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Elements in Solution

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Geochemistry at the Earth’s Surface

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Abstract

Elements in aqueous solution are the basis of surface geochemistry. Water is the agent of change concerning the materials brought to the surface by geological actions. Rocks containing minerals of high temperature origin interact with water because the constituent rock minerals are unstable under conditions of aqueous abundance where the water contains no more than minor amounts of solutes and is in equilibrium with atmospheric oxygen and CO2. The dissolution of an element into aqueous solutions is the major result of the interaction of surface water and the geologic materials found at the surface of the earth (rocks). The elements have different chemical relations with solids and the aqueous environment according to their chemical characteristics, ranging from essentially cations to oxyanions in solution. The differences in the nature of chemical attraction (ionic or covalent) determine the movement of the elements at the earth’s surface as being associated with solids or remaining in solution. Ionic reactions with aqueous solutions are the basis of surface geochemistry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung (INE), Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT), Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany

    Andreas Bauer

  2. Ecole Normale Supérieure Laboratoire de Géologie, Paris CEDEX 5, France

    Bruce D. Velde

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Glossary

Actinides

Series of chemically similar metallic elements with atomic numbers ranging from 89 (actinium) to 103 (lawrencium). All of these elements are radioactive.

Anion

A negatively charged ion (NO3 −, PO4 2−, SO4 2−, etc.)

Alkalinity

The capacity of water for neutralizing an acid solution.

Amphoteric

Reacting chemically as either an acid or a base.

Amorphous material

Noncrystalline solids.

Bentonite

A clay usually formed by the weathering of volcanic ash, and which is largely composed of montmorillonite-type clay minerals. It has great capacity to absorb water and swell accordingly.

Calcareous

Refers to materials, particularly soils, containing significant amounts of calcium carbonate. It also describes rocks composed largely of, or cemented by, calcium carbonate.

Cation

A positively charged ion (NH4 +, K+, Ca2+, Fe2+, etc.) in the soil that is electrically attracted to the negatively charged sites on soil colloids (clay and humus).

Cation exchange capacity (CEC)

The capacity of soil to hold nutrients for plant use. Specifically, CEC is the amount of negative charges available on clay and humus to hold positively charged ions. Expressed as centimoles of charge per kilogram of soil (cmolc/kg).

Coordination sphere

The central metal ion plus the attached ligands of a coordination compound.

Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS)

A technique for investigation of the immediate environment of metal atoms in crystals or solutions, e.g., Fe–S bond distances in pyrite. The X-ray energy is varied and the fine structure of the absorption spectrum is recorded indirectly as fluorescent radiation.

Exudates

Soluble sugars, amino acids, and other compounds secreted by roots.

Ferric

Containing iron in its +3 oxidation state, Fe(III) (also written Fe3+).

Ferrous

Containing iron in its +2 oxidation state, Fe(II) (also written Fe2+).

Fungicide

A substance or chemical that kills fungi.

Inner-sphere adsorption complex

Surface complex in the formation of which an ion or molecule to a solid surface where waters of hydration are distorted and no water molecules remain interposed between the sorbate and sorbent.

Ion

Charged entity resulting from the loss or gain of one or more electrons from an atom or molecule.

Heavy metals

Metallic elements with high atomic weights, e.g., mercury, chromium, cadmium, arsenic, and lead.

Humus

Humus is a complex substance resulting from the breakdown of plant material in a process called humification. This process occurs naturally in a soil. Humus is extremely important to the fertility of soils in both a physical and chemical sense. It is a highly complex substance, the full nature of which is still not fully understood.

Humic substances

A series of relatively high-molecular-weight, yellow to black colored organic substances formed by secondary synthesis reactions in soils. Humic substances are products of biochemical decomposition. They are complex substances, which are resistant to further decomposition. Consequently they tend to accumulate in the soil. Most humic substances are dark and are hence responsible for the dark soil color that is commonly associated with soils of high organic matter content.

Hydrogen bond

Intermolecular attraction between a hydrogen atom in a polar bond with an unshared electron pair of an electronegative atom in sufficiently close proximity.

Hydration sphere

Shell of water molecules surrounding an ion in solution.

Inner-sphere solution complexes

These are solution complexes that closely associate with the charged mineral surface (chemisorption), often forming specific bonds with the mineral surface.

Layer

A combination of sheets in a 1:1 or 2:1 assemblage.

Metal(oxyhydr)oxide

Minerals composed of different structural arrangements of metal cations. In soils principally Al(III), Fe(III), and Mn(IV) are in octahedral coordination with oxygen or hydroxide ions. Metal(oxyhydr)oxide are the by-products of weathering.

Mononuclear

The simplest types of coordination compounds are those containing a single metal atom or ion (mononuclear compounds) surrounded by monodentate ligands.

Outer-sphere surface complex

Surface complex in the formation of which waters of hydration remain between the sorbate and sorbent.

Oxoanion

An oxyanion is an anion containing oxygen. Oxoanions are formed by many of the chemical elements. Nitrate (NO3 −), Nitrite (NO2 −), sulfite (SO3 2−), and hypochlorite (ClO−) are all oxyanions.

Redox reactions

Any chemical reaction in which the oxidation numbers (oxidation states) of atoms are changed is an oxidation–reduction reaction. Shorthand for reduction–oxidation. Oxidation (loss of electrons, gain of oxygen) involves an increase in oxidation number, while reduction (gain of electrons, loss of oxygen) involves a decrease in oxidation number.

Particle size

The diameter, in millimeters, of suspended sediment or bed material.Particle-size classifications are: Clay (< 0.002 mm); Silt (0.002–0.02 mm); Sand (>0.02 mm).

Phyllosilicates

This is the name given to silicate minerals having a layer type of atom arrangement. The term derives from the Greek φvλλoν (= sheet). The principal phyllosilicates can be classified on the basis of their layer structures and chemical compositions into the following groups: kaolinite-serpentine, pyrophyllite-talc, smectite, vermiculite, mica, brittle mica, and chlorite

Soil

The natural dynamic system of unconsolidated mineral and organic material at the earth’s surface. It has been developed by physical, chemical, and biological processes including the weathering of rock and the decay of vegetation. Soils are the natural medium for the growth of land plants.

Soil comprises organized profiles of layers more or less parallel to the earth’s surface and formed by the interaction of parent material, climate, organisms, and topography over generally long periods of time. Soils differ markedly from its parent material in morphology, properties, and characteristics.

Soil Fertility

Soil fertility is defined by the Soil Science Society of America as “the status of a soil with respect to the amount and availability to plants of elements necessary for plant growth” (Soil Science Society of America 1973).

Soil Organic Matter

Soil organic matter is the fraction of the soil that consists of plant or animal tissue in various stages of breakdown (decomposition).

(Soil) pH

The pH of soil indicates the strength of acidity or alkalinity of the soil solution which affects the soil constituents, plant roots, and soil microorganisms. Soil is neutral when pH is 7, it is acid when pH is <7, and it is alkaline when >7. The pH scale is logarithmic, so a difference of a unit is a tenfold difference in acidity or alkalinity (e.g., pH 5 is ten times more acid than pH 6).

Sorption

General term for the retention of a solute in contact with a solue without implication to a retention mechanism. This term includes adsorption, absorption, precipitation, and surface precipitation.

Solute

A dissolved substance.

Surface precipitation

Three-dimensional growth of a species on a surface. This mechanism differs from adsorption in that the retained species directly interact with each other on the surface and can even have the solid structure grow away from the original substrate.

Topsoil

Topsoil is the surface layer of soil containing partly decomposed organic debris, and which is usually high in nutrients, containing many seeds, and rich in fungal mycorrhizae. Topsoil is usually of dark color due to the “organic matter” present.

Toxicity

Refers to a harmful effect on a plant (or animal) from the alteration of an environmental factor.

Transition elements

A (loosely defined) group of 38 elements with specific chemical properties. Examples of transition metals include Iron (Fe), Zinc (Zn), Nickel (Ni), Copper (Cu), Silver (Ag), Manganese (Mn), etc. The name transition comes from their position in the periodic table (groups 3–12). These elements are very hard with high melting points and high electrical conductivity and characterized in most cases by variable oxidation states and magnetic properties

Weathering

The breakdown of rocks and minerals at the Earth’s surface by the action of physical and chemical processes generated by their contact with water.

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Bauer, A., Velde, B.D. (2014). Elements in Solution. In: Geochemistry at the Earth’s Surface. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31359-2_2

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