Unit ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY
- Course
- Geosciences for risk and environment management
- Study-unit Code
- A002125
- Location
- PERUGIA
- Curriculum
- Geologia applicata alla salvaguardia e alla pianificazione del territorio
- Teacher
- Giuseppe Saldi
- Teachers
-
- Giuseppe Saldi
- Hours
- 57 ore - Giuseppe Saldi
- CFU
- 6
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2023
- Offered
- 2023/24
- Learning activities
- Affine/integrativa
- Area
- Attività formative affini o integrative
- Academic discipline
- GEO/08
- Type of study-unit
- Opzionale (Optional)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- English
- Contents
- Introduction - Basic concepts in geochemistry, concentration units, stoichiometry.
Composition of Earth system and sub-systems (0.5 ETCS) - Geochemical Earth reference model. Compositions of the solid Earth (crust, mantle, nucleus) and of its fluid envelope. Major (tectonic) geochemical cycles and exogenous cycles.
Key concepts of physical chemistry in geochemistry (0.5 ETCS) - (3.1) Thermodynamics of multicomponent (and multiphase) systems. Thermochemistry. (3.2) Chemical kinetics.
Surface water and groundwater, weathering and soils (1.5 ETCS) - (4.1) High and low temperature water-gas-rock interactions. (4.2) Weathering and soil formation. (4.3) Chemical processes affecting the mobility of major, minor and trace elements in aqueous environment: ionic potential, pH, redox conditions, aqueous speciation. Chemical transport mechanisms, advection, diffusion and reactive transport. (4.4) Contaminants in water and soils: diffuse pollution from agriculture, sewage treatment plants, industrial discharges and radioactive isotopes. (4.5) Eutrophication of freshwater systems. (4.6) Salinization and saline environments. (4.7) Acidification: effects of AMD on surface water; interaction of groundwater and surface water with acidic magmatic and geothermal fluids; acid rain.
The Ocean-Atmosphere system (1 ETCS) - (5.1) Chemical composition of the atmosphere. (5.2) Chemical and isotopic composition of sea water. Steady state, transient state and residence times of the elements in the ocean-atmosphere systems. (5.3) Carbonate system and ocean acidification. (5.4) Tropospheric ozone and photochemical smog.
Global bio-geochemical cycles (1.5 ETCS) - (6.1) Carbon cycle: long term geologic carbon cycle; short term carbon cycle; the human perturbation of the carbon cycle; CSS carbon sequestration and storage. (6.2) Global cycling of N, P, S, Hg. (6.3) Global water cycle.
Environmental Isotope Geochemistry (1ETC) - Application of isotopes for tracing of the source, contamination and transport of chemicals in the environment. - Reference texts
- K.K. Turekian, H.D. Holland. Treatise on Geochemistry, Elsevier. 1st Edition (2003); 2nd Edition (2013).
W.M. White (2020). Geochemistry. Wiley Blackwell.
S. Lower (2020). Geochemistry - libretexts.org
Donald Langmuir (1997). Aqueous Environmental Geochemistry.
Prentice Hall Inc., eds. - Educational objectives
- On completion of the course the student should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence.
KNOWLEDGE - the student can:
describe how chemical weathering of minerals and rocks control the composition of sediments/soil and natural waters
describe the processes affecting the mobility of contaminants in the environment
describe the most important processes that control the global carbon cycle
describe the global cycling of water, N, P, S, Hg
describe how isotope signatures can be used to trace the source of minerals, rocks, fluids and contaminants;
explain how fractionation of stable isotopes can be used to understand various geochemical and geo-biological processes
SKILLS - the student can:
use equilibrium constants to calculate mineral solubility
review and evaluate raw geochemical data
use activity diagrams and Eh-pH diagram to illustrate mineral stability in different environments
use trace element to reconstruct contamination events in water and soils
calculate delta values for various stable isotopes and use these to describe fractionation
calculate the age of rocks and minerals and the sedimentation rates by geochronological methods
COMPETENCE - the student can:
use a precise scientific language to describe and discuss geochemical processes and environmental issues
has competence in scientific ethics
has the ability to work independently and as part of a team, both in the field and in the lab - Prerequisites
- B2 English
Fundamentals of Mineralogy and Geology
Basic principles of statistics, inorganic chemistry, thermodynamics and low temperature - Teaching methods
- Lectures, laboratory, field trips
- Other information
- Excursions will be organized in collaboration with other courses of the curriculum.
Teaching materials are distributed through the online platform, unistudium (http://unistudium.unipg.it) - Learning verification modality
- Grades will be based on a written test (multiple choice questions) at the end of the course, and an oral presentation concerning some aspect of environmental geochemistry.
For information on support services for students with disabilities and/or SLD, visit http://www.unipg.it/disabilita-e-dsa - Extended program
- DESCRIPTION
Environmental geochemistry is concerned with the sources, distribution and interactions of chemical elements in the system rock–soil–water–air–life. In the first part of the course, some fundamental concepts in geochemistry and the interactions of deep Earth processes with surface systems are briefly discussed. The second part is the core of the course and deals with the mobility, speciation and transport of chemical elements (including contaminants) and with the processes that connect geochemical, biological, and geological systems at Earth's surface (bio-geochemical cycles). The third part of the course uses the isotopes for tracing of the source and transport of chemicals in the environment. Training in the use of geochemical modeling software will be provided with applications to natural systems including chemical weathering and reactive transport of contaminants.
PROGRAM
Introduction
Basic concepts in geochemistry, concentration units, stoichiometry.
Composition of Earth system and sub-systems (0.5 CFU)
Geochemical Earth reference model. Compositions of the solid Earth (crust, mantle) and of its fluid envelope. Major (tectonic) geochemical cycles and exogenous cycles.
Key concepts of physical chemistry in geochemistry (0.5 CFU)
Thermodynamics of multicomponent (and multiphase) systems. Thermochemistry.
Chemical kinetics.
Surface water and groundwater, weathering and soils (1.5 CFU)
High and low temperature water-gas-rock interactions.
Weathering and soil formation.
Chemical processes affecting the mobility of major, minor and trace elements in aqueous environment: ionic potential, pH, redox conditions, aqueous speciation.
Chemical transport mechanisms, advection, diffusion and reactive transport.
Contaminants in water and soils: diffuse pollution from agriculture, sewage treatment plants, industrial discharges and radioactive isotopes.
Eutrophication of freshwater systems.
Salinization and saline environments.
Acidification: effects of AMD on surface water; interaction of groundwater and surface water with acidic magmatic and geothermal fluids; acid rain.
The Ocean-Atmosphere system (1 CFU)
Chemical composition of the atmosphere, chemical and isotopic composition of sea water.
Steady state, transient state and residence times of the elements in the ocean-atmosphere systems.
Carbonate system and ocean acidification.
Tropospheric ozone and photochemical smog.
Global bio-geochemical cycles (1.5 CFU)
Carbon cycle
- the long term geologic carbon cycle;
- the short term carbon cycle;
- the human perturbation of the carbon cycle;
- CSS carbon sequestration and storage.
Global cycling of N, P, S, Hg.
Global water cycle.
Environmental Isotope Geochemistry (1CFU)
Application of isotopes for tracing of the source, contamination and transport of chemicals in the environment.