Download or read book Environmental Chemistry written by Gary W. VanLoon and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2000 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a comprehensive textbook for upper level undergraduates which discusses the nature of heterogeneous systems in the natural environment. The links between and within the various environmental compartments - air, water, soil - are emphasized. The book describes the chemistry of natural systems, their composition and the processes and reactions that operate within and between the various compartments. Without focusing specifically on pollution, it also discusses ways in which these systems respond to perturbations, either those that are natural or those that are caused by humans. Background material from subjects such as atmospheric science, limnology, and soil science is provided in order to establish a setting for a description of the relevant chemistry. Emphasis is on general principles that can be applied in a variety of circumstances. At the same time, these principles are illustrated with examples taken from around the world. Because of issues of the environment related to every society, care has been taken to relate the subject material to situations in urban and rural areas in both highly industrialized and low-income countries.