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.

The goal for Volume 55 of Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry was to bring together a summary of the isotope geochemistry of non-traditional stable isotope systems as is known through 2003 for those elements that have been studied in some detail, and which have a variety of geochemical properties. In addition, recognizing that many of these elements are of interest to workers who are outside the traditional stable isotope fields, we felt it was important to include discussions on the broad isotopic variations that occur in the solar system, theoretical approaches to calculating isotopic fractionations, and the variety of analytical methods that are in use. We hope, therefore, that this volume proves to be useful to not only the isotope specialist, but to others who are interested in the contributions that these non-traditional stable isotopes may make toward understanding geochemical and biological cycles. The review chapters in this volume were the basis for a two-day short course on nontraditional stable isotopes held prior (May 15-16, 2004) to the spring AGU/CGU Meeting in Montreal, Canada.

Seit über 50 Jahren gehört die Massenspektrometrie zu den wichtigsten analytischen Methoden. Neben einem technologiehistorischen Überblick konzentriert sich dieser Band auf die Analytik von Metallen und Elementen. Beschrieben werden Anwendungen aus der Meteorologie, Kerntechnik, Astrochemie, Geowissenschaft und Umwelttechnik. Dabei wird auf zahlreiche spezielle Verfahren eingegangen, u.a. auf die Sektorfeld- und die Sekundärionen-MS, auf induktiv gekoppelte Plasmen und beschleunigergestützte MS. Erläutert werden auch Isotopenverfahren zur Altersbestimmung von Proben.

This book successfully connects archaeology and archaeometallurgy with geoscience and metallurgy. It addresses topics concerning ore deposits, archaeological field evidence of early metal production, and basic chemical-physical principles, as well as experimental ethnographic works on a low handicraft base and artisanal metal production to help readers better understand what happened in antiquity. The book is chiefly intended for scholars and students engaged in interdisciplinary work.