geologicalchemistry

Geological chemistry, also known as geochemistry, is the scientific study of the chemical composition, distribution, and processes of Earth’s materials, including rocks, minerals, and fluids. By examining elemental abundances and isotopic ratios, geochemists infer the formation, evolution, and interaction of geological systems. The discipline connects mineralogy, petrology, and geophysics with chemistry, enabling researchers to model processes such as magma differentiation, metamorphism, weathering, and biogeochemical cycling.

Geochemists collect samples from the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere and apply analytical techniques such as mass spectrometry, X‐ray fluorescence, and electron microprobe analysis to quantify major, trace, and rare elements. Isotopic studies, particularly of radiogenic species like uranium‑lead, strontium‑rubidium, and neodymium‑europium systems, offer time constraints for rock formation and metamorphic events. Stable isotope ratios (e.g., carbon, oxygen, nitrogen) provide insight into fluid sources, temperatures of formation, and metabolic pathways of organisms.

The field emerged from 19th and early 20th century chemical analyses of rocks, but gained quantitative depth in the mid‑20th century with the invention of the mass spectrometer. Contemporary geochemistry incorporates computational modeling, laboratory simulations of metamorphic or hydrothermal processes, and interdisciplinary collaborations with biology, climatology, and planetary science. Applications include mineral exploration, environmental monitoring of contaminant transport, assessment of carbon sequestration potential, and understanding planetary differentiation in the solar system.

Geological chemistry remains crucial for unraveling Earth’s history, predicting natural resource distribution, and addressing environmental challenges linked to the global planet.