This book provides an overview of air quality in urban environments in Europe, focusing on air pollutant emission sources and formation mechanisms, measurement and modeling strategies, and future perspectives. The emission sources described are biomass burning, vehicular traffic, industry and agriculture, but also African dust and long-range transport of pollutants across the European regions. The impact of these emission sources and processes on atmospheric particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen oxides and volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds is discussed and critical areas for particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide in Europe are identified. Finally, this volume presents future perspectives, mainly regarding upcoming air quality monitoring strategies, metrics of interest, such as submicron and nanoparticles, and indoor and outdoor exposure scenarios.

Over the last fifteen years, space-based exploration of the solar system has increased dramatically, with more and more sophisticated orbiters and landers being sent to Mars. This intense period, rich in unprecedented scientific results, has led to immense progress in our perception of Mars and of its evolution over geological time. In parallel, advances in numerical simulations and laboratory experiments also shed new light on the geochemical evolution of the planet Mars. The ISSI-Europlanet Workshop entitled "Quantifying the Martian Geochemical Reservoirs" was held in Bern in April 2011 with the objective to create a diverse interdisciplinary forum composed of scientists directly involved in space-based exploration of the Martian surface, meteoriticists studying SNC meteorites, and planetary and/or Earth scientists simulating, numerically or experimentally, the physical and chemical processes occurring on or within Mars. The chapters of this book provide an overview of current knowledge of the past and present Martian geochemical reservoirs, from the accretionary history to the secondary alteration processes at the surface. In addition to the detailed description of data from Mars and the methods used to obtain them, the contributions also emphasize comparison with features on Earth, providing a perspective on the extent to which our knowledge of terrestrial systems influences interpretation of data from Mars. Areas that would benefit from future work and measurements are also identified, providing a view of the short-term and long-term future of the study of Mars. This collection of chapters constitutes a timely perspective on current knowledge and thinking concerning the geochemical evolution of Mars, providing context and a valuable reference point for even more exciting future discoveries. It is aimed at graduate students and researchers active in geochemistry and space science. Previously published in Space Science Reviews, Vol. 174/1-4, 2013.

Stable Isotope Geochemistry is an introduction to the use of stable isotopes in the geosciences. For students and scientists alike the book will be a primary source of information with regard to how and where stable isotopes can be used to solve geological problems. It is subdivided into three parts: i) theoretical and experimental principles, ii) fractionation processes of light and heavy elements, iii) the natural variations of geologically important reservoirs. In the last decade, major advances in multicollector-ICP-mass-spectrometry enable the precise determination of a wide range of transition and heavy elements. Progress in analysing the rare isotopes of certain elements allows the distinction between mass-dependent and mass-independent fractionations. These major advances in analytical techniques make an extended new edition necessary. Special emphasis has been given to the growing field of “non-traditional” isotope systems. Many new references have been added, which will enable quick access to recent literature.

Chemical additives are used to enhance the properties of many industrial products. Since their release into the environment is a potential risk for man and nature, their fate and behavior have been investigated in the framework of the European Union-funded project RISKCYCLE. The results are presented in two volumes, Global Risk-Based Management of Chemical Additives I: Production, Usage and Environmental Occurrence and Global Risk-Based Management of Chemical Additives II: Risk-Based Assessment and Management Strategies. This book is the second of the two volumes and features two main parts. In the first part, experts in the field discuss different models related to the assessment of the potential risks posed by chemical additives and analyze their benefits and drawbacks. In the second part, specific case studies in which the models have been applied are presented and the reliability of the models is evaluated. This volume is an invaluable source of information for scientists and governmental agencies dealing with the risk assessment of chemicals on a global scale.

This book includes a collection of chapters illustrating the application of geochemical methods to investigate the interactions between geological materials and fluids with humans. Examples include the incorporation and human health effects of inhaling lithogenic materials, the reactivity of biological fluids with geological materials, and the impact on nascent biomineral formation. Biomineralization is investigated in terms of mineralogy, morphology, bone chemistry, and pathological significance with a focus on the health impacts of "foreign" geological/environmental trace element incorporation. One of the contribution is devoted to particulate matter, the presence of metals and metalloids in the environment, and the possibility of using human hair as a biomarker between environmental/geological exposure and human bioincorporation. Other chapters focus on the last advances on the analytical methods and instrumentational approaches to investigating the chemistry of biological fluids and tissues.

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.

This book takes an in-depth look at the theory and methods inherent in the tracing of riverine sediments. Examined tracers include multi-elemental concentration data, fallout radionuclides (e.g., 210Pb, 137Cs, 7Be), radiogenic isotopes (particularly those of Pb, Sr, and Nd), and novel ("non-traditional") stable isotopes (e.g., Cd, Cu, Hg, and Zn), the latter of which owe their application to recent advances in analytical chemistry. The intended goal is not to replace more 'traditional' analyses of the riverine sediment system, but to show how tracer/fingerprinting studies can be used to gain insights into system functions that would not otherwise be possible. The text, then, provides researchers and catchment managers with a summary of the strengths and limitations of the examined techniques in terms of their temporal and spatial resolution, data requirements, and the uncertainties in the generated results. The use of environmental tracers has increased significantly during the past decade because it has become clear that documentation of sediment and sediment-associated contaminant provenance and dispersal is essential to mitigate their potentially harmful effects on aquatic ecosystems. Moreover, the use of monitoring programs to determine the source of sediments to a water body has proven to be a costly, labor intensive, long-term process with a spatial resolution that is limited by the number of monitoring sites that can be effectively maintained. Alternative approaches, including the identification and analysis of eroded upland areas and the use of distributed modeling routines also have proven problematic. The application of tracers within riverine environments has evolved such that they focus on sediments from two general sources: upland areas and specific, localized, anthropogenic point sources. Of particular importance to the former is the development of geochemical fingerprinting methods that quantify sediment provenance (and to a much lesser degree, sediment-associated contaminants) at the catchment scale. These methods have largely developed independently of the use of tracers to document the source and dispersal pathways of contaminated particles from point-sources of anthropogenic pollution at the reach- to river corridor-scale. Future studies are likely to begin merging the strengths of both approaches while relying on multiple tracer types to address management and regulatory issues, particularly within the context of the rapidly developing field of environmental forensics.

For many years, the subject matter encompassed by the title of this book was largely limited to those who were interested in the two most economically important organic materials found buried in the Earth, namely, coal and petroleum. The point of view of any discussions which might occur, either in scientific meetings or in books that have been written, was, therefore, dominated largely by these interests. A great change has occurred in the last decade. This change had as its prime mover our growing knowledge of the molecular architecture of biological systems which, in turn, gave rise to a more legitimate asking of the question: "How did life come to be on the surface of the Earth?" A second motivation arose when the possibilities for the exploration of planets other than the Earth-the moon, Mars, and other parts of the solar system-became a reality. Thus the question of the possible existence of life elsewhere than on Earth conceivably could be answered.

As the title suggests, Isotope Effects in the Chemical, Geological and Bio Sciences deals with differences in the properties of isotopically substituted molecules, such as differences in the chemical and physical properties of water and the heavy waters. Since the various fields in which isotope effects are applied do not only share fundamental principles but also experimental techniques, this book includes a discussion of experimental apparatus and experimental techniques. Isotope Effects in the Chemical, Geological and Bio Sciences is an educational monograph addressed to graduate students and others undertaking isotope effect research. The fundamental principles needed to understand isotope effects are presented in appropriate detail. While it is true that these principles are more familiar to students of physical chemistry and some background in physical chemistry is recommended, the text provides enough detail to make the book an asset to students in organic and biochemistry, and geochemistry.

Nanotechnology has received tremendous interest over the last decade, not only from the scientific community but also from a business perspective and from the general public. Although nanotechnology is still at the largely unexplored frontier of science, it has the potential for extremely exciting technological innovations that will have an enormous impact on areas as diverse as information technology, medicine, energy supply and probably many others. The miniturization of devices and structures will impact the speed of devices and information storage capacity. More importantly, though, nanotechnology should lead to completely new functional devices as nanostructures have fundamentally different physical properties that are governed by quantum effects. When nanometer sized features are fabricated in materials that are currently used in electronic, magnetic, and optical applications, quantum behavior will lead to a set of unprecedented properties. The interactions of nanostructures with biological materials are largely unexplored. Future work in this direction should yield enabling technologies that allows the study and direct manipulation of biological processes at the (sub) cellular level.

Metrology and its applications e.g. in chemical or food analysis or in environmental monitoring are entering our daily life. This book provides a basic overview over the relevant metrological concepts like traceability, ISO uncertainties or cause-and-effect diagrams. The applications described in great detail range from progression-of-error type evaluation of the measurement uncertainty budget to complex applications like pH measurement or speciation calculations for aqueous solutions. The consequences of a measurement uncertainty concept for chemical data are outlined for geochemical modeling applied to transport in the subsurface and to nuclear waste disposal. Special sections deal with the deficits of existing thermodynamic data for these applications and with the current position of chemical metrology in respect to other quality assurance measures, e.g. ISO 900x, GLP, European and U.S.-American standards.

The second half of the past century witnessed a remarkable paradigm shift in approach to the understanding of igneous rocks. Global literature records a change from a classical petrographic approach to emphasis on mineral chemistry, trace element characteristics, tectonic setting, phase relations, and theoretical simulation of magma generation and evolution processes. This book contains contributions by international experts in different fields of igneous petrology and presents an overview of recent developments. This book is dedicated to the late Dr Mihir K. Bose, former professor of the Department of Geology, Presidency College, Calcutta, India, who actively participated in the development of this new global view of igneous petrology.

1000 DegreesC) and low pressures (< 2 kb) and typically results in the formation of "burnt" and fused rocks termed buchites, paralavas, clinkers and fulgarites. It is typically associated with shallow basaltic intrusions (contact aureoles, xenoliths,) combustion of carbonaceous matter, lightning strikes, and is also found in meteorites. During pyrometamorphism, the sequence of heating and cooling is greatly condensed favouring the preservation of a variety of stranded reaction microstructures that reflect disequilibrium reaction kinetics with metastable and mineral crystallisation. This second edition includes the latest developments in the study of pyrometamorphism derived from over 60 new references and accompanied with over 20 new illustrations.

Do we actually understand geologic processes? New technology brings new inf- mation and perceptions, which sometimes overturn imaginations based on simple observation and estimation, in conjunction with common sense inference. In 1902- 1904,PierreCurieandErnestRutherford?rstformulatedtheideaofusingradioactive transformation of nuclides as a geologic chronometer. After a century of working with such tools, geology has advanced from a descriptive science to an analytic s- encethatformulatesconclusionsbasedonexactvalues.Thetechnologyofradiogenic isotope geology has created a branch of science that considers the Earth as a planet generated within a Solar system and studies the subsequent evolution of geologic processes that has resulted in the present formation of our planet's continents and oceans. The physicist Vitaly Ginsburg, Nobel Prize laureate, wrote recently: "If Kepler had been given information on orbital parameters of planets with modern precision, he would not have been able to formulate his laws". Indeed, after development of laws of celestial mechanics, methods of measurements became so advanced and such numerous secondary distortion effects were found that to describe an orbit of a cosmic body by a curve of the second order would appear impossible. But it does not mean that Kepler's laws are "cancelled"; they still occupy an honorable place in courses on celestial mechanics. A reasonable division into basic and secondary phenomena is accepted and the latter are entered as variations in the basic equations.

This book represents a rather complicated history of encounters, changes in research interest and some very interesting results. Initially it is the very fruitful interaction of Ecology and Geology. The point of view of ecologists is extremely refreshing for hard science people. Interaction and inter-relationships are the focus of Ecology whereas the traditional sciences, such as Geology, have tried to isolate the natural phenomena so that thye could be studied in a more rigorous manner. The traditional sciences were of course natural science - based since the world to be observed was at the door step of everyone, mountains, weather patterns, plants and so forth. Chemistry and Physics were de ned after Mathematics in order to establish more precise and viable principles of the behavior of the materials that formed the world around mankind. It became quite clear that the observation of the natural world was too complicated to consider all of the possible variables which could affect an observed process or situation. The systems were simpli ed and taken into the laboratory in order to better master the phenomena observed. Physics c- cerned itself with non-reacting materials, subjected to essentially mechanical forces.

This book is a companion to "Natural Gas Hydrate in Oceanic and Permafrost Environments" (Max, 2000, 2003), which is the first book on gas hydrate in this series. Although other gases can naturally form clathrate hydrates (referred to after as 'hydrate'), we are concerned here only with hydrocarbon gases that form hydrates. The most important of these natural gases is methane. Whereas the first book is a general introduction to the subject of natural gas hydrate, this book focuses on the geology and geochemical controls of gas hydrate development and on gas extraction from naturally occurring hydrocarbon hydrates. This is the first broad treatment of gas hydrate as a natural resource within an economic geological framework. This book is written mainly to stand alone for brevity and to minimize duplication. Information in Max (2000; 2003) should also be consulted for completeness. Hydrate is a type of clathrate (Sloan, 1998) that is formed from a cage structure of water molecules in which gas molecules occupying void sites within the cages stabilize the structure through van der Waals or hydrogen bonding.

When did life first appear on Earth and what form did it take? The answer to this intriguing and fundamentally important question lies somewhere within the early Archean rock record. The young Earth was, however, a very different place to that we know today and numerous pitfalls await our interpretation of these most ancient rocks. The first half of this practical guide equips the reader with the background knowledge to successfully evaluate new potentially biological finds from the Archean rock record. Successive steps are covered, from locating promising samples in the field, through standard petrography and evaluation of antiquity and biogenicity criteria, to the latest state of the art geochemical techniques. The second half of the guide uniquely brings together all the materials that have been claimed to comprise the earliest fossil record into an easily accessible, fully illustrated format. This will be a handbook that every Archean geologist, palaeobiologist and astrobiologist will wish to have in their backpack or on their lab-bench.

Extensive descriptions of a wide range of key or world-class mineral deposits of China are presented in the context of the country's general geology, tectonic units and mineral systems and their geodynamic evolution within the tectonic framework of the Asian continent. This comprehensive overview, incorporating the latest geological concepts, is the first such coverage written in English by a western expert, and will be of benefit to mineral explorers and miners, as well as to research scientists and students in institutions of higher education. In his compilation of this compendium of Chinese geology and mineral systems, Franco Pirajno draws on first-hand knowledge of China's geology and mineral deposits gained in numerous field visits and research projects with Chinese colleagues from various academic institutions over the past 18 years. First time that a western-based book on China's geology and mineral deposits is published Appropriate for use by the mineral exploration industry Modern English-language geological and mineral deposits information on China Most useful to Western (and Chinese) geoscientists

Over the last few decades many studies have focused on the oxygen depletion of coastal and oceanic waters. An understanding of the processes involved is fundamental to assess the effects of global and climatic changes and to support an ecosystem approach to adaptive environmental management for coastal seas and ocean basins. This timely book presents the state-of-the-art of our knowledge of the nature and chemical structure of redox interfaces in a marine water column, oxygen depletion and connected processes. The structures of the redox layers, including the distribution of certain parameters and microbiological features, are described in detail. The volume also covers studies devoted to the interannual variability of some oxygen-depleted systems, modeling and new developments in observation techniques. In addition, it identifies remaining gaps in our knowledge of the cycling of chemical elements in changing redox conditions. The chapters are based on extensive observational data, collected by the authors during sea and shore expeditions, on archive data, and on a broad range of scientific literature.

This is the first book to cover actinide nano research. It is of interest both for fundamental research into the chemistry and physics of f-block elements as well as for applied researchers such as those studying the long-term safety of nuclear waste disposal and developing remediation strategies. The authors cover important issues of the formation of actinide nano-particles, their properties and structure, environmental behavior of colloids and nanoparticles related to the safe disposal of nuclear wastes, modeling and advanced methods of characterization at the nano-scale.

It is presently well recognized that total concentrations of trace elements in any environmental compartment supply insufficient information to understand important phenomena. The distinction and separate analysis of specific chemical species are essential for understanding cycles in the aquatic environment, involving identification and quantification of sources, transport pathways, distributions and sinks, or, in the area of interactions between trace elements and organisms to understand uptake, distribution, excretion mechanisms and effects. In the past, various ways have been developed to determine the nature and extent of complexation of trace elements in natural systems. Approaches have been followed along very different lines. These have not always been fully appreciated by specialists working in even related fields of complexation research. The first International Symposium on the Complexation of Trace metals in Natural Waters was held at the Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ, Texel, the Netherlands from 2-6 May 1983. The scientific programme was planned by the chief organizers Drs. C.J.M. Kramer and J.C. Duinker (NIOZ) together with Prof. Dr. H.W. Nurnberg (Kernforschungsanlage, Julich, Federal Republic of Germany) and Dr. M. Branica (Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Zagreb, Yugoslavia).

This book provides a very basic introduction to electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). It has the largest compiled collection of EDS spectra ever published and covers most common rock forming minerals. In addition, it provides a key to help the novice wade through the large number of spectra.

This abundantly illustrated book provides a concise overview of our understanding of the entire mantle, its evolution since early differentiation and the consequences of superplumes for earth surface processes. The book's balanced authorship has produced a state-of-the-science report on the emerging concept of superplumes. This presents a new concept to explain catastrophic events on Earth through geologic time.

This third edition of the book has been completely re-written, providing a wider scope and enhanced coverage. It covers the general principles of the natural occurrence, pollution sources, chemical analysis, soil chemical behaviour and soil-plant-animal relationships of heavy metals and metalloids, followed by a detailed coverage of 21 individual elements, including: antimony, arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, gold, lead, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, silver, thallium, tin, tungsten, uranium, vanadium and zinc. The book is highly relevant for those involved in environmental science, soil science, geochemistry, agronomy, environmental health, and environmental engineering, including specialists responsible for the management and clean-up of contaminated land.

The Llobregat belongs to the most thoroughly studied rivers in Europe and is a paradigm of the confluence of human and natural disturbances in a single basin. Because of its location in a very densely populated region and its Mediterranean character, the Llobregat supports a mixture of irregular flow, water abstraction, excess nutrients, mining debris, and a wide array of pollutants. The aquatic organisms strive to survive in a dramatically changing river that passes through a succession of dams, weirs and channels. The long-term river monitoring as well as the research that has been carried out in the river for a long time have provided an extensive knowledge of these disturbances and their effects on the biological communities. This book highlights the available information, with emphasis on the hydrological, chemical and biological elements interspersed in the river. Experts in the field discuss the main nutrient patterns and pollutant occurrence and the responses of the biological quality elements as well as the river ecosystem to the overall natural and man-made influences.