products, [2] and hydrocarbons. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curium</span> Chemical element, symbol Cm and atomic number 96

Curium is a transuranic, radioactive chemical element with the symbol Cm and atomic number 96. This actinide element was named after eminent scientists Marie and Pierre Curie, both known for their research on radioactivity. Curium was first intentionally made by the team of Glenn T. Seaborg, Ralph A. James, and Albert Ghiorso in 1944, using the cyclotron at Berkeley. They bombarded the newly discovered element plutonium with alpha particles. This was then sent to the Metallurgical Laboratory at University of Chicago where a tiny sample of curium was eventually separated and identified. The discovery was kept secret until after the end of World War II. The news was released to the public in November 1947. Most curium is produced by bombarding uranium or plutonium with neutrons in nuclear reactors – one tonne of spent nuclear fuel contains ~20 grams of curium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Europium</span> Chemical element, symbol Eu and atomic number 63

Europium is a chemical element with the symbol Eu and atomic number 63. Europium is a silvery-white metal of the lanthanide series that reacts readily with air to form a dark oxide coating. It is the most chemically reactive, least dense, and softest of the lanthanide elements. It is soft enough to be cut with a knife. Europium was isolated in 1901 and named after the continent of Europe. Europium usually assumes the oxidation state +3, like other members of the lanthanide series, but compounds having oxidation state +2 are also common. All europium compounds with oxidation state +2 are slightly reducing. Europium has no significant biological role and is relatively non-toxic compared to other heavy metals. Most applications of europium exploit the phosphorescence of europium compounds. Europium is one of the rarest of the rare-earth elements on Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terbium</span> Chemical element, symbol Tb and atomic number 65

Terbium is a chemical element with the symbol Tb and atomic number 65. It is a silvery-white, rare earth metal that is malleable, and ductile. The ninth member of the lanthanide series, terbium is a fairly electropositive metal that reacts with water, evolving hydrogen gas. Terbium is never found in nature as a free element, but it is contained in many minerals, including cerite, gadolinite, monazite, xenotime and euxenite.

Geochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the entire Solar System, and has made important contributions to the understanding of a number of processes including mantle convection, the formation of planets and the origins of granite and basalt. It is an integrated field of chemistry and geology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apatite</span> Mineral group, calcium phosphate

Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually hydroxyapatite, fluorapatite and chlorapatite, with high concentrations of OH, F and Cl ion, respectively, in the crystal. The formula of the admixture of the three most common endmembers is written as Ca10(PO4)6(OH,F,Cl)2, and the crystal unit cell formulae of the individual minerals are written as Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2, Ca10(PO4)6F2 and Ca10(PO4)6Cl2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rare-earth element</span> Any of the fifteen lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium

The rare-earth elements (REE), also called the rare-earth metals or rare-earths or, in context, rare-earth oxides, and sometimes the lanthanides, are a set of 17 nearly indistinguishable lustrous silvery-white soft heavy metals. Compounds containing rare-earths have diverse applications in electrical and electronic components, lasers, glass, magnetic materials, and industrial processes.

Petroleum geology is the study of origin, occurrence, movement, accumulation, and exploration of hydrocarbon fuels. It refers to the specific set of geological disciplines that are applied to the search for hydrocarbons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geomicrobiology</span> Intersection of microbiology and geology

Geomicrobiology is the scientific field at the intersection of geology and microbiology and is a major subfield of geobiology. It concerns the role of microbes on geological and geochemical processes and effects of minerals and metals to microbial growth, activity and survival. Such interactions occur in the geosphere, the atmosphere and the hydrosphere. Geomicrobiology studies microorganisms that are driving the Earth's biogeochemical cycles, mediating mineral precipitation and dissolution, and sorbing and concentrating metals. The applications include for example bioremediation, mining, climate change mitigation and public drinking water supplies.

The abundance of the chemical elements is a measure of the occurrence of the chemical elements relative to all other elements in a given environment. Abundance is measured in one of three ways: by mass fraction, by mole fraction, or by volume fraction. Volume fraction is a common abundance measure in mixed gases such as planetary atmospheres, and is similar in value to molecular mole fraction for gas mixtures at relatively low densities and pressures, and ideal gas mixtures. Most abundance values in this article are given as mass fractions.

Organic geochemistry is the study of the impacts and processes that organisms have had on the Earth. It is mainly concerned with the composition and mode of origin of organic matter in rocks and in bodies of water. The study of organic geochemistry is traced to the work of Alfred E. Treibs, "the father of organic geochemistry." Treibs first isolated metalloporphyrins from petroleum. This discovery established the biological origin of petroleum, which was previously poorly understood. Metalloporphyrins in general are highly stable organic compounds, and the detailed structures of the extracted derivatives made clear that they originated from chlorophyll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geobiology</span>

Geobiology is a field of scientific research that explores the interactions between the physical Earth and the biosphere. It is a relatively young field, and its borders are fluid. There is considerable overlap with the fields of ecology, evolutionary biology, microbiology, paleontology, and particularly soil science and biogeochemistry. Geobiology applies the principles and methods of biology, geology, and soil science to the study of the ancient history of the co-evolution of life and Earth as well as the role of life in the modern world. Geobiologic studies tend to be focused on microorganisms, and on the role that life plays in altering the chemical and physical environment of the pedosphere, which exists at the intersection of the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and/or cryosphere. It differs from biogeochemistry in that the focus is on processes and organisms over space and time rather than on global chemical cycles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theoretical astronomy</span> Applied and interdisciplinary physics

Theoretical astronomy is the use of analytical and computational models based on principles from physics and chemistry to describe and explain astronomical objects and astronomical phenomena. Theorists in astronomy endeavor to create theoretical models and from the results predict observational consequences of those models. The observation of a phenomenon predicted by a model allows astronomers to select between several alternate or conflicting models as the one best able to describe the phenomena.

Iodine-129 (129I) is a long-lived radioisotope of iodine which occurs naturally, but also is of special interest in the monitoring and effects of man-made nuclear fission products, where it serves as both tracer and potential radiological contaminant.

Professor Henry "Harry" Elderfield, was Professor of Ocean Chemistry and Palaeochemistry at the Godwin Laboratory in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge. He made his name in ocean chemistry and palaeochemistry, using trace metals and isotopes in biogenic carbonate as palaeochemical tracers, and studying the chemistry of modern and ancient oceans - especially those of the glacial epoch and the Cenozoic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yttrium</span> Chemical element, symbol Y and atomic number 39

Yttrium is a chemical element with the symbol Y and atomic number 39. It is a silvery-metallic transition metal chemically similar to the lanthanides and has often been classified as a "rare-earth element". Yttrium is almost always found in combination with lanthanide elements in rare-earth minerals, and is never found in nature as a free element. 89Y is the only stable isotope, and the only isotope found in the Earth's crust.

CI chondrites, also called C1 chondrites or Ivuna-type carbonaceous chondrites, are a group of rare carbonaceous chondrite, a type of stony meteorite. They are named after the Ivuna meteorite, the type specimen. CI chondrites have been recovered in France, Canada, India, and Tanzania. Their overall chemical composition closely resembles the elemental composition of the Sun, more so than any other type of meteorite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred T. Mackenzie</span> American sedimentary biogeochemist

Frederick T. Mackenzie is an American sedimentary and global biogeochemist. Mackenzie applies experimental and field data coupled to a sound theoretical framework to the solution of geological, geochemical, and oceanographic problems at various time and space scales.

In stable isotope geochemistry, the Urey–Bigeleisen–Mayer equation, also known as the Bigeleisen–Mayer equation or the Urey model, is a model describing the approximate equilibrium isotope fractionation in an isotope exchange reaction. While the equation itself can be written in numerous forms, it is generally presented as a ratio of partition functions of the isotopic molecules involved in a given reaction. The Urey–Bigeleisen–Mayer equation is widely applied in the fields of quantum chemistry and geochemistry and is often modified or paired with other quantum chemical modelling methods to improve accuracy and precision and reduce the computational cost of calculations.

Daniele Cherniak is an American geochemist known for her work on using particle beams for geochemical analysis on small scales. She was elected a fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tacharanite</span> Calcium aluminium silicate hydrate mineral

Tacharanite is a calcium aluminium silicate hydrate (C-A-S-H) mineral of general chemical formula Ca12Al2Si18O33(OH)36 with some resemblance to the calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) mineral tobermorite. It is often found in mineral assemblage with zeolites and other hydrated calcium silicates.

References

  1. Wood, Scott A. (1990). "The aqueous geochemistry of the rare-earth elements and yttrium". Chemical Geology. 82: 159–186. Bibcode:1990ChGeo..82..159W. doi:10.1016/0009-2541(90)90080-Q.
  2. Kaszuba, John P.; Runde, Wolfgang H. (1999). "The Aqueous Geochemistry of Neptunium: Dynamic Control of Soluble Concentrations with Applications to Nuclear Waste Disposal". Environmental Science & Technology. 33 (24): 4427–4433. Bibcode:1999EnST...33.4427K. doi:10.1021/es990470x.
  3. Seewald, Jeffrey S (2001). "Aqueous geochemistry of low molecular weight hydrocarbons at elevated temperatures and pressures: constraints from mineral buffered laboratory experiments". Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 65 (10): 1641–1664. Bibcode:2001GeCoA..65.1641S. doi:10.1016/S0016-7037(01)00544-0.