In the early parts of the book, the basic chemistry required in geochemistry is reviewed: units of measurement; atomic structure; the nature of chemical bonding. This is both thorough and lucid and also explains some of the historical context to the development of these ideas. This continues in Part II of the book with an introduction to thermodynamic concepts, followed by chapters on the thermodynamics of solutions, geothemometry and geobarometry, aqueous solutions, redox reactions and chemical kinetics.
Applications of radiogenic and stable isotopes are covered in two chapters that comprise the third section of the book. These chapters provide a thorough treatment of the theoretical basis of radioactive decay and isotope fractionation and cover key applications in the geosciences. The stable isotope chapter contains material that is very up-to-date. For example, it includes Fe isotopes and mass independent fractionation of S isotopes, but surprisingly little on carbon isotopes.
The final section ‘The Earth Supersystem’ deals with the evolution of the earth. The first of two chapters in this section deals with the solid earth, from its beginnings in nucleosynthetic processes and accretion and through geological history. The second chapter deals with the hydrosphere and atmosphere and takes a similar perspective on their evolution over our planet's history. This chapter is up-to-date, incorporating recent research on, for example, the ‘Great Oxidation Event’ and continuing through to anthropogenic impacts on the atmosphere and hydrosphere such as smogs, acid deposition, ozone depletion and greenhouse warming. A last short section of this chapter covers the basics of the major global cycles of the biological essential elements: carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorous.
I would describe the coverage as very ‘geological’; for instance, whilst the uses of radiogenic isotopes in petrogenetic studies are covered well, their applications as tracers in weathering, oceanography and palaeo-oceanography are not. Furthermore, there is only basic coverage of biological involvement in global element cycles. The book is what it says: an introduction to geochemistry (and not bio-geochemistry).
Throughout the book there are numerous ‘asides’, e.g. details of derivations and worked examples. These can easily be skipped to provide an unbroken overview from the main text alone, or used to provide key additional detail on subject areas of particular interest. This structure helps enormously to make a very comprehensive text more accessible and readable and yet still incorporate a huge amount of useful detail.
The level at which this book is pitched would suit students on more advanced undergraduate geochemistry courses and be ideal at Masters or early stages of PhD. Overall this is an impressively thorough and up-to-date text that is aimed at the ‘geological’ geochemist and I would certainly recommend it to such an audience.
