GLY 3131 Geochemistry

Instructor: Chuanhui GuEmail: guc@appstate.edu

Office: RSW 039; Office hrs: Tue and Thu 11 – 5:30PM, or stop by.Phone: x7859

Announcement

• No lab this week• No class this Thursday (Aug 21)• Please work on the homework assignment

posted at AsUlearn.

Outline

• Introduce myself• Introduce your neighbor (2-3 students a

group)• Course syllabus• What is geochemistry

oResearch: NC, CA, TN, VA, Chinao Hydrogeochemistryo Trace Gas Emissiono Biogeochemical Cycles

Course syllabus-objectivesSolve real world complex environmental problems

concerning water, air, and soil quality by applying understanding of geochemical processes and cycles.

Grand Prismatic Spring

Textbook:• Schlesinger W.H. (1997) Biogeochemistry: An Analysis

of Global Change. 2nd Edition. Elsevier Academic Press, San Diego, CA. ISBN: 0-12-625155-X

Course syllabus-Textbooks

Other Suggested books

• Donald Langmuir. (1997) Aqueous Environmental Geochemistry. Prentice Hall.

• James I.Drever (1988) The Geochemistry of Natural Waters, 2rd ed. Prentice-Hall Inc.

Course syllabus-Term paper

• Topic of your interest and relevant to this course

• Types: Literature review (>3000 words) or research based on data you or someone else collect (>2000 words)

Potential topics

– Urban stream salinity or thermal pollution– Permafrost methane time bomb– Riparian Nitrogen Buffer– Nitrous oxide emission in urban or agricultural landscapes – Nutrient Spiraling in rivers– Heavy metal contamination from solid waste disposal– Sediment S cycles– Acid mine drainage geochemistry from copper mine– Your idea here

• (topic should not be too broad!)

• 1st Midterm exam (week of Oct 7)• 2nd Midterm exam (week of Nov. 11)• Final exam (Dec 08) (not cumulative)

Course syllabus-Exam

Course syllabus-journal article discussion

• Beginning in the 8th week of the course, I will assign a journal article in each class for you to read and discuss during the first 10 minutes of class.

• A group of two students will be leading the discussion.

Course syllabus-Grading

Component % of GradeIn-class quizzes and 5%

Final project (paper and presentation)

20%

Lab and Homework 20%Paper discussion 10%

Mid Exams (2×15%) 30%Final Exam 15%

Lab

• Field trips• Lab chemical analysis• Computer modeling

Class schedule (tentative)Week Lab Date Lecture topics Laboratory Exercises

1 08/19/14 the Intro to Geochemistry and earth systems No Lab2 08/26/14 Box model and Chemical Fundamentals Urban stream salinization and

box model3 09/02/14 Ion strength and Carbonate system Geochemical Model MINTEQ4 09/09/14 Redox and Biogeochemistry Ore Knob Mine field trip 5 09/16/14 Weathering and Ion exchange (Tue class is

canceled) No lab (I will serve as the NSF panelist at D.C)

6 09/23/14 Lake Geochemistry Price lake field trip7 09/30/14 Groundwater Geochemistry Greenway field trip8 10/07/14 Marine Geochemistry

*Journal Article Discussion Begins1st Mid-term Exam

9 10/14/14 Global elemental cycles (Fall break) No lab-Fall break10 10/21/14 Solubility product and saturation index Solubility 11 10/28/14 Chemical kinetics Chemical kinetics12 11/04/14 Adsorption Adsorption isotherm13 11/11/14 Redox potential 2nd Midterm Exam14 11/18/14 Chemical transport Transport modeling15 11/25/14 Thanksgiving break No lab16 12/02/14 Heavy metals Project presentation17 12/08/14

(Mon)FINAL EXAM, 12-2:30 PM

• Lab enrollment adjustment• Tue (11) Thu (4) Need volunteers to switch

from Tue to Thu

What is Geochemistry?

• Geochemistry is the study of the sources and fates of chemical species in natural environments.

• Geochemistry is a set of tools for helping to understand the Earth; these tools are based upon chemical, instead of the physical observations of the geologist.

• It help us to explain how a natural environment functions.

What does a geochemist do?• Understanding the chemical composition of

rocks tells oil companies where to drill for oil; • enables scientists to put together broad-based

theories about the way the Earth is changing; • helps environmental management companies

decide how to dispose of a toxic or hazardous substance;

• steers mining companies toward use of natural resources with a minimum environmental impact.

Why Geochemistry? –highly employableGeochemistBelcan - Boulder, CO

Qualifications

Our customer has an immediate direct hire opening for a Sr Geochemist with the following qualifications:

A Masters or Ph.D. specializing in aqueous geochemistry or a related field, ideally with a focus on mining-related activities. Strong, all-round academic knowledge of geochemistry, surface water and groundwater interactions, with a background in hydrogeology. An ability to plan and execute field programs with knowledge of proper sampling techniques. Experience with industry-standard geochemical software (PHREEQC, Geochemist Workbench, AquaChem, etc). Strong abilities with respect to data manipulation (e.g., Excel, Access). Excellent verbal and written communications skills. Must have significant business development experience with securing new clients for related professional services in our industry

Focus of this course: Low T environmental geochemistry

• In other word, this course focuses on earth surficial processes.

• Geochemistry is involved in almost all environmental issues that face our society.

Many more….• Stratosphere Ozone Depletion• Acid Deposition• Acid mine drainage• Photochemical Smog• Coal ash spill

Duke Energy Coal Ash Spill at Dan River steam plant

• What is eutrophication?• Does it happen naturally?• What chemicals are mainly responsible

to eutrophication in freshwater and sea water, respectively?

• What are sources of this chemical?

Components of the earth system: pool/reservoir

Transport processes between components: flux

Case study: The carbon cycle

Human perturbations of the carbon cycle

Global warming is caused by human disturbance of naturally balanced C cycle!

Years

Temperature

CO2

concentration

A recent warming trend correlateswith the increase in CO2.

Glo

bal t

empe

ratu

re a

nom

aly

(°C)

CO2 c

once

ntra

tion

(ppm

)

Years

Temperature

CO2 concentration

The twentieth century is clearly anomalous when compared with the last millennium.

Nor

ther

n H

emis

pher

e te

mpe

ratu

rean

omal

y (°

C)

CO2 c

once

ntra

tion

(ppm

)

That’s it!

Next Class (Tue Aug 26)• Earth system and Box model