Organic Geochemistry Classic Reprint

Excerpt from Organic Geochemistry The 5 major constituents of carbonaceous substances are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur. These elements are all Of low atomic weight and are thought to be products of low-temperature stellar reactions. They are widely distributed through the cosmos and play major roles in the thermonuclear processes of the stars. moreover, such isotopes as 6c, 8c1, 16832 and 16836 have total proton and neutron numbers divisible by 4 and are particularly abundant. Carbon, hydrogen, and a number of other elements normally associated with carbonaceous substances have been detected in interstellar space, nebulae, stars, planetary atmospheres, and comets. Table 1 contains a summary Of abundances Of the first 28 elements of the periodic table as they occur in typical cosmic settings. It is obvious from Table 1 that meteorites have lost a very high propor tion of their lighter elements, presumably through escape because Of low gravitational fields. The losses of hydrogen, because of marked volatility of its simpler compounds, and of nitrogen, because of its relatively low chemical affinity, are particularly important with respect to carbonaceous substances. The tremendous abundances of the elements making up carbonaceous substances, C, H, N, O, and S, in most stars, and in the universe in general, direct one's attention toward their origin and distribution. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from The Data of Geochemistry In the crust of the earth, with its liquid and gaseous envelopes, the ocean and the atmosphere, about eighty chemical elements are now recognized. These elements, the primary units of chemical analysis, are widely different as regards frequency; some are extremely rare, others are exceedingly abundant. A few occur in nature uncombined but most of them are found only in combination. The compounds thus generated, the secondary units of geochemistry, are known as mineral species; and of these, excluding substances of organic origin, only about a thousand have yet been identified. By artificial means innumerable compounds can be formed; but in the chemistry of the earth's crust the range of possibility seems to be extremely limited. From time to time new elements and new mineral species are discovered; but it is more than probable that all of them which have any large importance in the economy of nature are already known. The rarest substances, however, whether elementary or com pound, supply data for the solution of chemical problems; they can not, therefore, be ignored or set to one side as having no significance. In scientific investigation all evidence is of value. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This book is written as a reference on organic substances in natural waters and as a supplementary text for graduate students in water chemistry. The chapters address five topics: amount, origin, nature, geochemistry, and characterization of organic carbon. Of these topics, the main themes are the amount and nature of dissolved organic carbon in natural waters (mainly fresh water, although seawater is briefly discussed). It is hoped that the reader is familiar with organic chemistry, but it is not necessary. The first part of the book is a general overview of the amount and general nature of dissolved organic carbon. Over the past 10 years there has been an exponential increase in knowledge on organic substances in water, which is the result of money directed toward the research of organic compounds, of new methods of analysis (such as gas chromatography and mass spectrometry), and most importantly, the result of more people working in this field. Because of this exponential increase in knowledge, there is a need to pull together and summarize the data that has accumulated from many disciplines over the last decade.

An Introduction to Organic Geochemistry explores the fate of organic matter of all types, biogenic and man-made, in the Earth System. investigates the variety of pathways and biogeochemical transformations that carbon compounds can experience over a range of time scales and in different environments scope widened to provide a broad and up-to-date background - structured to accommodate readers with varied scientific backgrounds essential terminology is defined fully and boxes are used to explain concepts introduced from other disciplines further study aided by the incorporation of carefully selected literature references It investigates the variety of pathways and biogeochemical transformations that carbon compounds can experience over a range of time scales and in different environments.

For many years, the subject matter encompassed by the title of this book was largely limited to those who were interested in the two most economically important organic materials found buried in the Earth, namely, coal and petroleum. The point of view of any discussions which might occur, either in scientific meetings or in books that have been written, was, therefore, dominated largely by these interests. A great change has occurred in the last decade. This change had as its prime mover our growing knowledge of the molecular architecture of biological systems which, in turn, gave rise to a more legitimate asking of the question: "How did life come to be on the surface of the Earth?" A second motivation arose when the possibilities for the exploration of planets other than the Earth-the moon, Mars, and other parts of the solar system-became a reality. Thus the question of the possible existence of life elsewhere than on Earth conceivably could be answered.