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Title: Progress in hydrogeochemistry

Book ·
OSTI ID:6593200

The book contains fifty-seven research papers representing the results of a six-year program, Hydrogeochemical Processes in the Hydrologic Cycle Within the Unsaturated and Saturated Zones, supported by the DFG (the German equivalent of NSF), plus introductory sections and a final chapter by the editors. The work was conducted at fourteen field sites around Germany plus one, a gypsum karst, in Tunisia, and one in Turkey. The papers cover a wide range of topics, as summarized by the subtitle, Organics-Carbonate Systems-Silicate Systems-Microbiology-Models. The Organics Section focuses on isolation and characterization of humic substances and on the interaction of inorganics with humic substances. It is mostly methodology, notably the use of pyrolysis-mass spectrometry, with one paper on field results at the end. The section on Carbonate Systems includes a review of carbonate dissolution kinetics, a review of methodologies for sampling soil solutions, a set of field studies that integrate very well dissolution kinetics and stable-isotope mass balance arguments, and finally three papers on gypsum karst, dedolomitization, and paleokarst sediments in semi-arid regions. Silicate Systems includes several excellent papers on the redox reactions in soils and groundwater, using isotopes of nitrogen and sulfur to constrain the reactions. There are also papers on aluminum speciation and silicate dissolution kinetics. The Microbiology section includes valuable overviews of groundwater microbiology and sampling methods, together with four field studies at different sites. The Modeling section at the end is concerned primarily with chemical and mass balance modeling. The overall focus of the book is on the functioning of the natural system; there is not much mention of anthropogenic pollutants other than acid deposition and fertilizers.

OSTI ID:
6593200
Resource Relation:
Other Information: From review by James I. Drever, Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie, Vol. 7, No. 7 (April 1993)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English