Table Of Content
An Introduction
to Environmental
Chemistry
SECOND EDITION
J.E. Andrews, P. Brimblecombe,
T.D. Jickells, P.S. Liss and B. Reid
School of Environmental Sciences
University of East Anglia
United Kingdom
An Introduction to
Environmental Chemistry
An Introduction
to Environmental
Chemistry
SECOND EDITION
J.E. Andrews, P. Brimblecombe,
T.D. Jickells, P.S. Liss and B. Reid
School of Environmental Sciences
University of East Anglia
United Kingdom
© 2004 by Blackwell Science Ltd
a Blackwell Publishing company
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA
108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK
550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia
The right of J.E. Andrews, P. Brimblecombe, T.D. Jickells, P.S. Liss and B. Reid to be
identified as the Authors of this Work has been asserted in accordance with
the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act
1988, without the prior permission of the publisher.
First published 1996 by Blackwell Science Ltd
Second edition 2004
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
An introduction to environmental chemistry / J.E. Andrews...[et al.]. – 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-632-05905-2 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Environmental geochemistry. I. Andrews, J.E. (Julian E.)
QE516.4.I57 2004
551.9 – dc21 2003002757
A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
Set in 9–1/12 pt Janson
2
by SNP Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong
Printed and bound in the United Kingdom
by TJ International, Bodmin, Cornwall
For further information on
Blackwell Publishing, visit our website:
http://www.blackwellpublishing.com
Contents
List of boxes ix
Preface to the second edition xi
Preface to the first edition xii
Acknowledgements xiv
Symbols and abbreviations xviii
1 Introduction 1
1.1 What is environmental chemistry? 1
1.2 In the beginning 2
1.3 Origin and evolution of the Earth 2
1.3.1 Formation of the crust and atmosphere 4
1.3.2 The hydrosphere 5
1.3.3 The origin of life and evolution of the atmosphere 8
1.4 Human effects on biogeochemical cycles? 9
1.5 The structure of this book 11
1.6 Internet keywords 12
1.7 Further reading 13
1.8 Internet search keywords 13
2 Environmental chemist’s toolbox 14
2.1 About this chapter 14
2.2 Order in the elements? 14
2.3 Bonding 19
2.3.1 Covalent bonds 19
2.3.2 Ionic bonding, ions and ionic solids 20
vi Contents
2.4 Using chemical equations 21
2.5 Describing amounts of substances: the mole 22
2.6 Concentration and activity 22
2.7 Organic molecules – structure and chemistry 23
2.7.1 Functional groups 25
2.7.2 Representing organic matter in simple equations 26
2.8 Radioactivity of elements 27
2.9 Finding more chemical tools in this book 29
2.10 Further reading 30
2.11 Internet search keywords 30
3 The atmosphere 31
3.1 Introduction 31
3.2 Composition of the atmosphere 32
3.3 Steady state or equilibrium? 35
3.4 Natural sources 38
3.4.1 Geochemical sources 39
3.4.2 Biological sources 41
3.5 Reactivity of trace substances in the atmosphere 44
3.6 The urban atmosphere 45
3.6.1 London smog – primary pollution 46
3.6.2 Los Angeles smog – secondary pollution 48
3.6.3 21st-century particulate pollution 52
3.7 Air pollution and health 53
3.8 Effects of air pollution 55
3.9 Removal processes 56
3.10 Chemistry of the stratosphere 58
3.10.1 Stratospheric ozone formation and destruction 59
3.10.2 Ozone destruction by halogenated species 61
3.10.3 Saving the ozone layer 63
3.11 Further reading 64
3.12 Internet search keywords 65
4 The chemistry of continental solids 66
4.1 The terrestrial environment, crust and material cycling 66
4.2 The structure of silicate minerals 70
4.2.1 Coordination of ions and the radius ratio rule 70
4.2.2 The construction of silicate minerals 73
4.2.3 Structural organization in silicate minerals 73
4.3 Weathering processes 76
4.4 Mechanisms of chemical weathering 77
4.4.1 Dissolution 77
4.4.2 Oxidation 77
4.4.3 Acid hydrolysis 83
4.4.4 Weathering of complex silicate minerals 84
4.5 Clay minerals 87
Contents vii
4.5.1 One to one clay mineral structure 88
4.5.2 Two to one clay mineral structure 88
4.6 Formation of soils 93
4.6.1 Parent (bedrock) material (p) 94
4.6.2 Climate (cl) 94
4.6.3 Relief (r) 97
4.6.4 Vegetation (v) 99
4.6.5 Influence of organisms (o) 99
4.7 Wider controls on soil and clay mineral formation 104
4.8 Ion exchange and soil pH 111
4.9 Soil structure and classification 112
4.9.1 Soils with argillic horizons 113
4.9.2 Spodosols (podzols) 113
4.9.3 Soils with gley horizons 117
4.10 Contaminated land 119
4.10.1 Organic contaminants in soils 119
4.10.2 Degradation of organic contaminants in soils 125
4.10.3 Remediation of contaminated land 129
4.10.4 Phytoremediation 137
4.11 Further reading 139
4.12 Internet search keywords 140
5 The chemistry of continental waters 141
5.1 Introduction 141
5.2 Element chemistry 142
5.3 Water chemistry and weathering regimes 145
5.3.1 Alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon and pH buffering 151
5.4 Aluminium solubility and acidity 155
5.4.1 Acidification from atmospheric inputs 156
5.4.2 Acid mine drainage 156
5.4.3 Recognizing acidification from sulphate data – ternary diagrams 159
5.5 Biological processes 161
5.5.1 Nutrients and eutrophication 163
5.6 Heavy metal contamination 170
5.6.1 Mercury contamination from gold mining 170
5.7 Contamination of groundwater 174
5.7.1 Anthropogenic contamination of groundwater 176
5.7.2 Natural arsenic contamination of groundwater 178
5.8 Further reading 180
5.9 Internet search keywords 180
6 The oceans 181
6.1 Introduction 181
6.2 Estuarine processes 182
6.2.1 Aggregation of colloidal material in estuaries 183
6.2.2 Mixing processes in estuaries 184
