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GEOSC412 Water Resources Geochemistry

Instructors: W. B. White, P.Deines
Text: J.I. Drever, Geochemistry of Natural Waters, 3rd edition
Credits: 3
Short Description: The course is divided into two major sections. In the first 12 weeks of the course geochemical aspects of groundwaters are examined. The last 3 weeks are devoted to a discussion of environmental isotopes.
The course begins with a review of the principles of thermodynamics and their application to aqueous chemistry. Then follows a discussion of the aqueous geochemistry of silica, alumina, silicate minerals and the carbonate minerals. A brief review of kinetics and redox equilibria are provided. The final part of this section describes speciation in metal systems, the aqueous chemistry of selected variable valence elements, and a brief introduction to organic compounds in natural waters.

In the isotope section the natural and man made isotopic composition variations are examined and the students are shown how environmental isotopic composition differences can be used to quantify different aspects of the hydrologic cycle. Applications discussed include for example the identification of recharge areas, rates of accumulation of ice, the quantification of past climatic changes, hydrographs separations in streams, hydrologic balance sheets for lakes and reservoirs as well as groundwater residence times and flow paths.


 
Chemical Aspects of Water Resources Geochemistry
 
I. SOME NECESSARY THERMODYNAMICS
A. Theoretical Foundations
B. Thermodynamics for Systems of Variable Composition
C. Chemical Reactions
D. Aqueous Solutions
II. ACID-BASE EQUILIBRIA
A. Acids
B. Bases
C. Acid-Base Reactions
D. Acid-Base Geochemistry
III. CARBONATE GEOCHEMISTRY
A. Solution Chemistry
B. Chemical kinetics
C. Application to Natural Systems
IV. SILICATE CHEMISTRY
A. Components
B. Aqueous Chemistry of Silicate Minerals
C. Surfaces and Surface Processes
V. METAL IONS IN SOLUTION
A. Principles
B. Aqueous Chemistry of Fixed Valence Metals
VI. AQUEOUS CHEMISTRY OF VARIABLE VALENCE ELEMENTS
A. Redox Reactions
B. Aqueous Chemistry Iron, Sulfur, and Manganese
C. Aqueous Chemistry of the "Pollutant" Elements
D. Nitrogen
VII. COMPUTERS IN AQUEOUS GEOCHEMISTRY
A. Speciation Models
B. Reaction Path Models
C. Kinetic and Transport Models
VIII. CARBON: ORGANIC CHEMISTRY OF WATER
A. Chemistry
B. Naturally Occurring Organic Compounds
C. Organic Compounds in Water
 
Environmental Isotope in Water Resources Geochemistry

 
 Stable and Radioactive Isotopes, their sources, occurrences and   measurement
Geochemical, Geophysical and Biochemical Processes Affecting the Abundances of Stable H, C, and O Isotopes
 Variations of H and O Isotope Abundances in precipitation, the foundation of H and O isotope applications in hydrology
 Ice and Snow Hydrology, glacier flow and paleoclimates
 Stream and River Waters, flow, mixing, and hydrograph separation
 Lakes, Reservoir models and stable isotope balance sheets
Groundwaters, identification of recharge areas through stable isotope measurements
Tritium as tool to establish mean residence time and mode of groundwater flow
14C as an indicator of the "age " of groundwaters