geochemistry
Sign in to saveGeochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the entire Solar System, and has made important contributions to the understanding of a number of processes including mantle convection, the formation of planets and the origins of granite and basalt. It is an integrated field of chemistry and geology. thumb|center|1100px|alt=Time-lapse sequence showing a water droplet forming at the tip of a stalactite.|T
AI overview
Geochemistry is the science that applies chemistry to understand how the Earth's crust, oceans, and other geological systems work, and it extends to studying the entire Solar System. It has helped scientists explain important processes like how planets form, how the Earth's mantle moves, and how different types of rocks originate.
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Article
21 sectionsContents
- History
- Subfields
- Chemical elements
- Differentiation and mixing
- Fractionation
- Equilibrium
- Kinetic
- Cycles
- Abundance of elements
- Solar System
- Meteorites
- Giant planets
- Terrestrial planets
- Earth's crust
- Mineral constitution
- Felsic, intermediate and mafic igneous rocks
- Trace metals in the ocean
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Geochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the entire Solar System, and has made important contributions to the understanding of a number of processes including mantle convection, the formation of planets and the origins of granite and basalt. It is an integrated field of chemistry and geology. thumb|center|1100px|alt=Time-lapse sequence showing a water droplet forming at the tip of a stalactite.|Time‑lapse sequence showing a water droplet forming at the tip of a [[stalactite in a cave. As mineral‑rich water reaches the cave air, carbon dioxide escapes and the solution moves closer to calcium carbonate saturation. Each droplet deposits a microscopic layer of calcite before falling, making this dripping cycle an important low‑temperature process studied in geochemistry.]]
==History== thumb|Victor Goldschmidt (1909) The term geochemistry was first used by the Swiss-German chemist Christian Friedrich Schönbein in 1838: "a comparative geochemistry ought to be launched, before geognosy can become geology, and before the mystery of the genesis of our planets and their inorganic matter may be revealed." However, for the rest of the century the more common term was "chemical geology", and there was little contact between geologists and chemists.