Book Description

The advent of image processing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has made a substantial impact in the fields of geology, geochemistry, geophysics, and remote sensing. Addressing this development, this work provides a state-of-the-art overview of techniques for analyzing and combining geoscience data sets for mineral exploration. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Book for Geologists, Geomathematicians, GIS specialists
The authors have done a great job in presenting the materials of diverse fields, including GIS, remote sensing, multivariate statistics, many more. The book also presented an excellent review for neural networks. All the methods included in the book have proved to be effective in data integration for mineral exploration and planning purposes. I would recommend this book to any geoscientists who are interested in computer modeling and integration of geoscience data sets.

A Book for All Geoscientists
Guocheng Pan and D. Harris had put a great effort into the organization of the book structure. The book contains many subjects, all relevant to the information systhesis. The book was clearly written and it is readable for most geo-professionals and graduate students in geo-fields. The quantitative methods presented in the book are rigurous, but easy to follow. The examples in the book are also derived from real-world cases. In sum, I am really impressed with the book in terms of its quality and value offered to geoscientists. ... Read more

Book Description

Scientists have collected a wealth of physical and chemical data for the Sun, planets, and small bodies in our solar system, but until now this information has been scattered throughout the technical literature. The Planetary Scientist's Companion solves this problem, providing for the first time a single, extensive reference for the interdisciplinary fields of planetary science and cosmochemistry.

The book begins with a summary of frequently used physical and chemical constants, unit conversion factors, properties of some compounds and minerals, thermodynamic data, partition coefficients, and useful formulas. This is followed by an overview of the solar system, including comparative data for the planets and their satellites, and abundances of the elements. Much of the book is devoted to a series of chapters describing in turn the Sun, each of the planets, and the groups of small bodies (asteroids, comets, meteorites, and Kuiper Belt and Centaur objects). Each chapter begins with an introduction, followed by tables of physical and chemical properties compiled from many sources, including data on planetaryatmospheres, surfaces, and interiors. The book concludes with data on nearby stars, the interstellar medium, and recently discovered brown dwarfs and possible extrasolar planets, followed by a glossary. A unique and practical resource for anyone interested in contemporary planetary science and cosmochemistry, this volume is likely to be an essential tool in future research. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Close to being really useful. . .
But not. I saw this on my advisor's shelf and thought it would be totally useful to have on my own. Sometimes its a pain to look up planetary data on the web while doing work, and I thought that maybe it would be nice to have it close at hand in hardcopy.

The previous reviewer gave a good assessment of the overall content of the book -- its a compilation of data relevant to planetary scientists including bulk data on the planets (mass, radius, orbital semimajor axis), chemical data on the planets (relevant chemical reactions, weight % of species), general chemical data (molecular weights and such), etc. Basically a whole bunch of stuff that you use relatively often but always have to go fumbling through your papers to find.

Unfortunately, the level of errors (typographical or otherwise) in the book is too high to allow me to use it when I really need it. In a textbook, or a popular book, description of the concepts and processes involved are more important than getting facts right, so this sort of typo thing doesn't matter. However, in a book of facts, if some of the facts are wrong, it brings into doubt the validity of the rest. Basically, my problem is that I can use it for back-of-the-envelope calculations, but if I'm going to put something in a paper I look it up on the web to make sure that it isn't one of the mistakes. Looking it up on the web was what I used to do anyway, before I got the book. So, in my experience, it hasn't been as useful as I had hoped it would be.

Like a poor-debating jerk I can't remember any particular errors except the one that goaded me into writing this review -- as I was looking through the table on bulk data of planets and satellites it claimed that the 5 major Uranian satellites (Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon) orbited retrograde. I didn't think that was the case, and when I checked on the NSSDC website sure enough, it wasn't.

Detailed Chemical View of Solar System
Three books on our solar system appeared in the last year or two. Each has its own "flavor." I will review them in turn, but browsers should be aware of the others, so they are listed here. In addition to this book, see "The New Solar System" J. Kelly Beatty, Carolyn Collins Petersen, Andrew Chaikin, and "Solar System Dynamics," C. D. Murray and S. F. Dermott.

This book is primarily for the research planetary chemist and geologist. Exhaustive tables are given of the chemical and geological features of the planets and their atmospheres, with a chapter devoted to each. What enticed me to buy the book were the mathematical formulae listed in the index. But these prove to be primarily for reference and do not enter significantly into the subsequent textual material.

I was tempted to return this book because it is relatively expensive for a 400 page paperback. But I decided to keep it out of respect for those planetary aspects which, at present, I am not deeply interested in, but which may in the future enter into my investigation and understanding.

For instance, why do the four inner planets differ so strikingly in density from the five outer planets? Did resonance conditions in the early solar system in some way resemble a mass spectrometer of cosmic dimensions!

It is clear that we have to know the chemistry as well as the physics in order to understand the solar system in its formative stages. This book well serves that dual purpose. ... Read more

Book Description

Ice is one of the most abundant and important materials on Earth, and its unique physical properties are an active area of research in a number of disciplines. This book focuses on the physics of ice, its material properties, and how these are reflected in its molecular and crystalline structure. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Groundwater Geochemistry
Deutch's Groundwater Geochemistry is one of the most up-to-date and comprehensive books available on the topic. I have used the equations presented and the insightful explanations of nutrient transport in groundwater to clarify aspects of my thesis project on soil characterization. I highly recommend it to anyone in need of clear, concise explanations about phenomena involving groundwater. ... Read more

Book Description

Langmuir provides a thorough presentation of natural chemical concentrations,systems and processes to help readers (1) understand controls on the chemicalquality of surface and subsurface waters, and (2) distinguish between thenatural and the anthropogenic.Unlike most authors, whosecivil/sanitary engineering backgrounds promote a more aquatic chemistryperspective, LangmuirUs geology/geochemistry experience focuses coverage on thechemical interactions between water and geological materials. The book providesvaluable training in using in the geochemical computer code MINTEQA2 asan integral problem-solving tool. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Aqueous Environmental Geochemistry
This was one of the better texts that I used for a graduate course in chemical hydrogeology. More quantitative than most of the other books avialable. I found it somewhat useful. There are plenty of problems at the end of the chapters and the text covers more topics than Drever or Kehew. Langmuir covers thermochemical principles, kinetics, complexes, acid-base reactions, carbonate chemistry, silicate weathering, adsorption-desorption, redox reactions and computer models. This is a worthwhile textbook.

Hydrochemistry-Bestseller
Very valuable book. Useful for scientist as well as students of protection of environment

Worth having ...
By the time I purchased this book I was absolutely new to the field of Environmental geochemistry and I was looking for book that would include all essential knowledge needed for succes in the course. The book comprises all crucial topics: some thermodynamic basics, aqueous chemistry, redox chemistry, isotopes. I especially appreciate solved problems ... as a guideline for study questions at the end of the chapter. However, to use and comprehend this book, you should have some backgroud of physical chemistry and thermodynamics, 'cause the introductory chapter on thermodynamics requires this kind of konwledge. The book is written in scientific style with pletny of pictures and diagrams - that are many times esseantial in order to understand the text. One more information - in thermodymaic calculations, author uses calories - just a reminder in case you are used to joules. Even though this is not the book for absolute beginners, my overall impression is very good and I higly recommend it. ... Read more

Book Description

Provides a timely and thorough review of surfactant-based remediation technologies. Covers fundamental mechanistic studies to scale-up and process modeling and full-scale field implementation studies. Summarizes the technical, economic, and sociopolitical issues affecting widespread implementation of these technologies. Includes contributions from academic and industrial researchers as well as regulatory personnel. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent
This book is simply excellent. It contemplates everything on the geoquímica, being of easy reading and understanding. He approaches concepts and it applies methods very well. The writing form is great, as well as the illustrations and diagrams. It should not lack at in the library, be her particular or public. Congratulations for the people that possess or they will possess that book! ... Read more

Book Description

Since it was first published in 1962 `Gems', written by Robert Webster and revised in its fourth edition by Basil Anderson, has become universally recognised as the most comprehensive and authoritative treatise on gem materials in the English language.
In this fifth edition, edited by Peter Read, the forty chapters, appendices and tables have been revised by fifteen gemmologists chosen for their expertise in the relevant sections.


Aimed at the professional jeweller and student gemmologist, Gems also caters for the collector of gems and the layperson who is interested in precious stones. ... Read more

Book Description

Reflecting rapid changes in our knowledge of the earth's chemistry, this revision is more quantitative, gives more attention to environmental issues, and places greater emphasis on the application of geochemistry to geological problems than its predecessor. Using examples from actual field and laboratory studies, the authors give students a feeling for the application of geochemistry for many kinds of earth-science inquiry. ... Read more

Book Description

Water Quality Data emphasizes the interpretation of a water analysis or a group of analyses, with major applications on ground-water pollution or contaminant transport. A companion computer program aids in obtaining accurate, reproducible results, and alleviates some of the drudgery involved in water chemistry calculations.The text is divided into nine chapters and includes computer programs applicable to all the main concepts presented. After introducing the fundamental aspects of water chemistry, the book focuses on the interpretation of water chemical data. The interrelationships between the various aspects of geochemistry and between chemistry and geology are discussed. The book describes the origin and interpretation of the major elements, and some minor ones, that affect water quality.Readers are introduced to the elementary thermodynamics necessary to understand the use and results from water equilibrium computer programs. The book includes a detailed overview of organic chemistry and identifies the simpler and environmentally important organic chemicals. Methods are given to estimate the distribution of organic chemicals in the environment. The author fully explains all accompanying computer programs and presents this complex topic in a style that is interesting and easy to grasp for anyone. ... Read more

Book Description

Magmatism is the only true endogenic process for generating new material on the Earth's surface. Obviously, magmatism and tectonic movements are reflections of geodynamics, that is, physical processes which occur in deep-seated environments.
What are the interrelationships between magmatism and tectonics? How did the character of terrestrial magmatism change through time and are there any irregularities in this process? Were there particular "crisis" (catastrophe) points, when current tendencies in the evolution of magmatism changed sharply?
Answers to these cardinal Earth sciences questions and many others can be found in this book, which bridges a long-recognized gap in the literature. ... Read more

Book Description

The study of sedimentary chemistry and its associated processes is becoming increasingly mathematical. There is a growing desire to gain a quantitative understand of the reasons for the natural chemical changes observed in sediments as they are buried. Past textbooks have not emphasized the steps necessary to develop transport-reaction (diagenetic) models themselves nor methods for their solution. This book attempts to present a detailed account of model formulation by explaining some useful solution techniques. The choice of material illustrates methods that are simple to understand and implement, yet powerful enough to attack even the most complicated diagenetic problems. The cited computer programs are accessible on the Internet. ... Read more

Book Description

This book discusses the application of geochemical models to environmental practice and studies, through the use of numerous case studies of real-world environmental problems, such as acid mine drainage, pit lake chemistry, nuclear waste disposal, and landfill leachates. In each example the authors clearly define the environmental threat in question; explain how geochemical modeling may help solve the problem posed; and advise the reader how to prepare input files for geochemical modeling codes and interpret the results in terms of meeting regulatory requirements. ... Read more

Book Description

Geochemical reaction modeling plays an increasingly vital role in several areas of geoscience ranging from groundwater and surface water hydrology to environmental preservation and remediation to economic and petroleum geology. This book provides an up-to-date overview and a large number of fully worked examples of the use of numerical methods to model reaction processes in the Earth's crust and on its surface. Special attention is given to integrating surface complexation, kinetic rate laws, and isotope fractionation into quantitative process models.Earth science professionals and students in a variety of specialties will benefit from the wealth of information and practical advice this book has to offer. ... Read more

Book Description

Provides an introduction to the chemistry of the solid-water interface, progressing from the simple to more complex and applied. Discusses the important interfaces in natural systems, especially geochemistry, in natural waters, soils and sediments. The processes occurring at mineral-water, particle-water and organism-water interfaces play critical roles in regulating the composition and ecology of oceans and fresh waters, the development of soils and plant nutrient's supply, preserving the integrity of water repositories and in such applications as water technology and corrosion science. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

not an easy read
this book needs to be edited properply, it's giving Stumm a bad name ... Read more

Book Description

Focusing on the basic principles of mineral formation by organisms, this comprehensive volume explores questions that relate to a wide variety of fields, from biology and biochemistry, to paleontology, geology, and medical research.Preserved fossils are used to date geological deposits and archaeological artifacts.Materials scientists investigate mineralized tissues to determine the design principles used by organisms to form strong materials.Many medical problems are also associated with normal and pathological mineralization.Lowenstam, the pioneer researcher in biomineralization, and Weiner discuss the basic principles of mineral formation by organisms and compare various mineralization processes. Reference tables listing all known cases in which organisms form minerals are included. ... Read more