Environmental Chemistry of the Hydrosphere Earth’s Natural Capital of Water

Environmental Chemistry of the Hydrosphere is about Earth s water and its environmental chemistry in the Earth System. Chapter 1, Environmental Chemistry and the Five Spheres of the Environment, is an overview of the Earth and its environmental chemistry. It describes the Earth System in terms of five closely related and interacting spheres: Hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, biosphere, and anthrosphere, that part of the environment constructed and operated by humans. Chapter 2, The Hydrosphere and Water Chemistry, begins with a description of the hydrosphere and the hydrologic cycle through which water circulates throughout the Earth System. The chemistry of water is introduced in this chapter including the unique structure of the water molecule and its special chemical properties. Specific aspects of water chemistry are discussed. Chapter 3, Oxidation/Reduction in Aquatic Chemistry, addresses the oxidation state of chemical species in the water environment and changes in oxidation states brought about by chemical and biochemical processes. As discussed in Chapter 4, Phase Interactions in Aquatic Chemistry, the majority of important aquatic chemical phenomena involve interactions between chemical species dissolved in water and those in another (usually solid) phase. It includes a discussion of colloidal particles in water and sediments. As explained in Chapter 5, Aquatic Microbial Biochemistry, many of the most important chemical transitions that occur in the hydrosphere are mediated by microorganisms including algae, bacteria, and protozoa. Chapter 6, Water Pollutants and Water Pollution, covers pollution of water including elemental pollutants, heavy metals, metalloids, organically bound metals and metalloids, and inorganic pollutants such as cyanide and ammonia. Final Chapter 7 addresses water treatment. The chapter title, World Water Crisis and Climate Change: Water Renovation and Recycling, reflects the emphasis placed in the chapter upon treatment processes that enable complete renovation of wastewater including purification of sewage to produce drinking water, which will be necessary in the future to combat the worldwide water crisis.